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As the Israeli military violates the announced cease fire in Gaza medics and rescue workers continue to find dead bodies among the rubble while Israeli troops kidnaps 46 Palestinians from the West Bank. These stories and more, coming up, Stay tuned.

Nonviolent Activities

Let us begin our weekly report with the nonviolent activities in the West Bank with.

Ramallah

The residents of Bil'in village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah gathered after the Friday prayer in an act of solidarity with the people of Gaza, and to express resistance to the Wall and settlement building. They were joined by international activists and the Israeli Anarchists Against the Wall, all opposing the war on Gaza.

The protesters carried all the Palestinian party flags as a call for national unity to stand against the Israeli occupation. Protesters put on masks of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas and the deposed PM and walked toward the wall holding hands as a hopeful symbol that the Palestinian internal conflict will end and they will unite against the Israeli occupation once again.

When the protesters opened the gate, the army immediately fired tear gas canisters. The army chased the demonstrators back to the village using rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas. Dozens suffered tear gas inhalation and three were shot with live bullets, including two journalists.

Also on Friday, near Ramallah, scores of Palestinians from the village of Nil'in conducted a protest against the illegal Israeli wall being built on the village land. The people conducted Friday prayers near the village lands, then proceeded to march to the land being confiscated by Israel.

Demonstrators carried banners calling for national unity and demanding an end to the Israeli occupation. As soon as locals and their international supporters arrived at the village where Israel is building the wall, soldiers showered them with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Dozens suffered gas inhalation.

Bethlehem

On Friday scores of villagers from Al Ma'ssara, located near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, supported by international peace activists, protested the illegal Israeli wall being built on the village land. The people called for national unity and demanded Israeli to stop building the wall on the villager's lands.

The protest started from the local school and marched to the location of the wall where Israeli troops did not allow them to continue. Speeches were delivered by local organizers and the protest dispersed without any clashes with the military.

The Political Report

As the new U.S president Barak Obama took office officially this week, much work needs to be done by the American administration towards ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Meanwhile, Palestinian and Israeli parties are discussing in Cairo ways to enhance a ceasefire. IMEMC's George Rishmawi with the story:

The newly-installed American president, Barak Obama, asserted to Palestinian president Mahmmoud Abbas that he will work for Palestinian-Israeli peace as he takes office.

Obama is set to send his own delegate to the region to work out means for settlement of the conflict in light of recent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of more than 1330 Palestinians, nearly half of them women and children.

In the meantime, other Arab players in the region held a series of meetings this week in order to bid support to the devastated Gaza Strip.

Arab leaders stressed in the Kuwait Arab Economic Summit the need for Palestinians to end current division between the major ruling Hamas party in Gaza and the ruling Fatah party in the West Bank, led by president Abbas.

Khaled Mash'al, exiled leader of Hamas, called on international players including the European countries to accelerate reconstruction of Gaza in the wake of Israel's bombardment of the region.

Paris said it will continue boycott of Hamas until the latter recognizes Israel and renounces violence.

Meanwhile, Hamas will send its own delegation to Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian mediators on ensuring the longevity of the latest ceasefire with Israel.

Israeli officials stated that Israel is interested in reaching a prisoner swap deal with Hamas, with more flexibility about Hamas's demands this time.

On the internal level, the rival Hamas and Fatah parties have traded accusations over misconduct of government in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Turkey offered to act as mediator between the two parties this week.

For IMEMC.org this is George Rishmawi.



The Gaza Report

As the Israeli military violates the announced cease fire in Gaza medics and rescue workers continue to find dead bodies among the rubble. From Gaza IMEMC's Rami Al Meghari reports:

Palestinian medical sources announced this week that medics and rescue workers have found at least 20 dead bodies under the rubble in several parts of Gaza City and the nearby town of Jabalyia.

The Israeli Army embarked on its military offensive on Saturday, December 27th, 2008. For 22 days, homes, schools, mosques, UN centers, and media agencies were attacked by Israeli air, sea, and ground forces.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health this week has placed the death toll in Gaza due to the military offensive at 1,330 with at least 5,000 injured. Doctors say that of those 1,330 killed there are at least 400 children.

The Ministry also reported that at least 8 people have died this week after succumbing to wounds they sustained during the operation, four died in Egyptian hospitals while the rest died in Gaza.

As the Israeli ground forces were leaving the Gaza Strip as announced by their government, two Palestinian children, brother and sister, were killed when an explosive charge dropped by the Israeli Army during the offensive against Gaza detonated. Also, a Palestinian farmer was killed by Israeli military fire in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Israeli naval boats have violated the announced cease fire in Gaza on a number of occasions this week. On Thursday, Israeli Navy forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen just off the shore of Gaza City, injuring seven civilians. On Wednesday, the boats fired shells at the coast line, causing damage but no injuries. Israel announced the unilateral ceasefire on Sunday 17th of Jan. 2009.

In related news, the Israeli government announced earlier this week that it will allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza, lifting the restrictions on their movement in and out of the coastal Strip. The statement read that only journalists with official papers from the Israeli government will be allowed in after they sign a waiver of liability.

Israel has prevented foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip since November of last year when they announced that opening the crossings for journalists would endanger the staff and the security of the border crossing.

The Israeli Supreme Court ruled in early January to allow journalists into Gaza, however the order was held up by the Office of the Israeli Prime Minister.

For IMEMC.org, this is Rami Al Meghari in Gaza.


The West Bank Report


During the week Israeli troops conducted at least 34 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and continued to kidnap civilians, IMEMC's John Smith has the story:

According to Palestinian sources the Israeli army has kidnapped at least 46 Palestinian civilians during this week's invasions. Among them were 14 children. The sources added that the invasions were focused in Bethlehem, Hebron Ramallah and Jenin cities.

A Palestinian old woman was injured on Wednesday by Israeli troops firing in a village near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Medical sources said that the woman, aged 45, sustained wounds after being hit by a rubber-coated-steal bullet.

Witnesses said that Israeli troops stormed the village and detained several men. After assaulting the men, the soldiers clashed with local stone-throwing youth, firing tear gas and rubber-coated-steal bullets. The medics in the local ambulance service said that, besides the woman who was injured, there were at least 10 others who were treated for gas inhalation.

In the city of Jerusalem Israeli troops sealed the house of the Daham family, located in the Jabal al-Mokaber area in the city on Monday morning. The family reported that troops arrived in the early hours of Monday morning, surrounded the house, then forced the family out of their home, along with their belongings.

The house where 25 members of the family live is part of a four-floor building with eight flats. The family lives in the top four flats which the Israeli Army sealed today.

Their son, Ala, attacked a Jewish settler's school in Jerusalem last year, using a machine gun. He was killed along with eight others. As soldiers sealed the house, local youth clashed with Israeli troops outside. Witnesses said that soldiers kidnapped four young men during the scuffle.

For IMEMC.org this is John Smith.




Conclusion

And that was just some of the news this week in Palestine. For constant updates, please check out our website, www.IMEMC.org. Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. This week's report has been brought to you by Cory Balsam and Ghassan Bannoura.