Israeli troops injure a Palestinian man near Jerusalem and right wing groups try to enter theAl- Aqsa Mosque ; these stories, and more, coming up; stay tuned.

The News Cast

Soldiers shot and wounded a Palestinian man on Wednesday, who allegedly tried to snatch the weapon of a soldier near Hizma village, north-east of Jerusalem.

The man sustained injuries to his stomach and was taken to a hospital in the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

The army reported no injuries amongst the soldiers and that the incident took place while soldiers were operating in the village.

Groups of right-wing Israelis on Thursday tried to enter the courtyard of the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's old city.

Palestinian sources said Israeli police did nothing to stop them as they made three attempts to get in, firstly in the morning, then again at midday and for the third time in the afternoon.

Witnesses said the extremists were disguised as Palestinians. The Palestinian committee for Jerusalem said that local activists and youth now will now have a full-time presence at the gates of the Mosque to prevent further incursions. These tend to happen during Jewish holiday periods such as this weekend's Passover festival.

In related news, the Israeli military announced on Thursday a total closure of Palestinian areas of the west Bank until the 18th of April because of the Jewish holidays.

Meanwhile another order was issued in the southern West Bank city of Hebron which will mean that Ibrahimi mosque will be closed to Muslim worshippers over the week end as well as on next Monday and Tuesday, again because of the Jewish Passover holiday.

Internally Palestinian security forces arrested three supporters of the Hamas movement in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, including a man who was released on Tuesday from an Israeli detention facility.


Conclusion

Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you Dave Thompson and Ghassan Bannoura.