Israeli settlers attack Palestinian farmers as the military search homes in the West Bank and aid agencies warn of approaching humanitarian crises in Gaza; these stories and more coming up stay tuned.
The News Cast
On Tuesday Israeli settlers destroyed Palestinian farmers’ crops and took over Palestinian-owned land near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, while soldiers searched homes in the old part of the city.
Famers from the village of At-Tuwani, near Hebron, said Israeli settlers attacked and destroyed an acre of their land which had contained winter crops. The settlers, it is thought, came from Ma’on, an illegal Israeli settlement nearby. Later in the day another group of Israeli settlers took over Palestinian-owned land and forced the farmers away. The settlers intend to use the area to mark Israeli Independence Day this week, local sources report.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers attacked and ransacked a number of homes in the old part of Hebron city on Tuesday. Witnesses told local media that soldiers searched homes and ransacked belongings before leaving. No kidnappings were reported. Also in Hebron’s old city two Palestinians teenagers were kidnapped on Tuesday at midday by Israeli troops at a checkpoint near the Ibrahimi mosque, also known as the Tomb of Patriarchs.
Army radio announced that the two teenagers have confessed they were planning to stab soldiers with a knife. Palestinian media sources reported the two boys were stopped at the checkpoint, kidnapped by soldiers and taken to an unknown military base.
Also in the news today, thousands of people struggling to rebuild their lives in the Gaza Strip after Israel's 22-day military offensive this year will face a second humanitarian disaster within weeks as aid is not getting through. The warning comes from the head of the British Red Cross international relief effort.
Moira Reddick, the charity's head of disaster management, said blockages at the Israeli border meant civilians were faced with the prospect of spending the summer, with its soaring temperatures, sheltering under rotting plastic and tents with little or no sanitation, increasing the threat of disease and risk of infection.
Ms Reddick, who visited Gaza, last month, said there will be a new humanitarian crisis. She added that aid supplies are not being allowed into Gaza and instead are piling up on the other side of the border.
The 22 days of hostilities, which ended on 18 January, left at least 1,300 Palestinian civilians dead and 5,500 injured. Thirteen Israelis were killed, three of them civilians.
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 by Dave Thompson and Ghassan Bannoura.