Six Palestinians injured by military and settlers attacks in the West Bank and UN inquiry committee arrives in Gaza. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned.

The News Cast

Four Palestinians were wounded, one seriously, on Monday morning after they were attacked by a group of extremist settlers at the Kidumim junction on the Nablus – Qalqilia road. The four Palestinians were on their way to work when the attack happened.

In related news two Palestinian civilians were injured on Monday when Israeli troops fired tear gas at their home in Saffa village near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Also on Monday the Israeli military kidnapped 11 Palestinian civilians during pre dawn invasions targeting a number of west Bank communities. Local sources said that the kidnappings took place in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron.

Fatah security forces in the West Bank and Hamas forces in Gaza arrested members of the rival factions on Sunday and Monday. The Hamas movement issued a statement saying that Fatah run security forces arrested 38 members of Hamas on Monday from all over the West Bank.

Meanwhile the Fatah movement announced that Hamas forces arrested 16 members of the party’s armed wing, the Al Aqsa brigades on Sunday night from different parts of the Gaza Strip. The latest arrests come one day after a bloody gun fight that erupted between Hamas and Fatah in Qalqilia in the northern West Bank.

Clashes erupted when Fatah forces tried to arrest Hamas fighters in the city, leaving 6 Palestinians dead. Local sources said that three security officers, two fighters, and one civilian were killed during the 12 hour long clashes.

In Gaza, the team of UN investigators assigned to probe war crimes committed during the22-day offensive against the Gaza Strip arrived on Monday morning into the Gaza Strip. The committee is headed by Human Rights expert, South African judge and former International War Crimes Prosecutor, Richard Goldstone, who also probed war crimes in Rwanda and Yugoslavia. The ruling Hamas movement in Gaza welcomed the committee and said that it is willing to fully cooperate with the investigation.

Israel has said that it will not cooperate with the investigation. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has previously stated that the committee is coming to the region to demonstrate that Israel is the guilty party, and cooperating with the committee would be meaningless. Committee members arrived first from Geneva to Egypt and then headed to Gaza on Monday morning.

The twenty-two day offensive against the Gaza Strip was initiated by Israel on December 27. More than 1450 Palestinians were killed, many of them were women, children and elderly people. Thousands of residents were wounded. Thirteen Israelis, including ten soldiers, were killed by Palestinian fire.

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 Ghassan Bannoura.