The Israeli military attacks aid boat heading to Gaza and injures nine Palestinians in Jerusalem, theses stories and more coming up stay tuned.

The News Cast

On Tuesday afternoon Israeli Naval Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, 23 miles off the coast of Gaza, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries.

Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney were on board. The boat with its passengers and crew was forcibly dragged towards Israel.

The 'Free Gaza' movement has reported that their boat, the 'Spirit of Humanity', departed Cyprus on Monday morning to bring much-needed humanitarian aid, medicine and building supplies to the people of Gaza. As soon as the boat approached the Gaza Strip, the Israeli navy surrounded them with gunships and jammed their navigation systems.

Two women were taken to the hospital and seven others were wounded as they clashed with Israeli police, trying to prevent their house from getting demolished in East Jerusalem.

The house, located on the Mount of Olives in occupied East-Jerusalem, was home to 15 people. The Israeli police had come to the location to ensure that the demolition of the house would not be stopped or delayed by protests. The police attacked the family that owned the house and was trying to stop the bulldozers and bruised 9 people.

The owner of the house said that the demolition was not preceded by any warning. The event came one day after the municipality reported that it would freeze 70% of its demolition orders for Palestinian houses in East-Jerusalem.

In related news the Israeli military civil administration officers handed over demolition orders on Tuesday to six homes and four water aquifers and one green house owned by Palestinians south of Bethlehem city, in the southern West Bank.

The homes and structures are located in Al Kahder Town. The houses are the homes of some 40 people, local sources reported. The army claims that they lack the needed building permissions and are very close to the nearby settler road.

In other news the Israeli military kidnapped 23 Palestinian civilians during pre-dawn invasions on Tuesday targeting a number of West Bank communities.

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.