UN Commissioner, Ban Ki-moon, has expressed his desire to see an end to settlement construction in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, on Tuesday, and ultimately an end to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories.

Ban’s statements were made during a meeting held in Uruguay in aid of Israeli-Palestinian peace. During the meeting Ban stated that, “[t]he occupation that started in 1967 is morally and politically unsustainable, and must end”.
An Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, has left one dead, and another critically injured.

The strike happened shortly after dawn in the city of Rafah, killing Mohammad Abu Ma’amr, 24 years old.

In the West Bank the Israeli military conducted a number of pre-dawn raids resulting in the detention of 5 men.

Four of those detained are from the village of Husan, near Bethlehem, and the last is from Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem.

A group of men and women from the March 15th Movement marched, on Wednesday, from Bab es Kak to their protest tent in Manger Square.

The group of approximately 25 protesters marched in the name of national unity through the Old City of Bethlehem and, despite drawing a large deal of attention from residents, store owners and shoppers; they were not joined by their fellow residents of Bethlehem.

The protest ended with speeches in Manger Square, and the group singing songs of national unity.

Approximately 50 individuals gathered in Husan outside of Bethlehem, Wednesday morning, to plant olive trees as a protest action to mark Land day.
The Israeli military arrived at the scene, but did not interfere with the action.

That sums up our news for today, thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center. For more updates please visit our website at www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you by Husam Qassis and Circarre Parrhesia.