This Week In Palestine - Week 42 2007

Nonviolent Resistance in West Bank

Let's begin our weekly report with the nonviolent actions in Palestine. The villagers in Bilin and Al-Ma'asara area organized their weekly anti-wall demonstration to which the Israeli army responded with tear gas and rubber bullets wounding a number of Palestinians including journalists.

Bilin
The residents of the West Bank village of Bil'in, west of the city of Ramallah, joined by international and Israeli peace activists, took to the streets on Friday carrying Palestinian flags, anti-Israel banners and chanting slogans. The march was to protest against the construction of the Wall on village land, preventing the people of the village from reaching their olive groves for the start of the olive harvesting season.

This week's protest coincided with the filming of a movie entitled "The Holy", produced by the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement between People, the mother organization of IMEMC.ORG and directed by the Italian director, Rocco Cerriella. The film focuses on the Israeli actions of land confiscation, settlement construction and the building of the Wall. It also demonstrates the hardships imposed on Palestinians through the experiences of a couple who are about to be married.

This week's demonstration was joined by a group of cyclists, members of the Palestine Cyclist Club, who traveled on their bicycles from Bethlehem.

The protestors marched to the site of the Wall where the Israeli army had placed barbed-wire. The soldiers fired teargas, sound bombs and rubber-coated bullets. Two cameramen, identified as George Halata IMEMC's Ghassan Bannoura, in addition to a Danish peace activist were lightly injured.

Unidentified people set fire to dozens of dunums of land annexed by the Wall on Friday night. Israeli settlers use the tactic of setting fire to village land in order to confiscate it. The olive trees destroyed by fire belonging to village residents Ahmad Yaseen, Nathmi Yaseen, Maher Abu Rahmah and Mustafa Abu Rahmah

Al-Ma'asara

In Bethlehem, two Palestinians were injured and an international peace activist was abducted on Friday, during the weekly non-violent demonstration against the illegal Wall in the village of al Ma'sarah, south of the West bank city of Bethlehem.

Israeli soldiers violently attacked the international peace activists and village residents who were nonviolently protesting against the construction of the annexation wall on village's land.

After performing Friday prayers, the protestors marched through the streets of the village and reached the Wall's construction site. When it is complete it will annex around 1500 dunnums of land belonging to al Ma'sarah. The protestors, who formed a human barrier, were attacked by soldiers wielding batons and gun-butts. Two residents sustained bruises and were transferred to a medical center in the village for treatment.

Israeli soldiers abducted an international peace activist after they attacked him and a number of journalists who there to cover the protest.

Rice in Bethlehem, preparations for the November conference
The US Secretary of state arrives in Palestine in order to prepare for the November conference in the US during which the Palestinians and the Israelis are going to with different expectations. IMEMC’s Maia Gordon has more:

Palestinian Authority’s spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rodaina, stated on Friday that the 1967 borders and the Jerusalem issue are ‘red lines’ that can never be crossed at any rate.

Abu Rodaina’s statement comes in the shadow of underway feverish American efforts in the region to bridge the gap between Palestinians and Israelis, ahead of the Washington-sponsored conference on Middle East peace, slated for late November.

In her second round of talks with Israelis and Palestinians this week, U.S Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, voiced optimism that the two sides will eventually agree on a joint statement on final status talks issues such as the status of Jerusalem, the borders of Palestinian state and the problem of Palestinian refugees.

Rice’s tone did not go with the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s, as Abbas believed that unless Israel agrees to specific broad lines for the next month’s conference and the post-conference talks, Palestinians would not attend at ‘any rate’.

Israel conveyed to Rice its refusal to such a statement, alleging it has never been a pre-condition for participating in the due peace summit in Annapolis, Myrland, United States.

Israel didn’t either bound itself to a specific timetable for Israeli-Palestinian talks that will follow the Annapolis summit, while Palestinian officials believed that a six-month period will be enough to conclude a final peace deal with Israel.

Saeb Eriqat is a senior Palestinian negotiator confirmed this week that no agreement has been so far reached with the Israelis.

“I can not say that there are specific clear-cut Israeli positions, especially after we held two meetings with the Israeli side”

IMEMC asked Gaza political analyst, Hani Habib, about possible success of the next peace convention:

“Success of this conference, for the Palestinian leadership, lies in the resumption of negotiations. The Palestinian leaders have realized over the past seven-year-long peace process stalemate that Israel had accelerated settlements expansion, constructed the separation barrier and annexed large parts of east Jerusalem to West Jerusalem”.

Wire services reported that Rice had asked President Abbas to give up a previous demand that a joint document be secured beforehand and to drop the issue of refugees from the conference’s agenda.

The problem of Palestinian refugees and the status of the occupied east Jerusalem were behind the failure of the 2000’s Washington-sponsored Camp David talks, as Israel insisted on maintaining exclusive control over the holy city and offering a limited return of Palestinian refugees to the 1967-occupied Palestinian territories.

In Cairo and Amman , the U.S Secretary met with Egypt’s Husni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, to garner support for her exerted efforts.

In March, Arab countries re-endorsed their Beirut-based 2002’s peace initiative, which calls for an Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands, occupied by Israel in June1967, solution of the refugees problem on basis of UN’s 194 resolution, in return for normal Arab-Israeli ties.

According to UN Security Council’s resolution 242 of 1967, Israel must ‘immediately’ withdraw from the occupied Palestinian and Arab lands including West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Syrian Golan Heights.

The UN’s General Assembly resolution 194 demands the return and compensation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees who were forces out, by Israel, of historical Palestine in the year1948.

For IMEMC.org this is Maia Gordon

Attacks Update
The West Bank
This week the Israeli army conducted at least 34 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these invasions, Israeli troops kidnapped 54 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children. Thus, the number of Palestinians kidnapped by the Israeli army in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has risen to 2,146. IMEMC's Colin Bell has more:

Two Palestinians, al-Aqsa Brigades leader Basem Abu Seriya, and an elderly Palestinian man were killed in an Israeli invasion of the *northern West Bank city of Nablus which started on the early hours of Tuesday morning and went on until the evening.

The al-Aqsa brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, announced the death of Abu Seriya several hours after the resistance fighter was injured by Israeli army gunfire. The elderly Palestinian man, later identified as Abed Shaker** al-Wazeer, 70, was killed in clashes that erupted after the man had been forced from his home. Two sustained wounds during the invasion, one, a Palestinian woman suffered critical wounds when the Israeli army opened fire at her home, and the other was a Palestinian cameraman working for German TV.

On Monday night, one resident was shot and injured, and one house was demolished, as Israeli forces invaded the northern West the Bank city of Qalqilia. **At least four military bulldozers demolished the house of Basheer Khadraj, who is currently imprisoned in an Israeli detention facility. **Also, under-cover forces of the Israeli army infiltrated Qalqilia before reinforcements invaded it and fired rounds of live ammunition and rubber-coated bullets. **One resident, identified as Yahia Mohammad Abu Awwad, 20, was injured by a **rubber-coated bullet.

Israeli settlers continued to attack Palestinian farmers during the week. Several confrontations between Palestinian villagers and groups of settlers broke out near the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday. Residents of the town of Awarta reported that several families were attacked by settlers from the Itamar settlement, saying that they had been attacked with stones and verbally abused. Farmers from the town of Azmoot reported that settlers from Alon Moreh, situated to the east of the town, also attacked residents. In related news, Israeli sources reported a further confrontation near the Beit Iba checkpoint, where settlers attacked farmers as they picked olives.

Similar attacks were reported on Wednesday when Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. According to Palestinian sources, settlers blocked the way of farmers in several areas of the district of Nablus, as they tried to reach the olive groves and harvest their crops.

For IMEMC.org this Colin Bell.

The Gaza strip
This week the Israeli army invaded the Gaza strip 5 times in addition to several air strikes. During those attacks 3 Palestinian civilians were killed. From Gaza IMEMC's Rami Al Mghari has more:

A Palestinian man was killed and five others injured when Israeli gun ships shelled the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun on Saturday morning. Palestinian sources reported that Hassan Na'eem, 21, a member of the al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, was killed and five civilians wounded in the attack, which took place near the Gaza-Israeli borders.

The Israeli army claimed that the attack targeted a group of Palestinian resistance fighters who were preparing to fire home made shells at Israeli targets.

Deputy Chief of Staff of The Israeli Army, Moshe Kaplinsky, last week spoke of the likelihood of an imminent invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces, adding that troops would "stay there for a few months."

Speaking in an interview with the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Kaplinsky branded a future invasion "a matter of timing," arguing that the Israeli army could not ignore **a perceived military strengthening of the Hamas movement *and the continued firing of home-made shells from the coastal region.

A Palestinian* child has been reportedly shot and wounded by the Israeli army on the Gaza-Israel border line, to the east of Deir Elbalah town. Medics confirmed that Jabber Abu Said, 14, was transferred to the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in central Gaza for treatment.

Abu Said suffered a fracture and bleeding in his mouth after having been wounded, the medics added.

In the meantime, the Israeli army released early on Monday four Palestinian fishermen it had taken prisoner on Sunday night. Witnesses said that the four fishermen were released at the Israeli-controlled Eretz crossing (Beit Hanoun crossing point).

On Wednesday, one fighter was killed, three were injured and fifteen residents were kidnapped in an Israeli invasion of Al Faraheen area. Israeli military sources reported on Wednesday that one soldier was shot and killed in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip as the army invaded the area earlier on Wednesday morning and exchanged fire with resistance fighters.

For IMEMC.org this Rami Al Mughari in Gaza

Civil Unrest
Palestinian security forces raided five mosques in the West Bank on Saturday morning, confiscating printed material. The raids took place in the cities of Hebron, Nablus and Salfit. The security forces confiscated leaflets and banners put up by Hamas. In addition, the forces removed some decorations and lights put on the mosque to celebrate the Eid festivals, eyewitnesses reported.

Local sources said that during the raid of the mosque, Palestinian troops entered the holy buildings with their guns and shoes on, against the tradition and custom of removing footwear on entry. Fatah and the Palestinian Authority accuse Hamas of using the mosques for political purposes. In the past few months, a serious dispute erupted between the two groups when Hamas banned mass outdoor prayers, called for by Fatah.

Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, stated on one of its news websites that Palestinian security men attempted on Wednesday to abduct a Hamas fighter in Balata refugee camp, east on Nablus in the northern part of the West Bank. The website said that Palestinian Security Forces, loyal to Fateh, infiltrated the Balata refugee camp in Nablus disguised as Israeli undercover forces, and attempted to arrest a fighter, a member of the Al Qassam Brigades.

The fighter noticed the presence of undercover forces and exchanged fire with them. Later on, fighters of Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and fighters of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fateh, intervened and also exchanged fire with the disguised security forces. They then withdrew from the camp without making any arrests; no injuries were reported.

Throughout the week Hamas sources have reported that Palestinian security forces affiliated with the Fatah movement have arrested at least 20 members of the movement in several parts of the West Bank.

The Popular Struggle Front in Gaza issued a press release on Wednesday slamming that the illegal measures and attacks which are affecting the freedom of the press and its legitimate operation in the Gaza Strip. The Front stated that the attacks included attacking reporters and media institutions, and imposing restrictions on media outlets and journalists.
The Front added that these actions are direct violations of freedom of expression in the Gaza Strip.

Conclusion
And that’s just some of the news this week in Palestine. For constant updates, check out our website, www.IMEMC.org. Thank you for joining us. From Occupied Bethlehem, this is Luisa White.