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This Week In Palestine – Week 49 2007

Audio Dept. | 07.12.2007 16:42 | Palestine | World

This Week In Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.IMEMC.org, for December 1st, through December 7th, 2007.

This Week In Palestine – Week 49 2007 - mp3 14M


The Israeli army kills 19 Palestinians this week , while following the Washington-sponsored peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland last Tuesday, the Palestinian and Israeli delegations returned home, with numerous issues to discuss, these stories and more coming up stay tuned.

Nonviolent Resistance in West Bank

Let's begin our weekly report with the nonviolent actions in Bethlehem and Ramallah.

Bethlehem

At this week's anti-wall protest in al Ma'sarah village, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, the Israeli army attacked journalists who were reporting the event.

The protesters, which included both local residents and International peace activists, took to the streets of the village on Friday. When they reached the construction site the protesters were attacked by soldiers wielding batons and rifles. Two protesters were injured and two internationals were detained.

Among those attacked were two Palestinian journalists Mousa al Shaere and Naser Sheukhi who were working for the Associated press and French press respectively. AL Shaere talked to IMEMC:



Both Reuters reporters were released shortly after.

Ramallah

in the meantime the villagers of the village of Bil'in near Ramallah city along with their international and Israeli supporters conducted their weekly protest on Friday.

The protesters carried Palestinian flags and banners celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the first Intifada. They chanted slogans which called for the dismantling of the separation wall and the settlements, the removal of military checkpoints and the release of Palestinian detainees from Israeli jails. The Israeli army installed a barbed-wire roadblock to try and prevent the protesters reaching the construction site. However, the protesters managed to pass the road block and staged a one hour protest at the site.

When the protesters were returning, the army showered them with tear gas and sound bombs; they also fired rubber coated bullets at the crowd. Many protesters, including young children, suffered from tear gas inhalation. Four protesters were beaten harshly by the soldiers including a female peace activist, a journalist and an elderly local man.

Also near Ramallah and or the second week running, residents of villages located west of the city of Ramallah, were joined by international and Israeli peace activists in their peaceful demonstration. They were protesting against the closure of road (443) to them. The road passes through their lands and connects them with the West Bank city of Ramallah.

When the protesters reached the street, soldiers attacked the protestors with gas and sound bombs and fired rubber coated bullets. Dozens suffered after inhaling gas and three children were hit by the rubber coated bullets.





Political report

Following the Washington-sponsored peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland last Tuesday, the Palestinian and Israeli delegations returned home, with numerous issues to discuss, none of which have been tackled yet, despite the parties' agreements to resume talks at home. IMEMC's Nate Bremen has more:

Israeli foreign minister, Tsibi Livni, stated this week, that the Arab Palestinian population which makes up 20 percent of the Israeli state, should live in a future Palestinian state, the boundaries of which are yet to be determined. The remarks were rejected by Arab community leaders and lawmakers, who reiterated their commitment to a year-old document, which calls for their equal rights with the Jewish population.

In 1948, Israel displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, while about 1,500,000 others remained on their lands, accepting to be part of the newly-created state of Israel. Also this week, Israel resumed construction on major settlement blocs in the West Bank and East Jerusalem; areas on which Palestinians wish to establish their state.

The Israeli construction contravenes international law. It also ignores the United States' renewed demand for Israel to halt any settlement activities on the ground, citing such actions as inconsistent with peace-making. A Palestinian Presidential spokesperson, branded the latest decision to resume settlement building in the Jewish enclave of Har Homa, as 'contrary to what has been agreed upon at the Annapolis peace conference'.

On Friday the UN secretary general Ban Key Moon- deemed the continuation of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank, as "unhelpful to Peace Making". Meanwhile Egyptian foreign Minster Ahmad Abu Al Ghit echoed the same stance.

In Jordan, which has a peace treaty with Israel, a Jordanian government's spokesperson, criticized the settlement building, as contradicting the peace-making effort.

Also this week, the Israel army stepped up attacks on the Gaza Strip. More than 22 people, 18 of them Hamas fighters, were killed by Israeli army attacks on the coastal region, which would also form part of the expected Palestinian state.

Gaza has also suffered this week from a shortage of fuel, due to the Israeli government's decision to reduce the amount of fuel supplies available to the 1.4 million residents of Gaza. Since the decision was made lasr October, it has been criticized by many local and international bodies as amounting to 'a collective punishment'. Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, had stated this week that his army is prepared to carry out a large-scale ground offensive to stop the Palestinian homemade rocket attacks from Gaza which are aimed at nearby Israeli towns. Ma'moun Alkhuzendar, spokesperson of the fuel stations owners syndicate talked to IMEMC:



"Ninety-thousand liters would never meet our daily needs here; we don't have any other alternative sources of energy, we do not have coal or wood. We are dependent on gasoline for all aspects of daily life,"

Israel, in the meantime, released 429 Palestinian prisoners from southern Israeli jails on Monday, in what it described as 'a gesture of good will' towards Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Iyad Ebiyat is a released Palestinian prisoner from the West Bank city of Bethlehem. He was imprisoned for nearly four years.



"We have a message from our brothers we left inside the prisons. The situation inside is extremely miserable, we urge president Abbas to take steps to resolve the internal situation, and unite the Palestinian people"

Internally, a number of Fatah members of parliament, called for a ministerial reshuffle within the cabinet of Salam Fayad, who the United States and other western countries view as a 'moderate' Palestinian leader. According to the Sahrq aL-Awsat Arabic daily in London, the Fatah MPs believed that the changes are necessary due to the 'performance' of some of the ministers.

Palestinians and Israelis agreed last week in Washington to restart stalled peace talks on core issues such as, the status of the occupied east Jerusalem, the borders of a Palestinian state and the problem of Palestinian refugees.Israel had recently demanded that the Palestinians recognize it as a 'Jewish state', which would mean; dropping the Palestinian refugees' right of return to historical Palestine.

For IMEMC.org this is Nate Bremen.

The Israeli attacks

The West Bank

This week Israel conducted at least 19 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
The invasions resulted in the death of two Palestinians, and the kidnapping of 56, including one child.
This brings the total number of Palestinians kidnapped by the Israeli army in the West Bank to 2,525 since the beginning of this year. IMEMC's Brian O'Cionnaith with the details:

On Thursday morning, Israeli army forces invaded the northern West Bank city of Jenin and the nearby Jenin refugee camp, injuring one Palestinian. Local sources reported that Israeli forces surrounded a house belonging to an Islamic Jihad resistance fighter. Troops invaded the house and opened fire injuring the man. The sources reported that the injured man managed to escape but sustained light wounds.

One Palestinian man was killed and several others injured when an undercover Israeli army unit invaded the city of Bethlehem on Wednesday evening. Mohammad Salah, from Bethlehem, an officer of the National Security Forces, was shot when Israeli Special Forces traveling in a civilian van opened fire.

The gunfire hit Salah and several other officers who had been guarding the entrance to the head quarters of the National Security Forces in Bethlehem. Shortly after Salah was shot, an Armored Personnel Carrier and a number of Israeli military jeeps arrived at the scene in order to secure the withdrawal of the Israeli troops.

On Tuesday of this week, Palestinian medical sources reported that one Palestinian man was injured, when clashes erupted between civilians and invading Israeli troops in the village of Beit Omar, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Ahmed Sabarah aged 24, was injured in the leg after being hit by a live round.

A Palestinian man died of wounds he received when he was shot by Israeli military forces in At Teira village in the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Local sources reported the death of Firas Qasqas aged 31 following injuries he sustained on Sunday night, he died early Monday morning. Israeli troops opened fire on Qasqas and his relatives as they walked through the village. Medical sources reported that Qasqas underwent three operations in Ramallah local hospital, but medics were unable to save his life.


For IMEMC.org this is Brian O'Cionnaith.



The Gaza strip

While Israeli army attacks left 17 dead this week in Gaza, Palestinian sources said that several medical centers and clinics in the costal region have closed due to fuel shortage. IMEMC's Rami Al Mughari in Gaza has the details:

Medical sources in the Gaza strip reported this week that in the latest attacks, the Israeli army has used weapons which are deemed illegal by international law. Medics at various Gazan hospitals reported that the tank shells and missiles fired by the Israeli army in these attacks, were not the types traditionally used and are designed to cause more severe injury to targets.

The death toll in Gaza from Israeli attacks this week now stands at 17. The Israeli army shot and killed a 30 year old farmer in his field near the costal regions border with Israel, on Friday. The man was identified as Bahgat Abu Dukah, 26. A second man, the victims' cousin, was wounded in the incident according to local sources.

One Palestinian was killed on Thursday morning when Israeli military forces opened heavy random fire on a group of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip city of Jabalia. Medical sources identified the man as Majed Mater, 34 . In a separate operation, Israeli military forces shelled two targets in Beith Hanoun and Beit lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, in the early hours of Thursday morning. On Wednesday, Three Palestinian resistance fighters from al Qassam, the armed wing of Hamas were killed when Israel targeted a group of resistance fighters in the northern Gazan town of Beit Lahiya.

Israeli air strikes killed three Palestinians in southern Gaza Strip in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Earlier on Monday, Security sources in Gaza reported that the three Palestinian resistance fighters who belonged to Al Qassam, the armed wing of Hamas, were killed when clashes broke out between Palestinians and the Israeli army.

Palestinian medical sources reported, that one Palestinian was killed and six others injured, in an Israeli air strike that targeted a group of residents' gathered near a graveyard on Saturday afternoon in eastern Gaza. On Saturday morning, Israeli forces assassinated a group of five resistance fighters in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas movement, the five were members of the Al Qassam brigade.

While the Israeli army attacks continue, medical sources in the costal region reported on Wednesday, that several medical centers and clinics in the Gaza Strip have closed due to fuel shortages.
The shortage has come from Israel's decision to reduce fuel supplies to the strip, which took effect earlier this week. Medical centers are not the only ones affected by the fuel shortage. The 1.5 million Palestinian residents of Gaza are unable to travel by car between locations within the Gazan borders, since there is no longer any fuel available for transport.

The population is already prevented from traveling anywhere outside of Gaza, as Israeli forces have completely sealed off the borders. In addition, many Palestinians who depend on gas for cooking food will be unable to do so with the cut-off in place. Adding to the worries of the Gaza residents this week, the Israeli army chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi stated that Israeli military forces are ready for a wide scale ground invasion of the Strip. Israeli and international human right groups had already deemed that the Israeli armies' actions in Gaza constitute collective punishment. In addition, concerns were raised that a humanitarian crisis is just around the corner in Gaza.

For IMEMC.org this Rami Al Mughari in Gaza.



Civil unrest

The internal unrest in Palestine continues, with Fatah and Hamas security forces, detaining each others members across the West Bank and Gaza, IMEMC's Manar Jebreen with the details:

The Al Quds Al Arabi Newspaper reported this week, that a Palestinian security officer in the West Bank has stated that Hamas is deemed by the security force to be an outlawed movement. According to the paper, the official was quoted as saying that Hamas is an illegal movement “and must be uprooted from the West Bank”.

The official also claimed that the Palestinian government in the West Bank has not make a public announcement regarding the outlawing of Hamas, because it considers it a matter for security officials, the paper added.

This week, Palestinian security forces, loyal to the Fatah movement, arrested dozens of Hamas members and supporters across the West Bank. Meanwhile, Fatah sources in Gaza claimed on Sunday, that the police forces of the deposed Hamas-led government had arrested four Fatah members and took them to unknown destinations.

In mid June, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and assumed control of the Palestinian security headquarters which had been dominated by Fatah. Following this, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas declared the Hamas-formed and controlled Executive Force, illegal.

For IMEMC.org this is Mannar Jebreen.


Conclusion

And that’s just some of the news this week in Palestine. For constant updates, check out our website, www.IMEMC.org. Thanks for joining us from Occupied Bethlehem; this is Louisa White and Ghassan Bannoura.

Audio Dept.
- e-mail: news@imemc.org
- Homepage: http://www.imemc.org

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