This Week in Palestine, Week 43

General LEDE:
Palestinians end their Cairo internal dialogue with plans to meet again in November, meanwhile, Israeli military continue their assaults in the West Bank and Gaza Strip making it hard for farmers to harvest their olive trees, these stories and more are coming up, stay tuned.

Nonviolence Report
Let us begin our weekly report as usual with the nonviolent actions in the West Bank where Palestinians continue to demonstrate against the apartheid wall being built on their land. The details with IMEMCs George Rishmawi

Dozens of nonviolent demonstrators took to the streets of Al-Ma’asara village south of Bethlehem to protest the construction of the Israeli apartheid wall on their lands. After the Friday prayer, demonstrators began marching to the lands slated for illegal confiscation by the Israeli authorities. The Israelis want the land for further construction of the wall. Israeli troops blocked the march and prevented the Palestinians and international activists from reaching the land.

A French delegation representing a number of human rights groups was among the demonstrators. Mohammad Brejieyh, spokesperson of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, said that the French delegation was planning to protest construction of the wall and to help local farmers pick their olives. However, Israeli troops set up barbed wire and prevented them from going to the olive orchards.

Brejieyh also said that that troops assaulted protestors with batons and gun butts, wounding three of them.

Nil’in

The residents of the village of Ni’lin, located west of Ramallah, held their weekly march against the construction of the apartheid wall on their village’s land. At least 300 people, including Palestinians, Israelis, and other internationals, participated in the protest, which was to begin after the Friday prayers.

The Israeli online newspaper, Ynet News, reported that some Israeli peace activists participating in the demonstration threw a Molotov cocktail bottle at soldiers who were attacking the protesters. The mayor of Ni’lim, Ayman Nafe’ who participated in the protest said that demonstrators did not throw Molotov cocktails or stones. Refuting the Ynet News story, Mayor Nafe’ emphasized that the Israeli soldiers began firing tear gas on the demonstrators without provocation, even before the prayers were finished.

The Major also reported that Israeli soldiers obstructed the marchers and showered them with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. No casualties from either side were reported.

Bili’n

In the nearby village of Bil’in, around two hundred Palestinian, Israeli, and international peace activists marched towards the confiscated land behind the apartheid fence. Protestors managed to reach the fence and remove parts of it.

Local sources at Bil’in told IMEMC that troops fired rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters and at the demonstrators, causing dozens of them to choke.

Groups from Denmark, the UK, and Belgium joined Bil’in villagers this week, carrying Palestinian flags and signs calling for removing the wall and allowing Palestinian farmers the right to harvest their olives.

Last week, Bil’iners managed to remove a gate from the wall and took it to the village. This has made it easier for them to get to their land and harvest their olives.
For IMEMC, this is George Rishmawi

Political Report
As the Palestinian national dialogue in Cairo ends, representatives of the Fatah and Hamas parties agreed to meet later on in November. Meanwhile, Israeli president Shimon Peres reaffirmed his acceptance of the Arab Peace Initiative this week. Details with IMEMCs Rob Trevoc

The Palestinian political parties agreed to meet again in Cairo next November in order to discuss the Cairo-presented memo of understanding with Egyptian mediators in detail. The Fatah party accepted the Cairo document, while Hamas voiced reservations about it, principally regarding the truce and negotiations with Israel.

Hamas said that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) can not be regarded as the sole representative of the Palestinian people, because Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group are not represented in it. Therefore, Hamas said, the PLO can not have the upper hand over negotiations or peace deals with Israel.

In another development, the ruling Hamas party reiterated its position regarding a possible prisoner swap deal with Israel, adhering to previous demands it has already submitted to Egyptian mediators.

On another note, Palestine's Mission at the United Nations filed a complaint against attacks by armed Israeli settlers on Palestinian farmers in the West Bank.

Also in Egypt, Israeli President Shimon Peres declared on Thursday that he accepts the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, which was endorsed by Arab states at this year's Arab States Summit. Israel's initial response to the initiative, which offered full normalization with Israel in exchange for its complete withdrawal from the West Bank, was to reject it by reoccupying the major cities of the West Bank.

Peres' acceptance of the I nitiative came during a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Husni Mubarak, in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm Elshiekh.
For IMEMC's This Is Rob Trevoc


West Bank Report
This week, Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and wounded 16, including 3 children. Thirteen others were wounded during nonviolent actions, this and more with IMEMC’s Kathryn Muehl in the West Bank.


According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights’ (PCHR) weekly report, Israeli military forces conducted at least 15 invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, Israeli forces abducted 12 Palestinian civilians, including one child. Israeli forces positioned at checkpoints in the West Bank abducted two other Palestinian children.

PCHR reports that the number of Palestinian civilians abducted by Israeli forces in the West Bank since January 2008 stands today at 2,074.

Israeli forces invaded Kufor Malek village, east of Ramallah, and opened fire on 2 Palestinian civilians standing on top of an old house. Both civilians were wounded. One was able to escape, but Israeli forces surrounded the other, who subsequently bled to death.

Also this week, Israeli forces wounded 2 Palestinian civilians, including a child, in 2 separate incidents in al-Far’a refugee camp, south of Tubas, and Ithna village, southwest of Hebron. Their wounds were described as moderate.

This week, at least 47 out of 72 main roads leading in and out of eighteen Palestinian communities of the West Bank were either closed or else fully controlled by Israeli forces. Ongoing, there are approximately 500 kilometers of restricted roads across the West Bank. Additionally, one third of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without a permit issued by the Israeli forces. To date, such permits are extremely difficult to obtain.

On Thursday, a Palestinian resident of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem was reportedly killed after he allegedly killed an Israeli settler and wounded a policeman in Gilo, an Israeli settlement in the Bethlehem district.

The Palestinian was identified as Mohammad al-Badan, age 20, from the village of Tiqu’a near Bethlehem. Palestinian security sources did not confirm al-Badan’s death. Meanwhile, a large Israeli military force rolled into the village and surrounded al-Badan’s home forcing the family out threatening that the house would be demolished.

Following clashes with some stone-throwing youth in the village, Israeli troops pulled out taking prisoner both al-Badan’s sister Maisaa’ and his neighbor Mohammad al-Sha’er. An Israeli eyewitness told the Israeli TV that he caught al-Badan alive after he was lightly wounded by the policeman gunfire.

Meanwhile, attacks by armed Israeli settlers continued against Palestinian farmers in different parts of the West Bank, hampering olive harvest by local farmers.

Palestinian lawmaker from Jerusalem, Hatem Abdelqader, warned of an upcoming period in which we might witness a Palestinian uprising against the settlers.

In the meantime, the Israeli military establishment allowed the deployment of 500 security personnel in the West Bank city of Hebron.

For IMEMC.org, this is Kathryn Muehl


Gaza Report
The Israeli blockade on Gaza continues, entering its 16th month, and a Hamas fighters escapes an assassination attempt, IMEMCs Rami Al-Meghari in Gaza has the details.

Despite a ceasefire deal, Israeli troops conducted an incursion into the northern parts of Gaza Strip this week, and the Israeli military continued harassing local farmers near the border lines with Gaza.

In the central Gaza Strip town of Deir Elbalah, a Palestinian fighter of the group Islamic Jihad, was pronounced dead. According to the group, the fighter was killed during a resistance mission in the area.

Meanwhile, the Alqassam brigades, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas party, said one of its fighters escaped an assassination attempt this week in southern Gaza.

A spokesperson for the brigades, said an explosive device was found in front of the fighter's house.

In the meantime, the Egyptian authorities reopened the Rafah crossing terminal this week in southern Gaza, to allow some stranded patients and travelers at the Egyptian side of the border, to return to Gaza.

Claiming a homemade shell was fired onto nearby Israeli areas, the Israeli military closed all Gaza's crossings this week, as the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance factions enters its fourth month.

A Hamas spokesperson and lawmaker, Mosheer Almasri, said that his group will reconsider the truce deal in a couple of months, stating Israel can not excuse strangulation of the Strip.

In a related news, lawmaker and chairman of the popular committee for breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza, Jamal Alkhudari, declared this week that one more Free Gaza Boat, will arrive in Gaza later this month.

On August 23rd, a Free Gaza Boat broke the Israeli siege on Gaza. As Israel has prevented the erection of a Gaza sea port, this was the first time in four decades a vessel of foreign nationals has docked in Gaza.

For IMEMC.org, this is Rami Almeghari in Gaza

Conclusion
And that was just some of the news this week in Palestine. For constant update check out our website, www.IMEMC.org. Thanks for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. This week's report has been brought to you by Hussam Qassis and George Rishmawi, good bye.