Palestine Today 020509

The Israeli army kills a Palestinian fighter in the West Bank and attacks an aid ship near Gaza, these stories and more coming up stay tuned.

The News Cast

Early on Thursday morning Israeli forces assassinated 23 year old Aladdin Issam Abu Al Rub from Qabatiya town near the northern West Bank city of .Jenin. Al Rub was a local leader of the Al Quds brigades, the armed resistance wing of Islamic Jihad. The military said that Aladdin was killed during an exchange of gunfire with Special Forces troops. The army added that he had a gun and an explosive belt. His brother Mohammad said, that the army stormed the house when all the family was asleep and shot Aladdin while he was still sleeping.

There were no weapons, no Kalashnikov machine gun bullets or homemade bombs in the house, reports the Abu Al Rub family, despite Israeli claims. The Israeli High Court of Justice ruled in 2006 that if it is possible to detain, question and put on trial, those who are suspected of military acts against Israel then this should be done instead of a targeted assassination.

Also on Thursday, a group of Israeli settlers bulldozed Palestinian owned farmland located near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The farmers said that soldiers provided protection for the settlers. The villagers added that this is not the first time they have been attacked in this way, and that settlers have increased their attacks since the beginning of this year.

In a sperate incident, the Israeli military kidnapped eight Palestinian civilians during an attack targeting the village of Taal located near the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, the Israeli navy intercepted a Lebanese aid ship within Gaza's territorial waters early on Thursday, media sources said. Salam Khader, a correspondent for the Aljazeera channel, who was onboard the ship, confirmed that a number of Israeli soldiers boarded the ship and attacked the passengers inside. The vessel - Al-Ikhwa - "brotherhood" - which originally set sail from Cyprus, left the Lebanese port city of Tripoli on Tuesday.

Media sources reported that the Israeli naval forces turned the ship to the Ashdod sea port for checks and investigations. The ship is said to be loaded with 60 tons of humanitarian assistance including medical aid, food items, clothes and children’s toys. The delivery was organized by the Palestinian National Committee against the Siege, in cooperation with the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement. On board the vessel were nine people, among them Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who was abducted by Israel in 1974 after claims that he was caught smuggling weapons from Lebanon to activists in the Palestine Liberation Organization.

This is the first ship to try to enter the Gaza Strip after the 22 day offensive which started on the 27th of December 2008 and ended on the 19th of January 2009.

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 and George Rishmawi.