Palestine Today 030409

three Palestinians injured as army shells the Gaza-Egypt borders and Palestinian President Abbas meets the U.S. Secretary of State in the West Bank, These stories and more coming up - stay tuned.

The News Cast

The Israeli Air Force shelled three tunnels at dawn on Wednesday along the Gaza/Egypt border. The Israeli Army claimed that the shelling came in retaliation to homemade shells fired into Israel.

A spokesperson of the Israeli Military stated that secondary explosions were seen after the Israelis shelled one of the tunnels, and added that this is an indicator that the tunnels had ammunition in them. Meanwhile, medical sources in Gaza reported that six Palestinians were wounded in the Israeli shelling.

The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas meets the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday in the central west Bank city of Ramallah.

At the press conference following the meeting, Abbas told reporters that he is hoping for a major U.S role in the peace process; that any Israeli government must stop all settlement activities in the West Bank and open Gaza’s borders to allow aid supplies into the besieged region.

For her part Secretary Clinton reaffirmed the U.S commitment to the peace process in the region; she also criticised the latest Israeli decision to demolish scores of Palestinian owned homes in Jerusalem. She deemed the decision as "unhelpful" to the peace efforts and in violation to the Road Map Peace plan.

Clinton met also with Palestinian government officials and later is expected to meet Palestinian businessmen, Palestinian sources reported.

The International Relations Department of the Palestinian Liberation Organization issued a report on Wednesday documenting Israeli military attacks on Palestinians during the month of February 2009.

The report shows that 17 Palestinian, including four children, were killed last month by Israeli military fire in the West Bank and Gaza. In addition, 320 Palestinians have been kidnapped by Israeli forces, and eight Palestinian-owned homes demolished by the Israeli Authorities in Jerusalem, the PLO reported.

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 Mary Arthur and Ghassan Bannoura.