This Week in Palestine -Week 18 2009

As the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah are set to hold a new round of talks by mid May, three Palestinians are reported dead this week in the coastal region. These stories and more coming up stay tuned.

Nonviolent Activities

Let's begin our weekly report with the nonviolent activities in the West Bank with IMEMC's Katharine Orwell:

Bethlehem

Scores of villagers from Al Ma'ssara near the southern west Bank city of Bethlehem protested the Israeli wall being built on their lands on Friday.

They were joined by international and Israeli supporters, as soon as the protest arrived at the location were the wall is being built, Israeli soldiers attacked the nonviolent demonstrators. Dr. Mohamed Odeh, from the Palestinian National Initiative, told IMEMC that people were just marking the May Day:



"Scores came to participate in the demonstration, which was to mark May Day, soldiers attacked the People who took part in the peaceful demonstration, and also attacked the international supporters"

Using baton and tear gas soldiers attack the demonstrators injuring four and kidnapped six others.

Ramallah

Also on Friday The residents of Bil’in, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, gathered after the midday prayer along with international and Israeli activists and marched in recognition of May Day. The protesters carried Palestinian flags and banners calling for labor rights.

The Israeli military doesn’t give the simplest rights for workers and the Wall prevents workers from getting to their jobs and farmers from reaching their land, the banners said. Protesters also carried posters for Bassem Abu Rahmah, the farmer who was shot by the military two week ago during the weekly protest.

The Israeli army had gathered in big numbers behind cement blocks and used razor wire to prevent the crowd from going through the gate.

The army fired tear gas canisters to disturb the crowd, causing dozens to suffer gas inhalation and four were shot with rubber coated steel bullets.

Meanwhile near Ramallah, Israeli soldiers on Friday attacked Palestinian and international peace activists holding the weekly non-violent protest against the Wall in Ni’lin village. Four protestors were injured and dozens were treated for the effects gas inhalation.

For IMEMC.org Katharine Orwell

The Political report

As the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah are set to hold a new round of talks by mid May, a leading U.S newspaper reported that Washington might back a unity Palestinian government including the boycotted Hamas party. IMEMC Jessica Hulsey with the details:

During talks in Cairo over possible national unity, representatives of both Hamas and Fatah parties said they would resume such contacts by mid May until they reach an agreement over contentious issues. The parties' talks were focused on two significant issues; forming a power-sharing government with a specific agenda and reforming the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on the basis of proportional representation.

Hamas wants a coalition that would not abide by previously-signed peace agreements between PLO and Israel, while the Fatah party of the western-backed Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas conditions that any upcoming cabinet should commit to those agreements.

On a related note, LA Times newspaper reported this week that President Barak Obama might back a unity government that includes the Islamist Hamas party. U.S, Israel and some other European countries boycotted Hamas since the latter won parliamentary elections in 2006. Hamas has shunned peace agreements until Israel ends the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

In reaction to the report, Israeli officials were reported describing such a new U.S position as 'painful and worrying'. Israeli media reports said Israel would verify the report during an upcoming visit to Washington by Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hamas and Fatah have been at loggerheads since January of 2006 due to disparities between their political agendas. In Feb of 2007, they formed their first-ever unity government under Saudi mediation, yet four months later infighting broke out.

Meanwhile, the office of Palestinian president, Mahmouad Abbas, decried a new Israeli settlement expansion plan in the occupied West Bank. According to Palestinian sources, Israel intends to build1400 new housing units in the Ma'aleeh Adumim settlement, one of the largest settlers' enclaves.

The new construction bid comes after Israeli PM Netanyahu declared Israel would not prevent settlers from building new homes, but pointed out that his government would stop settlements expansion. "If any settler wants to expand his/her own house, then there is no problem", Natuayahou was quoted saying.

Settlements building or expansion on the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law, which deems the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip as occupied Palestinian territories.

Also, long ago Washington has called on Israel to stop such settlement activities, branding them an obstacles to peace-making between Israelis and Palestinians. In other news, Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmad Abuelghiet, believed this week that the recent Israeli demand from Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state before any peace talks are resumed as a 'step backward'.

"If such an Israeli demand is acknowledged internationally, then things will become more complicated in the Middle East", Abu Elghiet stated in Luxembourg. Peace talks between the two sides have been almost stalled since November of 2007, when Washington hosted the Annapolis peace conference for peace in the middle East, on the basis of a two-state solution.

Recognizing Israel as a Jewish state would mean deprivation of millions of Palestinian refugees for their inalienable rights to self-determination and return to Palestine. In 1948, Israel occupied Palestine and drove out hundreds of Palestinians from more than 450 Palestinian towns and villages.

At the internal Palestinian level, office of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, denied this week reports on forming a broader Palestinian government that would exclude members of the rival Hamas party.

The office issued a statement confirming that President Abbas would assign a Palestinian figure in forming a broader government in the shadow of the resignation of Salam Fayyad, premier of the West Bank-based Palestinian government.

The Gaza Repot

As Israel continue its 23 month-long siege on the Gaza Strip, three Palestinians are reported dead this week in the coastal region. From Gaza IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari reports:

Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that two Palestinians were killed on Thursday as they were in a tunnel that collapsed on them in the Rafah area, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Later in the week, the Palestinian Ministry in Gaza reported Monday evening that a 70-year old man died of kidney failure after the Egyptian Health Ministry refused to recognize transfer papers to an Egyptian hospital.

The Health Ministry said that Rajab Khalil Al Sahhar, 70, from Gaza City, needed dialysis but Gaza hospitals, devastated by the ongoing siege, did not have functioning equipment.
He managed to have dialysis in Egypt one time on his own expense, but after he returned to Gaza, he could not leave again due to Egyptian restrictions and the Israeli siege.

At least 320 Palestinian patients died due to the ongoing siege. Hundreds more could face the same fate if they are not allowed to receive medical treatment in Egypt, Israel or elsewhere.

Three Palestinian civilians sustained wounds after the Israeli military opened fire east of Gaza City on Monday at midday. Local sources report that three civilians sustained moderate wounds when Israeli soldiers at the Al Mintar crossing of the Gaza-Israeli border opened fire at them. Medical sources announced that the three were moved to a nearby hospital for treatment.

In a similar attack, a number of Israeli tanks and bulldozers invaded farm land located near the northern Gaza-Israeli border on Wednesday morning. Farmers told local media that tanks and bulldozers uprooted some trees and destroyed farm land. They added that tanks opened fire nearby but no injuries were reported.

For IMEMC.org this is Rami Al Meghari in Gaza.

The West Bank report

This week, the Israeli military conducted at least 28 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During those attacks troops kidnapped 32 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children. IMEMC’s Rosa McCarthy has the story:

This week's invasions were focused in the cities of Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah. A Palestinian teen was injured when an Israeli settler rammed her with his car near the southern West bank city of Hebron on Thursday morning. Local sources said the settler fled the scene before Israeli military and police arrived at the location.

On Monday, at midday in the West Bank, a group of armed Israeli settlers opened fire at Palestinian farmers near the northern city of Nablus and injured a Palestinian teenager. Medical sources said that the youth, aged 17, sustained critical wounds to his chest and was moved to a hospital in Nablus city.

On Wednesday, settlers destroyed 50 acres of farm land in the northern part of the West Bank. The farmers said bulldozers uprooted olive trees, the main source of income for most farmers. Settlers came from the illegal Israeli settlement of Burkan, an industrial Israeli settlement originally built on land stolen from the villagers of Sartah.

On Tuesday, farmers from the village of At-Tuwani, near Hebron, said Israeli settlers attacked and destroyed an acre of their land which had contained winter crops. It is thought that the settlers came from Ma’on, an illegal Israeli settlement nearby. Later in the day, another group of Israeli settlers took over Palestinian-owned land and forced the farmers away. Local sources reported that the settlers intended to use the area to mark Israeli Independence Day this week.
Elsewhere, the Israeli Jerusalem municipality announced on Wednesday that it had finalized all the preparations needed to demolish 50 Palestinian-owned homes in Jerusalem.

The homes are located at Al Bustan neighborhood just outside the old city of Jerusalem. In February, the Israeli Jerusalem municipality announced plans to demolish 88 Palestinian-owned homes located in the Al Bustan neighborhood. The municipality says the homes are built without permission.

Also this week in Jerusalem, the Israeli military ordered a Palestinian family to leave their home before next Tuesday as it will be demolished. Palestinian sources reported on Monday that the house belongs to Qassem Al Mugharabi, who was shot by the Israeli police last July.

The military say Al Mugharabi tried to kill police officers near Jerusalem's old city with his car. It is alleged that he injured 19 police officers in the attack and left the police with no choice but to shoot him.

The family reported that their son lost control of the car and that it was an accident, adding that the military police could have arrested him instead of killing him. The claim was supported by an Israeli traffic expert who was consulted by Palestinian officials.

For IMEMC.org this is Rosa McCarthy.

Conclusion

And that's just some of the news this week in Palestine. For constant updates, please check out our website, www.IMEMC.org. Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. This week's report has been brought to you by Dina Awwad and Ghassan Bannoura.