Palestine Today 072009

Two Palestinian teenagers are killed in Gaza, and settlers destroy farm lands in the West Bank, these stories and more coming up stay tuned.

The News Cast

Two Palestinian teenagers were killed and eight others were injured as a tunnel collapsed on them, in the border area between Egypt and Gaza early on Monday morning.

Due to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza strip, that started in June 2007, which is also enforced by Egypt, the population of the Strip has become dependent on the dangerous tunnel trade for its survival. Until now more than 150 people have died in the tunnels.

On Sunday evening Israeli forces at the Gaza border shot a Palestinian teenager in his foot and detained him. Gaza's Health Ministry told local media that the 15-year-old boy was taken to a hospital inside Israel.

Israeli sources reported that a military patrol discovered the boy approaching the electronic fence that surrounds Gaza. The patrol shot the boy when he refused to stop.

In the West Bank on Monday, seven Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by the Israeli military during pre dawn invasions. The attacks took place in the cities Bethlehem and Jericho and nearby villages.

In June of this year the military said it would freeze invasions targeting Bethlehem, Ramallah, Qalqilia and Jericho. However on the ground the daily invasions and kidnappings of civilians did not stop in these cities

Later on Monday, Israeli settlers destroyed at least 4,5 acres of Palestinian owned farm land by setting fire to it, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

The settlers attacked the lands after the Israeli military evacuated a nearby settler outpost, local sources reported. The farmers added that the soldiers did nothing to prevent the attack.

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.