This Week in Palestine -Week 40 2009

Israeli attacks in Gaza and the West Bank leave five people killed this week as Palestinian armed groups reach a prisoners swap deal with Israel. 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 George Rishmawi:

Bil'in

On Friday The Israeli military injured two civilians during the weekly protest against the Israeli wall in the village of Bil'in in the central West Bank. Villagers along with their international and Israeli supporters started the protest after the midday prayers.

As soon as people arrived at the gate of the wall that separates the village from its lands Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets.

One protester was hit directly by a bouncing tear gas canister, which burned holes in her trousers and caused burns to her skin. Another demonstrator suffered from severe respiratory problems due to tear gas inhalation.

A French delegation, including the Mayor of the city of Kaysersberg, came to Bil'in today to participate in the weekly resistance activity, and to learn more about the civilian resistance in this area.


Nil'in

Also in the central West Bank on Friday scores of protesters were injured when Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly protest against the Wall in the village of Nil'in.

International and Israeli peace activists joined the villagers and held the midday prayers at the lands owned by local farmers where Israel is building the Wall.

Israeli Soldiers showered the protesters with tear gas and water mixed with chemicals. Scores of people suffered tear gas inhalation and nausea. The demonstration ended as local youth threw stones at attacking soldiers who fired rubber coated steel bullets at them.

For IMEMC.org this is George Rishmawi.


The Political Report

In the Palestinian territories this w eek, for the first time in three years, Israel agrees to release a number of Palestinian female prisoners under the framework of Egyptian-mediated talks between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Also Israel continues to build more illegal settlements on Palestinian lands, IMEMC's Ghassan Bannoura Reports:

Hamas sees the breakthrough as a prelude for more prisoner releases. In return, Israel received a video tape on Friday that proves that the captured Israeli soldier, Gil'ad Shalit, is alive, Israeli media report.

The reports said that 20 female prisoners, including one woman with her little son from the Gaza Strip, were released and arrived Friday at noon in both Gaza and the West Bank.

In Gaza, Palestinian crowds including officials of the ruling Hamas welcomed Fatma Alzeq, a woman that Israeli soldiers captured 20 months ago near the Erez checkpoint in northern Gaza.

During a joint press conference with Alzeq in Gaza, Ismail Hanitya, prime minister of Hamas, stated that the release is a part of the Palestinian people's will to set free all Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails. Israel continues to jail more than 11,000 Palestinian prisoners including children and juveniles.



" Myself and the other released prisoners feel extremely happy, but our happiness is still shortfall unless other female , male , Palestinian and non-Palestinian prisoners are all released, so that we all will live happily our in liberated homeland".

In other news, Israel has announced new plans for illegal settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel's new settlement drives are inconsistent with Washington-led efforts to bring Palestinian and Israeli negotiators back to the negotiating table.

Israel has earlier refused a request by U.S envoy, George Mitchel, that Israel needs to suspend settlement building temporarily to allow negotiations to resume. Israel wants Palestinians to recognize the Jewish identity of Israel and that Arab countries embark on normalization steps with Israel before the peace process can be resumed.

At the internal Palestinian level, the rival Palestinian parties Fatah of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamist Hamas, are expected to reach a unity deal by end of October.

However, Fatah officials cast doubts over Hamas intentions to reach that deal. Khaled Mash'al of Hamas, announced early this week in Cairo that his party accepts an Egyptian-produced paper for agreement.

Palestinian factions in Gaza, including the independent bodies voiced their satisfaction over recent conciliation tones.

Both Hamas and Fatah have been at loggerheads since the democratically-elected Hamas took over Gaza amidst factional fighting. Hamas embraces a resistance-based agenda, while Fatah, represented by President Mahmoud Abbas, honors peace talks with the Israeli state.

For IMEMC.org this is Ghassan Bannoura.

The Gaza Strip Report

The Israeli military attacks and siege on the Gaza Strip rendered four Palestinian dead this week. From the Gaza IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari reports:

A Palestinian child was reported dead on Thursday in the Gaza Strip because she was prevented by Israeli to leave the besieged territory for treatment. Seven years old, Bara Issa, had kidney failure and needed to travel outside Gaza for life saving medical care, doctors said. They added that her family has done all the needed documents to leave the region but Israel refused leading to her death.

The Palestinian health ministry announced with Issa death today the total number of patients who died because of the siege has reached 359. Israel placed the Gaza Strip under total siege in June 2006 leaving the hospitals in Gaza unable to treat a lot of patients.

Also on Thursday two Palestinian children were injured as an army left object explode near them in central Gaza Strip. Local sources reported that the two children were playing near a UN run school when an Isralei military unexploded bomb exploded near them. Doctors said the boys arrived to a local hospital with light wounds.

Two Palestinians were reported dead and seven injured on Wednesday during Israeli shelling targeting the border line of Rafah city, southern Gaza Strip, and Egypt. Doctors said three of the wounded remain in critical condition. Another man was killed when Israeli war plans attacked the same area on Thursday.

The Israeli military claims those tunnels are used to traffic weapons into the Gaza Strip. According to locals, the tunnels have been used to traffic food and medicine into the strip since Israel siege was imposed in June of 2006.

In a separate attack, Three Palestinian civilians from the same family were injured on Monday as Israeli tanks shelled areas in central Gaza Strip. Local sources said that Jihad Al Mussadar, his son Abudallah, and his daughter, Abeer, were moved to Al Aqsa hospital after sustaining moderate wounds due to the shelling.

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

The West Bank Report

This week the Israeli military conducted at least 31 invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Troops killed a boy, injured one man and kidnapped 45 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children. IMEMC’s Katharine Orwell has the details:

A Palestinian teenage boy was announced dead on Wednesday midday after an Israeli jeep run him over near the northern West Bank city of Jenin. The boy, Fu’ad Turkman, 17 years old, sustained critical wounds and was moved to local hospital were he was announced dead shortly there after, medical sources reported.

Witnesses said the boy was leaving his school at the village of Yabod near Jenin when a military jeep ran him over. Troops continued to drive the jeep dragging the injured boy for 20 meters, then fled the scene, the witnesses added.

Earlier on Wednesday Nader Threibat, 21 years old, was admitted to a hospital in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, surfing from light wounds, after being attacked by troops manning a nearby military checkpoint, doctors said.

Early on Tuesday morning and late Monday night two dozen Palestinian civilians were arrested by Israeli police at various locations throughout east Jerusalem. The Israeli police claimed those arrested were involved, either as organizers or participants, in the clashes that took place on Sunday.

Local sources said that the arrests took place inside the old city and the surrounding Palestinian neighborhoods. Palestinians and Israeli police clashed at the al Aqsa Mosque On Sunday after a group of settlers, aided by the police, tried to enter and take over the second holiest place for Moslems world wide. According to local sources Sunday clashes left 17 Palestinians injured.

On Monday The Israeli police enforced a complete lock down in Jerusalem's old city in response to Sunday's clashes. Right-wing Jewish groups claim the al Aqsa Mosque is build on top of King Suleiman Temple ruins and they want to demolish the Mosque to rebuild the temple once again.

For IMEMC.org this is Katharine Orwell.




Conclusion

And that's just some of the news from This Week in Palestine. For regular updates, please visit our website at www.IMEMC.org. Thank you for joining us from Occupied Bethlehem. This week's report has been brought to you by Dina Awwad.