Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org, for Monday October 26th, 2009.
Israeli tanks attack northern Gaza while troops kidnap civilians in the West Bank. These stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.
The News Cast
Israeli tanks raided the Palestinian side of the Karni crossing, closing it down on Monday midday.
Local sources reported that tanks invaded the crossing then bulldozers destroyed nearby farm lands. The sources added that troops detained truck drivers who were at the location, but later released them after confiscating their identity cards.
Karni Crossing is located on the northern Gaza border with Israel and is the only crossing though which the Israeli military allows limited amounts of food supplies to enter Gaza. Israel placed the Gaza Strip under siege in June 2007 following the Hamas takeover.
In related news, Palestinian fighters clashed with invading troops in northern Gaza. No injuries were reported on either side.
Meanwhile a number of Palestinian groups organized protests in Gaza City on Monday, in solidarity with Palestinians in Jerusalem.
On Sunday Israeli radical groups tried to enter the Al Aqsa Mosque and clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli police leaving at least 35 Palestinians injured. Twenty others were arrested.
According to local sources, today’s protest in gaza was organized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine along with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Elsewhere on Monday Israeli soldiers kidnapped six Palestinians in different parts of the occupied West Bank. Six Palestinians were kidnapped Sunday.
Israeli sources said that the army apprehended six so-called wanted Palestinians in Ramallah and Bethlehem, and transferred them to interrogation centers.
On Sunday, Israeli soldiers kidnapped a youth at the entrance to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Soldiers claimed he was carrying a knife.
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.