Palestine Today 111109

As Palestinians mark the 5th anniversary of Arafat's death, Israeli troops kidnap 12 Palestinians from the West Bank. These stories and more coming up stay tuned.

The News Cast

Two Palestinian civilians were injured late Tuesday night as they were attacked by Israeli settlers in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Witnesses said Hatem Al Sharabati, 17, and his brother, Hazim, 16, were on their way home when they were assaulted by settlers from Tel Al Rumaida settlement in the old city of Hebron. Doctors at the local hospital in the city announced that the two brothers sustained cuts and bruises due to the assault and were released from hospital on Wednesday morning.

In other News, The Israeli military kidnapped on Wednesday 12 Palestinian civilians during invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities. Local sources reported other invasions in Ramallah, central West Bank, as well as Nablus and Jenin cities in the north.

The Israeli army radio announced that all kidnapped civilians were moved to military detention camps for questioning. Despite Israeli promises last June to stop attacks in Ramallah and Nablus, Israeli military continue to target Palestinian civilians in these two cities and other parts of the West Bank.

In the meantime, thousands of Palestinians gathered on Wednesday in Ramallah to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the death of the late President Yasser Arafat.

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, addressed the crowed as they gathered at the presidential palace in Ramallah where Arafat his buried. Abbas stated that he will not resume peace talks with Israel until its stops all settlement activity in the West Bank. The President added that Jerusalem must be the capital of any future Palestinian state.

Yasser Arafat became ill after the Israeli forces confined him in his headquarters in Ramallah for more than two years, and repeatedly shelled and bulldozed sections of his headquarters. He was later on moved to a French Hospital in Paris where he passed away on November 11, 2004 at the age of 75.

Arafat founded Fateh movement in 1959 and spent most of his life as a fighter and a leader of the movement and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). He supported peace talks and signed several peace deals with Israel. He survived with one daughter Zahwa and his wife Suha who live now outside Palestine.

His death was mysterious and caused a lot of tension among the Palestinian leaders. Recently one of the senior PLO figures, Farouk Qaddoumi, accused President Abbas and some other Fatah leaders of collaborating with Israel to assassinate Arafat by poisoning him, accusation that were never proven.

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.