Palestine Today 11 15 2011

Palestinian activists create modern Freedom Rides on the 50th anniversary of the ones implemented in the U.S. civil rights movement, and the French Consul and his family are injured in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip, these stories and more coming up; so stay tuned.

The French Consul in the Gaza Strip, Majdi Yaseen Shaqqoura, was injured along with his wife and two children in an Israeli attack in the north of Gaza.

The explosion occurred at 2am, shattering house windows. Shaqqoura and another relative rushed to protect the children when a second blast hit, which broke all of the remaining windows.

Shaqqoura suffered shrapnel injuries to his leg, and his thirteen year old daughter suffered injuries to his hand and back.

At the time of the attack, his wife was a short distance away returning in a car with her brother. The explosion caused a small haemorrhage, which resulted in a miscarriage in only the second month of her pregnancy.

The attack was targeted at a Palestinian Navy site 200m from the house, and resulted in the death of a Policeman, First Sergeant Mohammad Al-Klani, aged just 22. Five other policemen were injured, and two civilians were also treated for glass-shrapnel wounds.

From the West Bank, local Palestinian sources stated that the Israeli military has invaded al-A’rrob refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Hebron, and broke into several houses, arresting three men.

Head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society said that the army had arrested Rashad Qarraja, an ex-detainee’s uncle who was freed within the prisoner-swap deal last month.

He added that a large Israeli military force invaded Safa village, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Tuesday at dawn. The forces broke into and searched Qarraja’s house.

Moreover, security sources reported that the Israeli army has arrested two Palestinians from the West Bank city of Jenin, after breaking into their houses.

This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the U.S. civil rights movement Freedom Ride, whereby civil rights activists rode segregated buses and trains, ignoring the rules and restrictions.

In illegally annexed East Jerusalem, Palestinian activists are marking the fiftieth anniversary of the U.S. civil rights movement Freedom Rides, by replicating them to highlight the segregation and discrimination which is prevalent throughout Israeli society.

Around forty people boarded the bus earlier today at the settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev, a service running between East and West Jerusalem. Their numbers comprised of six Palestinian activists, journalists, and international activists. Just past the check point, near the settlement of Kochav Yacov, the bus was stopped, and Israeli Police boarded.

Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, one of the Freedom Riders, spoke to IMEMC over the telephone, providing updates regarding the situation. He claimed that the Israeli border police were “Surrounding the bus”, claiming that they were under arrest because they tried to “Enter Jerusalem illegally.”

Continuous video footage showed several people being forced off the bus, with one young American-Palestinian woman, a civil rights lawyer, screaming “My name is Huwaid Aarraf, I am a Freedom Rider, and I am just want to go to Jerusalem.”

According to numerous Tweets, the bus has now been emptied, with the activists being taken to the nearby police station.

That’s all for today from the IMEMC News, this was the Tuesday November 15th daily roundup of news from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We hope you will join us again tomorrow. This was brought to you by Hassam Qassis and me, William Gibson.