Palestine Today 092308

Tuesday September 23, 2008 18:50 by IMEMC News - Audio Dept

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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center www.imemc.org for Tuesday September 23, 2008.

Israeli military forces rampaged today through a number of West Bank areas, rounding up some Palestinians including one physician. In Gaza, campaigners against the Israeli blockade of Gaza announced that the third Free Gaza boat will be arriving very soon. These stories and more are coming up, stay tuned.

The News Cast One Palestinian suffered facial injuries as Israeli troops fired gas bombs and concussion grenades as a delegation from the European Union was visiting the village of Ni’lin Tuesday at noon.

According to a press release by the Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign sent to IMEMC Ahed Al-Khawaja sustained serious injuries as one of the grenades hit him in his face causing him a fracture in the nose and burns and bruises in the face and eyes.

Khawaja was transported to the Sheikh Zayed hospital in Ramallah for medical treatment. Israeli military offensives on Tuesday targeted the cities of Nablus, Bethlehem and Tubas, as a number of houses were searched by the Israeli soldiers upon storming these cities. According to eyewitnesses, at least four brothers of two families were detained from the Tiqou' village, east of Bethlehem.

Also, the Israeli soldiers kidnapped a Palestinian doctor at the entrance of Tubas city. In other news, sources at the ruling Hamas party in Gaza, reported that the Palestinian Authority's security services arrested 9 members and supporters of Hamas from different West Bank areas today.

The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority has been cracking down on Hamas since the Islamic party took over Gaza amidst factional fighting with Fatah party of President Abbas in June 2007.

In Gaza, sources at the Free Gaza Movement announced today that a third Free Gaza boat will arrive soon in Gaza, in a bid of support to the besieged Gaza.

The campaigners said the boat, loaded with 5 doctors, EU lawmakers, human rights activists, an Israeli-Arab Keneset member, Jamal Zahalqa and Mustafa Barghouthi, a Palestinian MP, will sail from Larnaca in Cyprus in the coming few hours heading towards Gaza.

On August 23, two international boats arrived in Gaza under the supervision of Free Gaza Movement, an international movement, dedicated to activism against the 15-month-old siege of Gaza.

Chairman of the local popular committee for breaking the Israeli siege on Gaza, MP Jamal al-Khudari, voiced pessimism over potential lifting of the siege after the resignation of current Israeli Prime Minister , Ehud Olmert and victory of his foreign minister , Tzipi Livni, in the ruling Kadima party's primaries.

Al-Khudari said both Olmert and Livni are not different with respect to the long-standing Israeli policy line of isolating the Palestinian people.

In a related development, a newly-known group in Gaza, calling itself the brigades for supporting the oppressed, warned today of blowing up the Rafah crossing terminal in southern Gaza, if Egypt keeps it closed before Gaza's 1.5 million residents.

The Rafah crossing terminal has been closed over the past 15 months for what Egypt says necessity to return to the original operation agreement, brokered by the United States in 2005.

When Hamas seized control of Gaza in June2007, 70 European observers left the crossing as the President Abbas-allied forces fled the scene amidst the fighting. Since then, Egypt used to reopen the terminal from time to time for emergency cases.

Earlier this week, Hamas blamed the Egyptian officials for what Hamas describes as mishandling entry of Gaza traveler during a two-day reopening. 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 Rami Al-Meghari, and Gorge Rishmawi

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