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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Tuesday, March 29, 2011.
An advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters Monday that the Palestinian Authority would be willing to give up US aid money rather than submit to US demands that the Palestinians give up their internationally-recognized rights in the name of ‘negotiation’.
The statement came after a weekend of talks between the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, led by Mahmoud Abbas and the Fateh party, and the Hamas party, who govern the Gaza Strip. The talks were meant to restart an attempt at national unity between the two factions that fell apart late last year.
US officials have previously attempted to pressure the Fateh party to sever all ties with the democratically-elected Hamas party, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US and Israel.
In the West Bank, Palestinian medical sources reported, Monday evening, that a 16-year-old Palestinian youth from Azzoun town near Qalqilia, was hospitalized after being attacked by Israeli soldiers stationed near Izbat al-Tabeeb, east of Qalqilia.
Omar Omran Hussein, 16, suffered concussion and bruising to several parts of his body after being kicked and punched by the soldiers.
Upwards of 60 individuals were detained, in the village of Awarta on Tuesday, and were forced to give samples of their DNA. The incident follows the murder of 5 members of a family of settlers, in Itamar, near to the village.
These events follow two periods of curfew imposed during the weeks after the murders, the first of which lasted 5 days. 40 residents have already been detained in the course of the Israeli military’s investigation prior to Tuesday.
Three families from the Jordan Valley, on Tuesday, have been served eviction notices by the Israeli military.
The families live in the Wadi Samra area, and have been informed that if they do not leave the land within three days, the military will demolish their tents and any structures.
The Israeli military demolished twelve tents, on Tuesday, belonging to Bedouin in the South Hebron Hills region of the West Bank. During the attack seven persons were beaten.
The tents were used to house the twelve families that live in Khirbet Um Neir, a small community of Bedouin farmers, and their livestock.
That sums up our news for today, thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today, from International Middle East Media Center. For more updates, please visit our website at www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you by Husam Qassis and Circarre Parrhesia.
