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Welcome to Palestine Today a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org for Wednesday July 6, 2011.
A group of Israeli human rights organizations have signed a letter supporting the Freedom Flotilla 2 and calling on the Greek and Israeli governments to allow it safe passage to Gaza. The letter has been signed by prominent organizations such as Rabbis for Human Rights, Gush Shalom, the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions and the Alternative Information Centre. The letter also called for the end to the siege on Gaza and the occupation of Palestinian territory.
The organizers of “Welcome to Palestine” campaign have issued a press statement rejecting allegations of plans to take over airplanes on July 8 in Ben Gurion airports. Organizers have explicitly rejected suggestions that activists have violent intentions or that they intend to visit Gaza. The object of the initiative they say is to visit Palestine and show solidarity with the Palestinian people. According to Haaretz two activists have already been deported by Israeli authorities, who claim they will not allow any of the activists to travel from Ben Guirian airport to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The UN report into this years Nakba Day events along the Lebanese-Israeli borders has criticized Israel’s use of disproportionate force against protesters seeking to cross into Israeli held territory. The report claimed there was no attempt by Israeli soldiers’ to use crowd dispersal methods before opening live fire on protesters. UN Secretary General Bankemon has called on the UN to avoid the use of unnecessary live fire against protesters in the future. The events of May 15th led to eleven Palestinian protesters being killed and 111 injured due to Israeli live fire.
Israeli Air Forces bombarded, late on Tuesday at night, an area east Gaza city causing damage to several structures and mildly wounding three residents. Local sources reported an F-16 Israeli fighter-jet fired at least two missiles into some sheds close to the Al Salaam Mosque in Al Shujaeyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. The sheds were damaged while three residents were moved to the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city suffering mild injuries.
Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Wednesday at dawn six Palestinians in several parts of the occupied West Bank. Two Palestinians were kidnapped on Tuesday at night. Israeli army Radio claimed that the six “are wanted by the Israeli security forces”, and that they were rounded up and taken to interrogation centers. The six residents are from Jenin, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron
That’s all for today from the IMEMC News. This was the Wednesday 6 of July daily roundup of news from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We hope you will join us again tomorrow. This report was brought to you by Husam Qassis and me Kevin Murphy
