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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Thursday, December 24, 2015.
As Palestinians mark Christmas in Bethlehem, Israeli troops shot and killed three Palestinians in separates attacks across the West Bank. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.
Wisam Abu Ghweila, from the Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, was shoot and killed on Thursday morning by Israeli troops manning Jaba’ military roadblock.
According to Israeli sources, Abu Ghweila drove his car too close to the roadblock. They claimed that he hit soldiers with his car, and one soldier reported being mildly injured.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers fired more than thirty live rounds at the Palestinian car, which was driven by a young Palestinian man after he was involved in a traffic accident.
Meanwhile a Palestinian man was shot and killed Thursday morning in Hebron old city in the southern West Bank. The man who was killed was identified as Eyad Jamal Ed’eis, 26, from Yatta town, south of Hebron.
After the shooting, the Israeli military claimed that Ed’eis had attempted to stab Israeli soldiers with a screwdriver, but there was no evidence of that at the scene. Earlier on Thursday, Israeli soldiers invaded various towns and refugee camp in the Hebron district, and kidnapped eight Palestinians, after breaking into their homes and violently searching them.
A third Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Thursday morning after allegedly stabbing and wounding two Israeli guards at an industrial park outside Ariel settlement, the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank. The guards, one male and one female, both 24 years old, were allegedly lightly wounded.
The Palestinian who was killed has been identified as Mohammad Abdul-Halim Zahran, 22, from Kar ad-Deek town, west of Salfit.
On Thursday at down, Israeli soldiers invaded several Palestinian communities in different parts of the West Bank districts of Nablus, Tubas and Hebron, searched dozens of homes, and kidnapped thirteen Palestinians.
In other news, thousands of Palestinians marked the Christmas festival in the Bethlehem city on Thursday, the birth place Jesus Christ. The festival started with bands preforming at the manger square were locals and international visitors gathered outside the Church of Nativity. According Palestinian sources few visitors showed this year as Israeli continued its daily attacks on the city and other cities in the West Bank.
And that’s all for today from the IMEMC News; this was the Thursday, December 24, 2015 news round-up from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. From IMEMC we wish you a Merry Christmas and happy new year, Today’s report has been brought to you by George Rishmawi and me Ghassan Bannoura.
