Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for April 2, to the 8, 2016.
Palestine’s mission at the United Nations intends to submit a new bill condemning Israel’s settlement construction in the meantime Israeli troops injures four civilians and destroy 16 homes during attacks on West Bank communities this week. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.
The Nonviolence Report
Let’s begin our weekly report as usual with the nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank. five protesters were injured and at least five other detained as Israeli troops attacked anti wall and settlement protests organized at a number of west Bank villages using live ammunition, tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. IMEMC’s Majd Batjali has more:
In Kufer Qadum, one youth was injured in his foot by a rubber coated steel bullet when Israeli troops attacked the villagers and their international supporters at the village entrance. Later troops stormed the village and fired tear gas at protesters, many civilians were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Also in northern West Bank , Israeli soldiers fired rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas at the villagers of Izbat Tabieb and their international and Israeli supporters from Combatants for peace movement. Two villagers were shot in the foot by Israeli rubber coated steel bullets while many others were treated for the effects of tea gas inhalation.
In central West Bank, Israeli soldiers attacked protesters in Al Nabi Saleh before even leaving the village. At the nearby villages of Bil’in, and Ni’lin, residents and their supporters reached the Israeli wall. Soldiers stationed their showered them with tear gas and chemical water that generate bad smell. Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
For IMEMC News this is Majd Batjali.
The Political Report
This week Palestine’s mission at the United Nations announced its intentions to submit a new bill to UN’s Security Council. At the internal level, Palestinian political factions meet in Gaza. IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari with the details:
Palestinian permanent delegation to the United Nations is currently laying out a new bill, to be submitted to UN’s Security Council. The new bill is meant to condemn Israel’s ongoing settlements’ building on occupied Palestinian lands, including East Jerusalem.
Palestine’s move comes in the backdrop of new Israeli tenders for construction in the occupied East Jerusalem, which the UNSC’s resolution, 242 of 1967, regards as an occupied Palestinian area, from which Israel should immediately withdraw.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, slammed the move and believed that Palestinians should return to negotiations table, instead. Palestinians still refuse resuming those negotiations, because of settlements’ building.
In other news, Palestinian political factions in the Gaza Strip, held a meeting this week, over ways to restore national Palestinian unity. The factions asserted on the need for respect of all previously-reached agreements between the two key rival parties, Fatah and Hamas.
In a related development, representatives of both Hamas and Fatah, met in Doha this week, over best ways to actualize conciliation accords.
For IMEMC News, I am Rami Almeghari in Gaza.
The West Bank and Gaza Report
Israeli invasions targeting West Bank communities leave four Palestinians injured and more than 16 homes destroyed. Two more civilians were injured in Gaza during clashes. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura Reports:
An Israeli settler ran over a Palestinian girl in Jabal Jales area south of Hebron, southern West Bank on Wednesday. Locals said that the driver ran over a 10-year-old girl, causing her moderate injuries. She was taken to hospital with several fractures across her body after she was hit by the car, which fled the scene afterward, the villagers reported.
Later in the week, three Palestinian youth were injured on Thursday at dawn when Israeli troops clashes with residents of Nablus city in northern West Bank. The clashes started when an estimated 1,000 right-wing Israelis, escorted by Israeli forces, invaded Nablus city and prayed at Joseph’s Tomb.
Also this week Israeli troops demolished at least 16 Palestinian homes and structures in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday morning, Khirbit al-Marajem village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and demolished three Palestinian homes. Two more Palestinian homes were demolished by the Israeli army on Monday, one in Hebron and the other in Jerusalem.
Also in northern West Bank, Israeli troops demolished three homes Qabatia town, near Jenin city. The demolition of the homes rendered more than 21 Palestinians, including many children, homeless.
Moreover, the Israeli army demolished on Tuesday morning a slaughterhouse and parts of a home in the town of Beit Sahour, near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. On Wednesday, the Israeli army invaded Om Al Khair village in the South Hebron Hills, without warning, to demolish six families’ homes. Army bulldozers destroyed the homes leaving 35 people among them children homeless, residents said.
According to UN reports, the Israeli army escalation of demolishing Palestinian homes in occupied West Bank has left 650 Palestinians, more than half children, homeless in the past three months.
In the meantime, Israeli forces conducted at least 87 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. During these invasions Israeli troops kidnapped at least 76 Palestinian civilians, including 27 children.
In Gaza this week, Israeli forces stationed at the southern borders with Gaza opened fire at Palestinian sheep herders on Tuesday. The farmers had to leave the area fearing additional attacks by the Israeli troops. On Friday two civilians were injured when Israeli troops opened fire at protesters near the central Gaza borders with Israel. Also on Friday Israeli navy attacked Palestinian fishing boats near Gaza city shoreline and kidnapped four of them.
For IMEMC News this is Ghassan Bannoura.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for April 2, to the 8,2016. From the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www-dot-imemc-dot-org, This week’s report has been brought to you by George Rishmawi and me Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.
