Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org, for Tuesday January 2, 2007. || Click here to Download MP3 file 4.04 MB || time:4m 24s
A truck driver wounded as a mortar shell hits the Karni crossing in the Gaza Strip, while Israeli troops abduct 11 Palestinian men in the West Bank. These stories and more coming up stay tuned.
The Gaza Update
A mortar shell was fired on Tuesday morning at the Karni border crossing in the eastern Gaza strip.
A Palestinian truck driver was wounded in the attack, which no Palestinian resistance group declared responsibility for.
Israeli media sources stated that the injured man was moved to the Soroka hospital in the Israeli town of Bir Sheva in the Negev desert. The name of the wounded driver was not released as of the time of this report.
Also in Gaza, Israeli army gunboats have abducted three Palestinian fishermen off the Rafah seashore on Tuesday at dawn.
The three were identified as Ayman Al Ejbur, Isma'el Basalah, and his brother Samer, Eyewitnesses reported that the three were fishing in the designated fishing zone when they were stopped by Israeli gunboats which abducted them and took them to an unknown location.
Palestinian fishermen said the Israeli army navel boats regularly attack and shoot at them or destroy their simple boats. Several Palestinian fishermen have been killed by the Israeli army over the past few months, the sources added.
The West Bank update
The Israeli army has abducted 11 Palestinian men in pre-dawn invasions into several areas of the West Bank on Tuesday.
Israeli forces invaded, searched and ransacked residents' homes in 'Aida refugee camp in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem and nearby Beit Fajjar village and abducted six Palestinian men.
Among those abducted were Ibrahim, 16, Arafa, 14 and Mohamed Abu Srour, 17, all of the same family from 'Aida refugee camp. Ayman, 19, and Osamah Thawabta, 19, were taken from their houses in Beit Fajjar village after Israeli troops attacked and searched them, eyewitnesses reported. The sixth detainee is still unknown as of the time of this report.
In the meantime in the northern part of the West Bank, Israeli forces invaded the city of Jenin, Jenin refugee camp and nearby Burqin village and took prisoner five residents.
Local sources reported that troops stormed the residents' houses, searched and ransacked them before abducting the five men. Among those abducted were Rami Khlouf, Ayman Mustafa, Tarik Shalamish, and Mohamed Khlouf. All are residents of Burqin village.
Political parties in Bethlehem organized a symbolic funeral for the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in protest against his execution. The funeral procession started in Al-'Azza refugee camp north of Bethlehem and went into the old town of Bethlehem carrying a coffin wrapped with the Iraqi flag.
The marchers who were nearly 300 carried pictures of Saddam and signs condemning his execution. They chanted slogans against Iran, the United States, Israel and the Iraqi Government saying that this government is an agent to the USA. Organizers of the procession gave speeches at the Church of the Nativity square.
Many of the speakers said that Saddam is a “Martyr who was assassinated by the Imperialists and the enemies of the nation.”
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 brought to you by Jack Sahouri.
