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Welcome to Palestine Today a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org for Tuesday July 5, 2011.
Two Palestinians killed in an Israeli air strike the Gaza Strip and Israeli military demolishes a house in the West Bank, these stories and more are coming up, stay tuned.
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported on Tuesday evening that two residents were killed, and one was injured, after the Israeli air force bombarded Al Masdar village, in the central Gaza Strip. The two killed were identified as Mohammad Sa’id Abu Jazar, and Kamal Hamdan Abu Moammar. An Israeli military spokesperson claimed that the attack took place when the army fired shells at a group of Palestinian fighters preparing to fire shells into adjacent Israeli areas.
The Israeli municipality of Jerusalem announced a plan to build a further 900 Jewish only settlement houses in the occupied East Jerusalem on Monday night. The plan has been condemned by PA presidential spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdeineh, as shattering any chance for peace. The announcement comes on the back of an announcement to build hundreds of settlement units in Bitar Elit in Bethlehem and Shomron in Nablus.
The Canadian ship participating in the Freedom Flotilla 2 has been turned back to port after it attempted to depart to Gaza from the Greek port of Agios on Monday despite a ban on ships leaving Greek ports for Gaza. The ship was boarded by 15 Greek navy personnel and returned to port according to activists on board. 30 members of the boats passengers claimed captainship of the ship in order to avoid the arrest of individuals for breaking the ban on departure to Gaza.
Israeli soldiers invaded Khirbit Zakariya area, surrounded by the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and demolish one Palestinian home. Local sources reported that the home belongs to Mohammad Khalil Sa’ad, from Artas town, near Bethlehem.
The army claimed that the one-story home, inhibited by eleven family members, was built without a construction permit. Palestinians state that it is impossible to gain Israeli permits to construct houses close to Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank despite the fact that they own the lands and that the settlements are built on lands illegally annexed from the residents. Israeli human rights group B’tselem says that 25,000 Palestinian properties have been demolished by Israel since 1967.
Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Tuesday at dawn a Hamas political leader in Jaba’ town, near the northern Western Bank city of Jenin, along with two other residents, and took them to unknown destinations. Three more Palestinians were kidnapped in different West Bank areas.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barack has prevented the transfer of 84 bodies of Palestinians killed since 1967, then buried in unmarked graves in Israel. Barack made his decision after a report emerged that two of the bodies due to be transferred were those of the Awadallah brothers, two Hamas fighters. The bodies of the Awadallah brothers were part of negotiations for the return of captured Israel soldier Gilad Shalit.
That’s all for today from the IMEMC News. This was the Tuesday 5th 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 George Rishmawi.
