Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 9 m 24s || 8.61 MB ||
Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for October 4th, to the 10th, 2014.
This week eight Palestinian civilians were injured by Israeli attacks targeting West Bank communities, in the meantime Palestinian national unity government visits Gaza and promise to rebuild the coastal enclave.
These stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.
The Nonviolence Report
Let’s us begin our weekly report with nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank. Many civilians were treated for the effect of tear gas inhalation as when Israeli troops attacked anti wall protests organized at a number of West Bank communities. IMEMC’s Majd Batjali with the details:
Palestinians organized protests against the settlement activities and the construction of the wall on their land in the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin and al Nabi Saleh in central West Bank, as well as Al Ma’asara village in southern West Bank.
At the villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin, villagers and their supporters managed to reach the Israeli wall separating local farmers from their lands. Troops there showered protesters with tear gas at both locations. As a result many protestors were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
In the nearby Al Nabi Saleh village, Israeli troops stopped the protestors at the entrance of the village before they reach the confiscated land. Soldiers then forced the protesters back. Later troops stormed the village and fired tear gas at residents’ homes. A number of residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
In the village of Al Ma’ssara near Bethlehem, residents were forced back by Israeli troops stationed at the village entrance. No injuries were reported.
For IMEMC News this is Majd Batjali.
The Political Report
Palestinian national consensus government heads for Cairo to take part in a reconstruction conference for the Gaza Strip. The government delegation’s travel to the Egyptian capital, comes hours after a visit to the war-torn Gaza. IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari has more:
US States Department says that the most workable solution for the war-battered Gaza Strip is that the Palestinian Authority should hold full sway of the Gaza Strip. The State Department also called for working out a long-term ceasefire agreement between Gaza’s armed factions including the former ruling Hamas and Israel. It also said it would be prompted to contribute to reconstruction efforts of the coastal strip.
Earlier on Thursday, Palestinian Prime Minister, Rami Alhamdallalah of the West Bank city of Ramallah, along with few ministers from his national unity temporary cabinet, visited the Gaza Strip briefly and pledged reconstruction of the entire region.
Former government officials in Gaza, including Ismail Haniya of Hamas, welcomed the visit as a breakthrough in intra-Palestinian relations and called for real actions on the ground including reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah party of Palestinian presiden, Mahmoud Abbas.
Next Sunday, foreign ministers and other high-ranking officials, representing 30 countries, will hold their first reconstruction conference for the Gaza Strip, in Cairo. The conference will discuss ways to begin reconstruction of the besieged coastal territory.
In July of this year, Israel launched an all-out war on Gaza, killing 2100 Palestinians, injuring about 10000 others and rendering tens of thousands others, homeless. The war also led to widespread destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, including hospitals, factories and government buildings. Estimates suggest that Gaza’s reconstruction would require at least 4 billion dollars.
In 2006, USA and the international community boycotted the Islamist Hamas elected government, demanding Hamas to accept three demands; recognizing Israel, accepting past signed peace accords and renouncing violence.
One year later, Israel imposed a complete closure on Gaza, while rocket fire from Gaza into nearby Israel, resumed. Israel has, since then, carried out three major wars, the latest of which was in July, 2014, and lasted 51 days.
For IMEMC News I am Rami Al Meghari in Gaza.
The West Bank and Gaza Report
This week Israeli attacks left eight Palestinian civilians injured. Moreover, Israeli forces conducted at least 64 military invasions into West Bank communities. Troops kidnapped at least 53 Palestinians, including 6 children. IMEMC’s Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura reports:
This week Israeli army invasions were focused in the southern West Bank districts of Hebron and Bethlehem in addition to Jenin and Nablus in the north.
Israeli troops assaulted on Monday afternoon three Palestinian children near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. Local sources said that the three children, from Beit Fajjar village, were crossing a military checkpoint at the entrance of their village.
Troops detained the three boys and assaulted them with rifle buts and batons then released them. The three children sustained cuts and bruises, local sources reported.
Also near Bethlehem on Monday, at least four youth were injured and many others were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when troops attacked residents at the village of Taqu’a. Residents said that soldiers stormed the southern entrance of the village and fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at local youth who responded by hurling stones at invading soldiers. Medical sources said that all injured youth were treated at the local clinic for minor to moderate injuries.
Another Palestinian teenager was injured on Tuesday afternoon he when was hit by an Israeli settler car near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. The boy was crossing a road near the village of Kissan south of Bethlehem when he was hit by the settlers’ car, local sources reported. The settler fled the scene.
Also this week Israeli settlers conducted a number of attacks targeting West Bank farmers and olive trees. Israeli settlers attacked on Monday a Palestinian owned olive grove near the northern West Bank district of Nablus. The settlers cut off the branches of 100 olive trees owned by Palestinian farmers from the Bani Yasouf village near Nablus.
The settlers came from the illegal settlement of Tafouh. Another group of settlers also damaged 20 olive trees owned by Palestinian farmers from the village of Awarta near Nablus.
On Thursday, a number of extremist Israeli settlers invaded Palestinian orchards near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and cut off and uprooted dozens of olive trees. The settlers came from Beitar Illit illegal settlement, built on Palestinian lands belonging to residents of Nahhalin, Husan and Wadi Fokkin, and uprooted around 38 olive trees, and harvested them.
The settlers also cut around 200 olive trees belonging to local farmers in Ebtat area, next to the settlement.
In the Gaza strip This week, Israeli soldiers stationed across the border fence with Gaza opened fire, on Thursday morning, at several Palestinian farmers working in their lands east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Troops also targeted homes which the civilians had to leave during the Israeli aggression on Gaza. Damage was reported but no injuries.
Earlier in the week, Israeli navy boats and a navy chopper opened fire, on Tuesday morning, at a number of Palestinian fishing boats close to the shore in the al-Waha area, northwest of the Gaza Strip. The attack caused damage to a number of fishing boats, but no injuries. Palestinian fishermen were forced back to shore fearing further attacks by Israeli gunships.
For IMEMC News this is Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for October 4th, to the 10th, 2014. From the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www.imemc.org. This week’s report has been brought to you by George Rishmawi, and me Ghassan Bannoura.
