Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for November 12, to the 18, 2016.
This week Palestinians warn of recent Israeli bills that may drag the region into disaster meanwhile Israeli attacks leave one Palestinian killed and a dozen others injured. 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. On Friday Israeli soldiers attacked nonviolent protests organized in West Bank villages using tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets. IMEMC’s Majd Batjali with the details:
In central West Bank, nonviolent protests were organized in the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin and Al Nabi Saleh. Troops used tear gas and rubber coated bullets against the unarmed protesters. Both Bil’in and Ni’lin villagers and their international and Israeli supporters managed to reach the Israeli wall built on local farmers’ lands.
In Al Nabi Saleh, the soldiers attacked the protest at the village entrance. Later troops stormed the village and fired tear gas into residents’ homes.
At the village of Kufer Kadum, in northern West Bank, Israeli troops used live rounds and tear gas to attack villagers and their international and Israeli supporters. Many residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. Troops also fired tear gas at residents’ homes causing damage.
For IMEMC News this is Majd Batjali.
The Political Report
This week Palestinians demand holding Israel accountable for children ill-treatment and warn of recent Israeli bills that may drag the region into disaster. IMEMC’s George Rishmawi has more:
Spokesperson of the Palestinian Presidency Nabil Abu Rudeina warned of the danger of Israel’s latest procedures legislating settlers’ outposts in occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in addition to preventing Muslims to call for prayer through mosque’s loudspeakers, which he said will drag the region into a disaster.
Abu Rudeina , on Sunday evening, said these measures are completely unacceptable, adding that Palestinian leadership will go to the UN Security Council, and to all the relevant international institutions, to try to stop these measures.
Abu Rudeina’s comments after an Israeli legislation commission, adopted Sunday evening, which touts new discriminatory laws against Palestinians. The first law pertains to settlement legislation in Jerusalem and the Wets Bank, and the second law prevents the Azan (call to prayer for Muslims) from being broadcast over loudspeakers in the mosques in all the cities, and especially in Jerusalem.
The so-called formalization bill, which would retroactively legalize illegal settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land, passed its first reading on Wednesday afternoon.
In essence, the bill rewards Israelis who settle on Palestinian land in the occupied territories by giving them the rights to continue to be there, which is in-consistent with international law.
In 2004, an advisory opinion by the primary judicial organ of the UN, the International Court of Justice, found the settlements to be illegal under international law. The court’s finding was based on the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and UN Security Council resolutions that condemned the establishment of settlements and attempts by Israel to alter the demographics of the territories under its control.
Commenting on Israel’s bill to silence the calls for prayers, Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Yusuf Deis, called on the international community and the Arab and Islamic world, as well as international institutions, to protect the Muslim and Christian holy sites especially in East Jerusalem, demanding immediate action in pushing the Israeli government to retreat from such extremist and irresponsible decisions.
In other news, Defense for Children International – Palestine urged the European Union, during a meeting on Thursday, to pressure Israeli authorities to end ill-treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention centers.
Khaled Quzmar, director general of the organization, addressed the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Palestine and focused on the effects of escalating violence across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October 2015, and the rapidly deteriorating situation facing Palestinian children living under prolonged Israeli military occupation. He called on the members to hold Israeli authorities accountable to international law and end what he described as the systemic impunity for grave violations against Palestinian children.
In Gaza this week, Palestinian academics and specialists recommended establishing an Arab-Islamic fund to provide the support needed to strengthen the Jerusalemites’ presence in their holy city to maintain the Arab-Palestinian nature of Jerusalem. This recommendation came during a conference held this week in Gaza on the dangers facing Jerusalem in light of local, regional and international changes.
For IMEMC News this is George Rishmawi
The West Bank and Gaza Report
A Palestinian man was killed this week by Israeli gunfire in Gaza meanwhile in the West Bank a Palestinian woman was killed in armed clashes. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura Reports:
Sa’id Abu Sa’da, 26 was killed, on Friday evening, and three others were injured, after Israeli soldiers, stationed across the border fence, opened fire on Palestinian protesters in central Gaza, and east of Gaza city. Palestinian medical sources stated Abu Sa’ada was shot with a live round in his chest, causing instant death, while another young man was shot with a gas bomb in his chest and a third in the leg.
In addition, soldiers stationed on towers at the Nahal Oz military base, east of Gaza city, fired several live rounds at Palestinians, close to the border fence, moderately wounding one Palestinian, who was moved to the Shifa hospital, while three others suffered the effects of teargas inhalation.
Earlier in the week, Israeli navy ships attacked, on Tuesday evening, Palestinian fishing boats near the shore in the Sudaniyya Sea, in Gaza, and abducted two fishers. On the same day Israeli navy ships opened fire, targeting several Palestinian fishing boats, close to the shore in Gaza Sea, and chased several boats back to the shore.
In the West Bank this week, a Palestinian woman was killed on Wednesday, at least five officers injured during the clashes between Palestinian security services and a number of armed persons in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
According to Palestinian official sources armed persons attacked Palestinian security officers after Israeli forces had finished their incursion into the city. As a result, five Palestinian security officers were seriously injured while a woman, who was in her house balcony, was killed. Investigations are ongoing to identify the source of the bullet that killed the woman, Palestinian police announced.
Earlier in the week, Five Palestinians were injured, one seriously, by Israeli troops gunfire invading al-‘Oja village, northeast of Jericho, in the Jordan valley. Local sources said that soldiers invaded al-‘Oja village and clashes with local youths, who hurled stones and empty bottles at the military jeeps, while the soldiers fired live rounds, gas bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets. Medical sources said five Palestinians were injured, including one who suffered serious wounds before he was moved to a local hospital.
Elsewhere, Israeli occupation bulldozers, on Tuesday morning, demolished a community center and a home, in the Umm Al-Kheir community of Yatta town, southern Hebron Hills. Israeli military jeeps broke into Umm Al-Kheir in the early morning hours. Israeli civil administration followed the m, with a tank, and began the demolition process. This is the second time the community center has been demolished.
Also this week, Israeli forces conducted at least 70 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and in occupied Jerusalem. During these invasions troops kidnapped 57 Palestinian civilians, including 15 children.
From IMEMC News this is Ghassan Bannoura.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for November 12, to the 18, 2016, 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 Saed Naji and me Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.
