Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for January 07, to the 13, 2017.
Palestinian leadership warns against moving the US embassy to occupied Jerusalem, meanwhile Israeli gunfire leave two Palestinians killed 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. One protester was injured, many others were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation on Friday, as Israeli troops attacked anti wall and settlements protests organized in West Bank villages. IMEMC’s Majd Batjali with the details:
This week anti wall and settlements protests were organized in the central West Bank villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin. In addition to the village of Kufer Qadum in northern West Bank.
Israeli soldiers used live rounds, tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets against the unarmed protesters. Scores others were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly protest organized in Kufer Kadum village. Troops also fired tear gas into residents’ homes after invading the village.
In Bil’in and Ni’lin, protesters managed to reach the Israeli wall. Israeli troops fired several rounds of rubber-coated steel bullets at the villagers as soon as they reached the Israeli wall separating local farmers from their lands. One youth was hit in the head by a rubber –coated steel bullets, he was moved to Ramallah city hospital for treatment. Doctors described his condition as stable.
For IMEMC News this is Majd Batjali
The Political Report
As preparations for the Paris conference are on the move, Palestinian President warns Trump of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and Trump team denies the remarks. IMEMC’s George Rishmawi has more:
Senior US officials at US president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team disavowed American Jewish Businessman who told the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Trump is serious about moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Trump’s special representative for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Jason Greenblatt, told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that Daniel Arbess does not represent President-elect Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner or anyone in the upcoming Trump administration in any manner, nor does he know Trump’s views about Israel-Palestine and the peace process.
These statements followed Abbas’ warning Trump not to take this move. Abbas said the move would have a “disastrous impact on the peace process, on the two-state solution and on the stability and security of the entire region”
On his part, nominee for Secretary of State Position in Trumps administration James Mattis said Tel Aviv is the Capital of Israel putting himself at odds with Trump.
In the meantime, Paris International Peace Conference is confirmed for next Sunday according to Palestinian official sources. Palestinian Ambassador to Paris Salman Al-Harfi said he is expecting the conference to give a boost to the long-stalled peace process as seventy countries and five international organizations are expected to participate in the conference.
He confirmed the participation of both the United States and Britain and the absence of Israel in the conference.
The French President François Hollande said the conference aims at setting the Palestine-Israel issue as an international priority.
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that Paris conference will move peace backward, and added that Israel is not bound by any decisions that will be made at the conference.
He told Hollande that if the conference is cancelled, he will meet with Abbas in Paris, a step that apparently was not seen valid.
For IMEMC News, this is George Rishmawi.
The West Bank and Gaza Report
Two Palestinian civilians were killed this week by Israeli army fire in the West Bank in separate attacks, meanwhile in Gaza, Israeli forces targets border areas. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura Reports:
A Palestinian man was executed on Tuesday by Israeli soldiers inside his home in al-Far’a refugee camp, north the West Bank district of Tubas. Israeli forces invaded the camp and stormed the home of Mohammad Salhi, 33, assaulted his old mother when she tried to stand between the troops and her son. Then a soldier fired six bullets from a gun with a silencer from point blank killing Salhi.
His mother told local media that she did not hear the bullets she only saw sparkles coming from the gun and then saw Mohammad fall on the ground. Local medics moved Mohammad to Tubas city hospital where doctors said that bullets penetrated his neck, chest, hand, armpit, pelvis and thigh from the left side of his body. Mohammed previously served a 3-year sentence in the Israeli army prisons.
Earlier in the week, in occupied Jerusalem soldiers invaded on Monday and searched many homes in the city, and abducted two brothers and sister of Fadi al-Qunbar, who was killed Sunday of this week. al-Qunbar drove his truck into a crowed of Israeli soldiers waiting at a bus stop in Jerusalem killing four soldiers and injuring 15 others before he was gunned down.
Also this week, Israeli Bulldozers demolished, Wednesday, four temporary structures installed on five Dunams of Palestinian lands in Jabal al-Mokabber area, in occupied East Jerusalem, allegedly for being set up without a permit from the city council. On Tuesday, the City Council in occupied Jerusalem demolished five temporary barns that were installed Palestinian lands, in Jabal al-Mokabber.
The Israeli attack is part of a campaign that would lead to the demolition of many buildings and structures, installed in what Israel calls “open areas.” It is also part of the tax campaign “Arnona” imposed on all residents of occupied Jerusalem, consisting of very high payments that the Palestinians cannot afford, and subsequently suffer high compounding interest and debts.
During the week, Israeli forces conducted at least 54 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and in occupied Jerusalem. During these invasions, Israeli troops abducted at least 58 Palestinian civilians, including 9 children.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers stationed on military towers across the border fence, near Erez terminal, in the northern part of the besieged coastal region, fired many live rounds at homes and lands close to the border fence on Tuesday and Thursday of this week. Damage was reported but no injuries.
For IMEMC this is Ghassan Bannoura.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for January 07, to the 13, 2017. 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 Sa’ed Naji and me Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.
