Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org, for Thursday January 18th, 2007|| Copy and Paste this link http://portland.indymedia.org/media/media/2007/01/352428.mp3
Palestinian fighter killed and three residents, including one child, injured in Nablus, while 10 year old girl from Anat village near Jerusalem declared clinically dead. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned.
The News update
A massive Israeli force invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday morning. They killed one Palestinian fighter and injured three residents, including one child, and abducted another four men Palestinian sources in the city reported that Muhanid Al Ghandur, 22, a resistance fighter of Fatah, was killed when an Israeli sharpshooter fired and hit him in the head.
Dr. Ghassan Hamdan, the director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society in Nablus said that Al Ghandur was hit with several rounds in his head, abdomen and legs and bled to death. He was retrieved by the PMRS medical teams and moved to Rafidia hospital in the city of Nablus Dr. Hamdan added.
Israeli armored vehicles and bulldozers stormed the city from several directions, eyewitnesses in Nablus said. The forces surrounded the downtown and old city areas. Clashes erupted between the invading Israeli forces and the local youth and resistance fighters. Three residents were also injured during the invasion; among them was one child who was identified by medical sources as Mohamed Abu Salha, aged 15. The sources added that he sustained critical wounds to the head.
Israeli troops abducted four Palestinian men and took then to unknown locations during the operation.
Abeer Aramin, a 10 year old Palestinian girl from Anat village near Jerusalem was declared clinically dead on Thursday morning. Aramin was injured by the gas bomb that was shot at the back of her head by a nearby Israeli soldier.
She had just stepped out of the Anata School for Girls for a break after taking a test when she was hit, the Israeli army said that there was clashes with local youth and they fired in response to that, a claim that was contradicted by eyewitnesses and Abeer's family who said that she did not cause any threat at anytime during the day she was shot.
Moreover, Israeli forces invaded cities and villages in the northern, southern and central parts of the West Bank and abducted 17 Palestinian men, among them a blind person, on Thursday morning.
Ten of those abducted were taken from the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia and the nearby Azoun village when Israeli forces searched and ransacked residents' homes, local sources reported.
Among those abducted from the city were Ra'ed Suwilem, Khaled Araif and Nayif Al Masri; while the army took Mohammad Jameel and two of his brothers, Bilal and Mahir from Azoun village. All detainees were transported to unknown military detention camps, eyewitnesses reported.
Four more Palestinian men were abducted from Yatta and Tafuha villages near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Troops stormed and searched residents' homes in the two villages after forcing them outside, and abused some residents, eyewitnesses reported.
Among those abducted were Mohammad Awad, and Ashraf Al Khamaissa.
Also on Thursday morning, Mohamed Al Imori, 23, was taken from his house in Jenin refugee camp located in the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Residents stated that soldiers fired tear gas and sound bombs at their houses during the invasion of the refugee camp.
In the meantime, in the central West Bank, the Israeli army took prisoner two residents from Al Aizariah town near Jerusalem city.
Residents reported that at least 20 armored vehicles entered the town, forced people to leave their houses, and then abducted two men after hitting them with rifle buts and batons. The two were identified as; Sami Al Assmar, 30, and Ra'ed Fayiz, 28. Their families reported that during the abduction troops also assaulted family members, including women.
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 Jane Smith Polly Bangoria and Ghassan Bannoura.
