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Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org, for Thursday February 1st, 2007
Israeli army kills three Palestinian among them one child in two separate attacks in the West Bank, while due to infighting in the Gaza strip one is killed and 17 injured, these stories and more coming up stay tuned.
The West Bank Update
Israeli army troops shot and killed a Palestinian boy near Qalandia checkpoint, located between the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Jerusalem on Thursday at midday.
Tahha Qiljawi, 17, sustained fatal wounds and was left to bleed for some time until Palestinian medical teams managed to reach to him, Palestinian medical sources reported. Qiljawi was moved to a hospital in the nearby Ramallah city.
Army sources claimed that the civilian came too close to the wall and was trying to cross to the Israeli side of the Wall, this lead the soldiers to shoot and kill him. The army\’s claim is not verified by eyewitnesses. Palestinian sources also reported that a 15 year old boy was shot and injured during an invasion of Qalandia refugee camp to the north of Jerusalem city. The boy sustained light wounds, medical sources reported.
Early on Thursday morning the Israeli army killed two Palestinians and injured a third when forces invaded the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian sources reported.
The two were identified as Amer Kalbouna, 21, and Wael Awad, 21, both operatives of the Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah. Eyewitness reports stated that a third Al-Aqsa Brigade operative was wounded in the clashes that erupted between the Al-Aqsa Brigade fighters and the Israeli forces. His name remains unknown.
Dr. Ghassan Hamdan of the Palestinian Medical Relief services told IMEMC that Israeli forces prevented the ambulances from entering the area to evacuate the wounded, and that one of the killed was tortured:
\’We could evacuate one of the men, half an hour after he was killed, however, and the army held us and many other residents for two hours before we could reach the second man. He was left to bleed to death. The Israeli occupation soldiers broke his arms, neck, and cut off some of his fingers after they hit him with several fatal bullets.\’
In a separate incident, Israeli army invaded the refugee camp of Balata near Nablus in the early hours of the morning. They abducted Mohammad Qur’aan, 21, and took him to an unknown location. In addition to this, a large Israeli force blew up the home of Hani Ewijan, who was killed by Israeli forces six months ago, and the home of Abu Mohammad Mar\’ii in the same neighborhood.
Palestinian sources also reported that another Israeli force invaded the West Bank city of Jenin and clashed with Palestinian fighters from Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, and Al-Aqsa Brigades of Fatah. Five residents were abducted during the operation. Another five Palestinians were also abducted by Israeli forces that invaded the village of Tafouha, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, on Thursday morning.
The Gaza Update
Arafat Al Mushalah, was killed and at least 17 Palestinians were wounded on Thursday afternoon. The casualties\’ occurred during clashes between members of the Hamas executive force, belonging to the interior ministry, with the Palestinian Presidency security personnel. The clashes occurred while the latter were driving by the Salah Eldin main road, central Gaza Strip.
The executive force intercepted a convoy of trucks loaded with logistic support bound for the presidential force, a Presidential spokesman said. The spokesman confirmed that these trucks were loaded with blankets, power generators and food, denying Hamas’s claims the trucks contained weapons.
Witnesses told IMEMC that fierce gun battles are taking place at the entrance of the Nuseirat refugee camp at the Salaheldin main road in central Gaza Strip. Witnesses said that the executive force took hostage five presidential personnel and seized their vehicles and guns.
Palestinian media sources reported that the presidential force has been deployed to the area to free the hostages as well as two trucks seized by the Hamas force.
A Hamas statement earlier in the day claimed that the Presidential guards would receive weapons from an Arab country, calling this a ‘dangerous development’ that would fuel a civil force.
Meanwhile, a joint Hamas-Fatah delegation was reportedly heading for the central area in an attempt to diffuse tension. In the meantime, clashes also erupted in the vicinity of the Palestinian preventive security headquarters in Gaza City, as a police jeep was set on fire in the Alzaytoun neighborhood in central Gaza city.
Earliar on Thursday morning Palestinian medical sources said that the Israeli army shot and wounded a Palestinian resident to the north of the Gaza Strip. Talal Ghaben, 30, was shot and moderately wounded by Israeli army gunfire near the Beit Hanoun crossing (Eritz checkpoint), just north of the Gaza Strip.
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 and Ghassan Bannoura.
