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Welcome to Palestine Today a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org for Thursday, June 16 2010.
Soldier accused of murdering two in Gaza War will face charges, and Israeli police accused of executing a man in East Jerusalem, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned.
Later this week the soldier accused of murdering a 64 year-old woman and her daughter will have a hearing to determine what, if any, charges will be brought against him.
The soldier claims that he did not shoot to kill, saying he aimed at their legs, but only opened fire when he thought the lives of other soldiers were at risk, which would have been within the rules of engagement.
The two women were part of a larger group of women waving white flags after the Israeli military had ordered them to evacuate their homes.
The incident was first documented by the Israeli group, B’Tselem, and later mentioned in the Goldstone report.
There is a report in Haaretz today indicating that a man killed by border police last Friday in East Jerusalem may have been executed.
What was at first thought to be an intentional attack on border police is being looked at in a new light after evidence indicating otherwise has come up.
There are eyewitness accounts of the driver, Ziad Jilani, swerving into a group of border police after a rock hit his windshield. The driver left the scene of the accident with police chasing and shooting at his car. After entering an alley and exiting his car he limped about ten meters before falling to the ground.
Upon the border police reaching him, they fired two shots point-blank at his head while he lay on the ground, according to witnesses.
He was the father of three daughters.
In Gaza, Hamas has taken issue with Israel’s decision to run its own inquiry into the events of May 31. It decried the internal Israeli probe into the Flotilla killings with a statement from Ismail Haniyya stating that, ‘the occupation is trying to deceive the international community by replacing the demand of forming an independent probe committee under the supervision of the United Nations, with a committee that is run and supervised by the Israeli government.’
A spokesman for the group in Gaza also blasted Azam Al-ahmad Fatah member for his statements about signing the Unity agreement. The group does not believe in signing it until some of its concerns are met, while Fatah has said that it will meet those concerns after Hamas becomes party to the agreement. Al-Ahmad also suggested that reconciliation would be one way to end the siege on Gaza.
The spokesman, Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, felt Al-Ahmad’s remarks, ‘prove that Fatah is involved in the Israeli siege on Gaza, and is interested in its continuation.’
Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem, you have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Center, for constant update, please visit our website at www.imemc.org this report has been brought to you by Brian Ennis
