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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center www.imemc.org, for Thursday September 9th 2010.

Israeli court grants killer of UK activist early release, meanwhile four siege-breaking boats are to set sail to Gaza soon, these stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.

The Israeli soldier convicted of killing British human rights activist Tom Hurndall, was released from jail on Wednesday, after a special committee granted him an early release.

According to Israeli sources Taysir Hayb was released after a military committee decided that he have proven good conduct and that he ‘no longer poses any danger“.

Hurndall, 21, was documenting and taking part in a nonviolent protest organized by the International Solidarity Movement in Rafah city, southern Gaza Strip, on April 2003. A group of Palestinian children got caught in the line of Israeli military watch tower fire. When Hurndall rushed to help the children, Hayb shot him in the head.

Hurndall went into coma and was moved to Palestinian hospital in Gaza, and shortly after to the Israeli Soroka hospital in the Negev, then he was transferred to a London hospital where he was pronounced dead nine month later

Four siege-breaking boats will set sail to the Gaza Strip on September 18, according to the National Initiative Committee Against the Siege.

Deeb Hijazi, coordinator of the Lebanon-based committee said that the “Artery of Life 5” will be sailing on September 18 to mark the 28th anniversary of the massacre in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla in Lebanon in 1982.

He stated that the ships will be sailing from UK, Morocco, the Arab Peninsula, and from Asia, and will be carry humanitarian and medical supplies, in addition to dozens of supporters from several countries, mainly from Asia.

In other news, the call for burning the Muslim Holy Book in some US churches stirred wide criticism by both, Muslim and Christian groups in the Occupied Palestine, as well as many other countries.

On his part, Dimitri Deliani, head of the National Christian Gathering in Palestine said the intended burning of the Quran is an insult to all Arabs, Muslims and Christians, adding that an act disgracing any religious symbol is against all religions, and should be widely condemned.

Deliani valued and highlighted the attitude of the Churches in Palestine who strongly condemned this plan.

That concludes our news for today from occupied Palestine. For constant updates, please visit our website at www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you by Hussam Qassis and George Rishmawi.