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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Monday, March 21, 2011.
A Palestinian farmer was stabbed by a settler whilst working his land in Tuba village near Hebron on Monday. Palestinian news sources report that Mohamed Awad was attacked by a group of settlers who fled after stabbing him three times. He was taken to Hebron hospital for treatment, where he was described as having sustained moderate wounds to the shoulder.
Settler violence has sharply increased since the demolition of small numbers of buildings in settlement outposts near Nablus, and the murder of five members of a family in the settlement of Itamar, a crime blamed on Palestinians by the Israeli government and media outlets, despite the lack of proof of Palestinian involvement.
Furthermore, local sources reported Saturday that approximately 20 settlers from Kiryat Arba settlement near al-Buwayra, also Hebron, attacked a Palestinian family as they parked their car. The group surrounded the car and began to throw stones into the vehicle, injuring the four passengers, including two children, aged 6 and 4 years old. The father of the family, Mozbah Zatari, had to be taken to hospital as a result of the attack.
The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command launched a projectile on Monday from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The Jihad Jibril Brigades fired the projectile at a town near the Gaza-Israel border according to statement released by the group.
According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli intelligence service set up a special department several months ago to monitor groups involved in bringing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, claiming that such groups “delegitimize Israel”.
Israeli officials said that the mandate of the new department includes any groups that are engaged in campaigns to boycott, divest from or sanction Israel, groups that attempt to bring charges against Israeli officials for their invasion of Gaza and other violations of international law, and groups whose work ‘delegitimizes’ Israel.
Dr. Aziz Dweik, head of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), stated Saturday that he hopes that he would be able to accompany President Mahmoud Abbas in his first visit to Gaza following several years of internal divisions between Fateh and Hamas.
Dweik, head of the Hamas Change and Reform Parliamentary Bloc, demanded all Legislative Council members, and Hamas leaders in Gaza, to welcome Abbas the moment he enters coastal region. He added that all efforts must be conducted to ensure unity among all Palestinians and their political factions.
That sums up our news for today, thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today, from International Middle East Media Center. For more updates, please visit our website at www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you by Husam Qassis and Circarre Parrhesia.
