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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Tuesday October 11th, 2011
Numerous people were arrested and detained during dawn and early morning incursions by the Israeli military, and the UN Human Rights Commission urges Israel to improve its protection of Palestinians in the West Bank, these stories and more coming up; stay tuned.
Several military incursions and attacks took place across the occupied West Bank by the Israeli Military.
At Dawn on Tuesday, Israeli soldiers demolished a mosque in the village of Wadi El-Maleh in the northern Jordan Valley.
The army claimed the mosque had been built without a construction permit, yet Israel continues to refuse to offer building permits to Palestinians within the Jordan Valley.
The mosque in question has now been destroyed three times in seven months.
In a separate dawn raid, Ahmad Abu Hasham, the Secretary of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, was arrested along with his son Youseff, the Palestinian News Agency was informed by committee spokesperson Mohammad Awad.
Despite the arrest, and the minor clashes between fellow residents and Israeli soldiers, Abu Hasham was released after a brief detainment of only a few hours.
Later on Tuesday morning, American University of Jenin student, ‘Ala Mohammad Qalawleh, was arrested by Israeli soldiers at his home.
The army deployed to the village of al-Basha, arresting two youth and detaining them at Salem military base before releasing them shortly after.
Soldiers were also positioned in the villages of Jalqamoos and al-Mogheer, in the eastern part of Jenin, and set up a checkpoint at the entrance to ‘Aaranah village, but no further detentions were reported.
In further news, Hamas has announced new rules regarding international visitors to the costal enclave, the Gaza Strip.
Under the new rules, foreigners will be required to submit an online request to secure a visa to enter Gaza. Those wishing to stay for more then one week will need to register with the Interior Ministry.
Though some charities may struggle under these rules, due to official contact with Hamas being banned, the new rules should allow greater protection of internationals by Hamas, since they can be monitored more easily.
In international news, the Foreign Minister of Tanzania, Bernard Membe, affirms his countries continuous and steadfast support for Palestine. He pledged his commitment to the Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN, and offered his best wishes towards Palestinians in their goal of freedom and independence.
Speaking from Geneva on Tuesday, Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that Israel has a legal obligation “to protect Palestinian civilians and property in the occupied Palestinian territory.â€
He of course refers to the increased levels of violence against the Palestinians inside the West Bank, from extremist Israeli Settlers, citing specifically the incidents in the village of Qusra, with the shooting dead of a civilian and the uprooting of two hundred olive trees on the 23rd September and 6th October respectively.
That was just some of the news from Palestine Today, for more updates; please visit our website at www.imemc.org. Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. This report has been brought to you by Hussam Qassis and me, William Gibson.
