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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org, for Wednesday October 2, 2011

Israel conducts a successful test of a new ballistic missile propulsion system, and the Jerusalem Municipality has handed out five more eviction notices in East Jerusalem, these stories and more, coming up, so stay tuned

Israel has conducted a successful test firing of a ballistic missile on Wednesday, from the military airbase of Palmahim.

Israel did not release information about the missile, and a plume of white smoke visible throughout central Israel being the only indication of what transpired.

Speculation is of course rife, with suspicion falling on scenario that the military is testing its propulsion technology of a new ballistic missile, with the BBC and Israeli daily, Haaretz, suggesting the test indicates Israel’s intention to destroy Iran’s developing nuclear facilities.

The Israeli army arrested five Palestinian residents from the Refugee Camp of al-’Ein, near the West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday. All were transferred to an undisclosed location.

Local Palestinian sources stated that eight Israeli military jeeps invaded the city at dawn, and broke into several houses in different neighborhoods.

In related news, the army also has detained a Palestinian resident from AL-A’rrob refugee camp, near the city of Hebron in the southern part of the West Bank.

Security sources said that the Israeli military launched an Incursion into the camp, and detained a man, aged 20.

Israeli settlers set fire to a tractor belonging to a Palestinian farmer, after trying to attack him in the neighborhood of ‘Arqaba, in the southern part of the West Bank city of Nablus.

The driver fled the scene, as the settlers set fire to the tractor and left, leaving local residents to put out the fire.

The settlers are believed to be from the nearby illegal settlement of Itamar.
More Palestinians were arrested in Annexed East Jerusalem, including four youth and three minors.

All were arrested on suspicion of hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli military jeeps and a Jewish religious school, and of pouring oil in the street to disrupt traffic.

Their leader, aged 17 years old, was also arrested in the sweep, conducted by the Israeli Internal Security Agency, The Shebak, who have confirmed the youth and children were not part of an organization, and that they acted alone.

The Jerusalem Municipality has decided to demolish five homes in Silwan town, in occupied East Jerusalem, reported The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan.

The demolition notices were handed out amidst several Israeli media outlets confirming that Israel has approved the construction of “King Solomon Garden” in Silwan, and that this implementation will lead to demolishing 22 Arab homes. The Garden will be an extension to the King David Settlement in Wadi Hilweh.

That’s all for today from the IMEMC News. This was the Wednesday October 2nd daily roundup of news from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We hope you will join us again tomorrow. This was brought to you by Husam Qassis and me William Gibson.