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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org, for Thursday December 22, 2011.
Three Palestinian youth are arrested following clashes in the Old City of Jerusalem, and Israeli forces made a large incursion into Jenin refugee camp, arresting nine men, these stories and more coming up; so stay tuned.
A nineteen year old Palestinian worker was shot in the leg, as he worked to collect scrap metal. The worker, whose name is as of yet unconfirmed, was wounded near the Bedouin village in Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza strip, and taken to Kamal Adwab Hospital in Beit Lahia.
Dozens of Palestinian labourers have been shot or injured, and several killed, as they work to collect scrap metal and debris near the border with Israel. Due to the siege on the costal enclave, building materials are a rare commodity, and recycling abandoned is becoming increasingly necessary.
In Jerusalem clashes were reported in the Old City, near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with Israeli Police claiming that Arab youth attacked their officers who were in the area. Contradictory reports by residents state that settlers attacked a Palestinian youth, leading to clashes between the residents, leading the police to intervene.
Three Palestinians were arrested, and a couple others were injured, with one of the injured youth being identified as Alaa’ Al-Zghayyer, aged 16, who suffered a broken nose and multiple bruises.
Early on Thursday, Israeli forces raided Jenin refugee camp, and detained nine members of Fateh, including a security guard. Seven cars are also reported to have been confiscated from a garage belonging to Kamal and Jemeel Abu Ghada.
Israeli forces surrounded the camp and closed the entrances, and began searched homes. Youth turned out and began throwing stones at the soldiers, with stun grenades reportedly being fired.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry statement rebuked European Union members on the UN Security Council for criticising Israel for its settlement expansion plans. The statement said that they are investing their efforts in inappropriate bickering and will lead them to lose credibility and make themselves irrelevant.
Defence minister Ehud Barak in turn rebuked the Foreign office statements, claiming that ‘European countries are very relevant, and they stand with us in important times ‘.
Hamas has agreed to join the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, a move which will strengthen the Palestinian reconciliation agreement.
A committee of nine members have been formed to take charge of the elections, and their names are to be reviewed by Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.
The factions agree that an interim government should be sworn in before February 2012, and all political prisoners being held by each side in the West bank and the Gaza strip should be released before the swearing in takes place.
That’s all for today from the IMEMC News, this was the Thursday December 22 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.
