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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org for Tuesday January 24th, 2012.
The head of the Palestinian Legislative Council is sentenced to 6 month Administrative Detention, and the Palestinian President’s planned meeting with a London based Jewish group is scuppered, these stories and more, coming up, so stay tuned.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that Jewish leaders in Britain cancelled a meeting that was scheduled with Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, following intense pressure from the Israeli embassy in London, and Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem.
Haaretz stated that Israeli and British government officials pressured Jewish leaders into cancelling their meeting with Abbas, and added that Abbas has been trying over the last two years to approach and hold talks with Jewish lobbies all over the world.
Abbas managed to hold meetings with Jewish lobbies in Buenos Aires – Argentina, Paris, New York and other major cities. Abbas believes that strengthening his relation with Jewish lobbies around the world would lead to pressure on Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
In other news Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip reported that the Israeli Air Force carried out, on Tuesday at dawn, four airstrikes targeting areas in the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip.
The sources stated that F-16 fighter jets fired several missiles targeting areas in northern Gaza.
The first strike targeted an empty land near At-Tawheed Mosque, the second targeted an empty area in As-Sudaniyya, the third attack targeted hothouses East of Khan Younis, and the fourth attack targeted hothouses in both Khan Younis and Dir Al-Balah; damage was reported.
The Israeli Military Court at the Ofer Israeli prison, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, decided to imprison the elected head of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Dr. Aziz Dweik, to six months administrative detention.
On Sunday, a court was held to look into the possibility of placing him under administrative detention, without any charges officially filed against him.
Both Dr. Dweik and legislator Khaled Tafesh, from the southern West Bank city of Hebron, were taken prisoner on Friday. The Palestinian Legislative Council slammed the Israeli court ruling against Dr. Dweik, and demanded the release of all elected legislators, ministers, and officials.
On other news, the Israeli army arrested two Hebron residents near Ibrahim Mosque, and moved them to undisclosed location.
Local sources stated that the army detained Ayman al-Rajabi, in his twenties, near the Ibrahim Mosque, after the soldiers caught him possessing a knife.
In related news, Jihad al-Rajabi, 26, was detained near the mosque; he too possessed a knife.
That’s all for today from the IMEMC News, this was the Tuesday January 24th daily roundup of news from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We hope you will join us again tomorrow. This has been brought to you by Husam Qassis, and me, William Gibson.
