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Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for September 15th, to 21 2012
Palestinian politicians reiterate interest in one-Democratic state solution lablig the two-state solution as a failure, meanwhile Israeli military continue attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, these stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.
The Nonviolent Report
Let’s us begin our weekly report with nonviolent activities organized in West Bank. This week protests were organized in the central West Bank villages of Bil’in, Nil’in and Nabi Saleh, as well as the village of AL Ma’ssara, southern West Bank. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura with the Story
This week’s protests were organized in solidarity with the Palestinian political prisoners and their hunger strike.
In central West Bank, at the villages of Bil’in and Nil’in, protesters along with their international and Israeli supporters reached the Israeli wall before soldiers attacked them with tear gas and sound bombs. Soldiers also used chemical water that produces very bad smell. Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation in both villages.
Meanwhile at the village of Al Nabi Saleh, soldiers stooped the weekly anti wall protest at the village entrance and used tear gas to force people back. Local youth clashed with Israeli soldiers. many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation and the protest ended shortly after.
In southern West Bank, at the village entrance of Al Ma’sara Israeli troops forced anti wall protesters back into the village using rifle-buts and batons. No injuries were reported.
For IMEMC News this is Ghassan Bannoura.
The West Bank & Gaza Report
This week Israeli attacks targeting Palestinians left two dead in Gaza meanwhile troops conducted at least 23 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and abducted seven civilians. IMEMC’s Salam Qumsiyeh has the details
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On Wednesday night the Israeli air force extra-judicially executed two members of the Palestinian resistance and wounded a third one in Rafah city, southern Gaza Strip
An Israeli warplane fired a missile at the vehicle in which the three members were traveling. The Israeli military admitted responsibility for the attack and claimed that the targeted persons are members of “Al-Aqsa Guards Group,” which is close to Hamas.
Earlier in the week Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the northern and southern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported.
In other news, the murderers of the Italian peace activists, Vittorio Arrigoni, were sentenced to life terms in prison after being found guilty of kidnapping and killing Arrigoni. A Gaza military court sentenced two of the indicted to life terms, meanwhile a third was sentenced to ten years for taking part in the kidnapping, and a fourth for one year for hiding the suspects.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza attended the court representing the family of Vittorio since the beginning of the trial on August 11, 2011. The centre said they have demanded the court to refrain from sentencing the suspects to death penalty if they were indicted, as the Center opposes death penalty in principle. This also was based on a request from Vittorio’s family.
Also this week Palestinian sources said on Thursday that arrangements are being conducted to transfer ailing hunger striking detainee, Samer al-Barq, to Egypt after a sharp decline in his health condition at a-Ramla Israeli Prison Clinic. Al-Barq, from the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, started his hunger strike 122 days ago demanding his release as he is being held by Israel without charges.
Also on Thursday a number of armed extremist Israeli settlers illegally confiscated, six thousand squared meters of privately-owned Palestinian lands, south of Al-Khader, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem. On Wednesday, a group of armed extremist Israeli settlers of the Avraham Avino illegal Israeli settlement, invaded a Palestinian home in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and attacked two family members including an eight years old child. The child is said to have sustained various cuts and bruises.
For IMEMC News this is Salam Qumsiyeh
The Political Report
This week in Palestine, chief Palestinian negotiator, Ahmad Qurai reiterated the Palestinians’ stance that a one-democratic-state solution seems workable amidst failure to reach a two-state-solution. Meanwhile, Palestinian national reconciliation is still far from reaching the details with IMEMC’s Rami Almeghari
Egyptian foreign minister, Mohammad Amro, asserted that his country is keen to bring the Islamist Hamas party in Gaza with the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank to gather for a national unity.
The Egyptian high-ranking official was responding to President Abbas’s concerns that recent visits by top Hamas leaders to Egypt would signal further split between the two parties.
Amro confirmed that Egypt welcome’s Hamas officials as regular visitors not as politicians. Some Arab media sources suggested that Hamas has recently opened up offices in Cairo, something that Amro denied totally.
This week, Palestinian Prime Minister of Hamas, Ismail Haniya, paid a second visit to Cairo in two months. He met this time with Egyptian intelligence chief on ways to bolster security cooperation between the two sides in light of Sinai terrorist attack of August5, that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers and 7 others near the border with Gaza.
In early July, Haniya and other Hamas leaders met with Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi in Cairo.
Meanwhile, Palestinian national unity is yet to be reached despite last year’s Cairo-brokered agreement to start implementing unity. Hamas says elections come after conciliation, while Fatah insists that election are a priority.
In another news, chief Palestinian negotiator, Ahmad Qurai , said this week that the Palestinian Authority is considering a one-state-solution as an alternative to the two-state-solution, which according to Qurai, proved failure.
For IMEMC News, I am Rami Almeghari in Gaza
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine this was the Weekly report for September 15th to 21st 2012 from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www.imemc.org. Today’s report has been brought to you by Husam Qassis and me, George Rishmawi
