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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Tuesday October 22rd, 2012.
The Prince of Qatar arrives in Gaza while Israel deports nine solidity activists kidnapped along with their ship by the army while in rout to the Gaza Strip. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.
The Prince of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa, and his wife, Mouza Bint Nasser, arrived in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning through the Rafah border terminal, between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, marking the first visit of a senior Arab official since Israel imposed the siege on Gaza in 2006.
The Prince, and accompanying delegates, was welcomed by Ismail Haniyya, Prime Minister of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, and leaders of different factions, except for Fateh and leftist movements.
Local sources said that the prince will remain in Gaza for one day, and intends to hold a meeting with Haniyya and several ministers and members of the Legislative Council. Bin Khalifa first visited the Gaza Strip in 1999, and was welcomed by the late President, Yasser Arafat.
Bin Khalifa visit today comes just one day of after Israeli bombardment targeting Gaza let three Palestinians dead and at least eight others injured.
In other news Israel officials reported that the Israeli Immigration Authority deported nine solidarity activists who were on the Estelle solidarity ship, that was boarded by the Israeli Navy in International waters on Sunday, 21 October 2012.
Sabine Haddad, spokeswoman of the Israeli Immigration Authority, told France Press that nine activists (5 from Greece, 3 from Span, and one Italian) voluntarily forfeited their right to appeal a judge’s decision for their deportation.
The Israeli Navy boarded the ship, which is carrying aid supplies to the besieged Gaza Strip and kidnapped 27 international peace activists, and three Israeli activists, who were aboard Estelle ship that was sailing under a Finnish flag.
Haddad said that 18 activists are still detained in an Israeli detention facility in Ramla, and are awaiting a judge’s order regarding their deportation, and added that such a decision could be made by Wednesday.
And that’s all for today from the IMEMC News; this was the Tuesday October 22rd news round-up 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 Hussam Qassis and me, Ghassan Bannoura.
