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Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for January 19th to 25th 2013
Israel holds its general elections bringing more relatively centrist parties to the Parliament, and in the mean time, Hamas and Fatah are close to reconciliation, these stories and more, coming up, stay tuned..
The Nonviolence Report
Let’s us begin our weekly report with nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank. Three protesters and a journalist were injured on Friday when Israeli soldiers attacked the anti wall and settlements protests across the West Bank. Salam Qumsiyeh has more:
Protests this week were reported in the villages of Bil’in Ni’lin and al Nabi Saleh in central West Bank, as well as Al Ma’ssara village in southern West Bank in addition to Kufur Qaddoum, in the north.
The Israeli army used tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound bombs to suppress the anti wall and settlements protesters. At the villages of al Nabi Saleh and Al Ma’ssara, soldiers attacked protesters before even leaving their villages to get to the farm lands Israeli is planning to construct the wall on.
Meanwhile three protesters and a journalist were slightly injured by Israeli army rubber-coated steel bullets at the village of Bil’in. at the same time at Ni’lin village, protesters managed to reach the Israeli wall before being attacked by Israeli soldiers stationed there. At the protest in Ni’lin many protesters were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
In Kufur Qaddoum village Israeli troops arrested one village during the weekly protest there, many other protester were also treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Earlier in the week, Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday at dawn, Bab Al-Karama Palestinian village, installed by Palestinian activists on lands Israel intends to illegally confiscate in Beit Iksa, north west of occupied Jerusalem, and removed all tents and structures.
Palestinian activists in Bab Al-Karama (Gate Of Dignity) stated that the soldiers removed and demolished everything the activists installed, and started forcing them away from the entire area.
The new Palestinian ‘village’ was installed last week on privately-owned Palestinians lands that belong to the residents of Beit Iksa; the lands are on the area Israeli named as E1 where the Netanyahu government intends to build thousands of units for Jewish settlers.
For IMEMC News this is Salam Qumsiyeh
The Political Report
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed willingness to meet with new members of the Israeli cabinet despite of various comments by Palestinians on the results. IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari with the details:
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is set to meet with some Israeli members of parliament in the shadow of recent Israeli elections. The new move came within the Palestinian efforts to find out a new prospect for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, based on the two-state solution, admitted by United Nations.
On another note, the president noted that current political stalemate between his Fatah party and the rival Hamas party will be resolved soon and that he is willing to do whatever possible at his disposal to make conciliation succeed.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas expressed willingness to reach an agreement with the rival Fatah party, in the aftermath of recent factional meetings in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.
The Hamas authorities in Gaza agreed to reopening the elections committee, ahead of possible conciliation with Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
On the Israeli elections, Gaza-based Palestinian factions expressed quite similar responses to the elections; mainly an Israeli election is an internal Israeli affair.
For IMEMC News, I am Rami Almeghari in Gaza
The West Bank and Gaza Report
This week two Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops’ gunfire. Moreover the Israeli military conducted at least 50 invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza. During these invasions Israeli troops kidnapped at least 37 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura has the story:
On Wednesday at the city of Bethlehem Saleh Al-Amareen, 15 died of wounds he sustained d last week. The boy was shot by a live round in the head last Friday by Israeli soldiers. He remained in a critical condition at the local hospital in the city until he died of his injuries on Wednesday.
Meanwhile Lobna Hannash, 21, also from Bethlehem, was shot by Israeli soldiers with a live round to the head on Wednesday, and died of her serious injuries at the Intensive Care Unit at the local hospital. Hannash was killed when she was on her way to her university in the nearby city of Hebron when soldiers opened at the car she was in.
On Thursday Seven Palestinians were injured during clashes between local youth and Israeli soldiers in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. The clashes in Bethlehem started after the funeral of Hannash and Al-Amareen.
Erlier in the week a former Palestinian political prisoner from Hebron, died, on Monday night at a hospital in Jerusalem after falling into a coma 50 days ago due to a serious health condition resulting from his imprisonment by Israel, and the lack of medical treated while in prison. Abu Thra’ spent six years in the Al-Ramla Israeli military detention center and frequently was sent to the clinic there that lacks basic supplies and specialized physicians; he was wheelchair bound, and suffered numerous health complication that were left untreated.
In the Gaza Strip this week a 2-year girl was wounded, on Saturday, when the Israeli forces positioned along the border fence in the central Gaza Strip, opened fire at the agricultural lands. The girl was playing in front of her family’s house that was 1,000 meters away from the fence.
On Monday a Palestinian boy was wounded when the Israeli forces positioned on watchtowers, northwest of Beit Lahia, opened fire at some workers who were collecting plastic, gravel and firewood a few meters away from the fence.
Moreover Israeli naval forces attacked Palestinian fishing boats six times this week. As a result, the fishermen were frightened and fled back to the shore for fear of being wounded or arrested. Neither material damage nor casualties were reported.
For IMEMC News this is Ghassan Bannoura.
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine this was the Weekly report for January 19th to 25th, 2013 from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please keep visiting our website at www.imemc.org. Today’s report has been brought to you by Husam Qassis and me, George Rishmawi
