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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Thursday February 21st, 2013.

Palestinian man set himself on fire in Gaza, and Israeli settlers torch Palestinian cars in the West Bank. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.

A Palestinian man sustained critical wounds after he set himself on fire today at the town of Jabaliya in the northern part of the Gaza strip. According to media sources in Gaza, Mohamed Al Namroti, 42 years old, set himself on fire outside the Social Affairs ministry headquarters. Al Namroti is believed to have set himself on fire in protest of the bad economy and unemployment in Gaza.

Also in Gaza today two Israeli gunboats attacked a Palestinian fishing boat, boarding 3 fishermen, sailing 3 nautical miles off al-Waha Resourt shore in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli soldiers fired directly at the boat. As a result, a fisherman, Ayman ‘Adnan Kabaja, 37, from Gaza City, was wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet to the left hand. Additionally, the fishing boat was damaged.

In the West Bank on Thursday, many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation during clashes that erupted between local youth and Israeli troops in Nablus city, northern West Bank. The clashes erupted when soldiers attack a solidarity protest with hunger striking Palestinian political detainees being held by Israel.

Eelier on Thursday at dawn a group of armed extremist Israeli settlers invaded the village of Qarsa, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, broke into several homes and torched six cars that belong to the residents. Residents said that the settlers came from Yesh Kodesh illegal settlement, close to the village.

Elsewhere, Israeli soldiers fired a tear gas into a Palestinian bus near the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday. Witnesses told local media that soldier drove next to the bus then fired tear gas inside it casing many passengers to be treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. The soldiers attacked the bus without any provocation, residents added.

And that’s all for today from the IMEMC News; this was the Thursday February 21st, 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.