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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Thursday June 20th, 2013.

Israeli soldiers invade West Bank communities, ransack homes and kidnap civilians. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.

On Thursday the Commissioner for External Relations and Security Policy of the European Union Catherine Ashton, Demanded the Israeli occupation to lift the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, open all border crossings, and improve the lives of people living there.

Ashton made her statement as she visited UN run summer camp for chi9ldren in the Gaza strip today.
Elsewhere Israeli soldiers invaded various districts in the occupied West Bank, broke into and searched several homes and kidnapped at least six Palestinians.

Dozens of soldiers invaded the village of Ya’bod, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and kidnapped two Palestinians.

Army also invaded the Balata refugee camp, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and kidnapped one civilian.

Moreover several armored Israeli military jeeps invaded the Al-Khader town, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and kidnapped one resident.

Furthermore, two Palestinians have been kidnapped in Beit Ummar town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

A number of extremist Israeli settlers attacked, on Thursday at dawn a Palestinian car driving on the Nablus-Qalqilia road causing excessive damage but no injuries.

Resident Amjad Amin Jaber stated that the settlers surrounded his car, and hurled stones at it, while shouting racist slurs at him.

He added that the settlers attempted to physically attack him after attacking his car, but he managed to escape unharmed.

The latest attack is part on ongoing assaults carried out by extremist Israeli settlers against the Palestinians and their property in different parts of the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

And that’s all for today from the IMEMC News; this was the Thursday June 20th 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.