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Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for November 23 to the 29th, 2013.
As the Palestinian leadership renewed its commitment to the peace process with Israel, attacks by the Israeli army left four Palestinians killed this week. These stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.
The Nonviolence Report
Let’s begin our weekly report as usual with the nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank. Many civilians were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli troops attacked on Friday the weekly anti wall and settlements protests organized at a number of West Bank communities. IMEMC’s Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura with the details:
This week protests were organized at the villages of Al Nabi Saleh, Bil’in and Nil’in, central West Bank in addition to Al Ma’ssra village, southern West Bank.
At the villages of Bil’in and Nil’in, residents and their international and Israeli supporters managed to reach the Israeli wall built on local farmers lands.
Israeli troops used tear gas and chemical water against protesters.
Meanwhile al Nabi Saleh protesters were attacked by Israeli soldiers before leaving the village. later troops invaded the village and fired tear gas into residents homes.
As a result Many people were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation among them children.
Elsewhere on Friday Israeli troops attacked al Ma’ssara residents and their supporters at village entrance then forced them back using rifle buts and batons, no injuries were reported.
For IMEMC News this is Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.
The Political Report
This week saw the first anniversary of the UN vote on a non-member Palestinian state within the United Nations, Meanwhile the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announces that he still committed to peace parameters with Israel. IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari has more:
Palestinian president , Mahmoud Abbas, says that Palestinians can never accept less than a Palestinian state on 1967 borders, as future Palestinian state.
Abbas added that parameters of peace with Israel should be confined to the 1967 border lines including the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The remarks came on the eve of Palestinian victory at the UN last November, when UN general assembly, recognized Palestine as a non-member state over the boundaries of 1967.
Since June2013, Palestinians and Israelis came back to negotiations table, under US patronage, yet they have achieved no concrete progress. Israel, from it’s part, has been carrying on settlements plans on occupied Palestinian territories.
Recently, US and some other international players, have warned against such settlement activities, dubbing them as impediment to peace-making.
In the meantime, Palestinian Authority’s officials have been on visits to friendly countries, in an attempt to garner political and economic support to Palestinians.
This week, Palestinian prime minister, Rami Alhamdallah, met with Emir of Qatar, Tameem Bin Hammad Al-Thani. Al-Thani emphasized on his country’s utter backing to the legitimate rights of Palestinians , saying that he would allow Palestinian laborers into Qatar.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Prime Minister of the Islamist Hamas, Ismail Haniya, met with representatives of local community and political factions, in an effort to reach a national unity deal.
Hamas and Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, have split since 2007, when Hamas took over Gaza. Hamas won 2006’s elections and since then international players shunned Hamas unless it accepts three demands; recognizing Israel, accepting past-signed agreements with Israel and renouncing violence.
For IMEMC News this is Rami Al Meghari
The West Bank and Gaza Report
This week four Palestinians were killed, at least 20 others injured, during Israeli army attacks targeting Palestinian communities in Gaza and the West Bank. In addition the Israeli army conducted 64 invasions targeting Palestinian communities this week. IMEMC’s Salam Qumsiy reports:
Three Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire, on Tuesday evening east of Yatta town, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. The army initially prevented the medics from reaching the bodies of the slain Palestinians, only informing them of their identities. The ambulance was only allowed through late Tuesday night.
The Israeli military claimed that it killed three members of a “Salafist Jihadist group on its way to open fire at Israeli targets”. Palestinian local sources deniaed the army reports and called it a plain extra-judicial execution.
Later in the week a young Palestinian man died on Thursday night, of wounds he suffered five months ago during clashes with Israeli soldiers at the Qalandia military checkpoint, between the central West Bank city of Ramallah and occupied Jerusalem.
Medical sources said that Mahmoud Awwad, 22, was shot in the head by a live round fired by an Israeli soldier, and was moved to the Hadassah Israeli Hospital in Jerusalem. He remained in a coma, in a serious condition, until his death.
Earlier in the week, five civilians, including two children, were wounded when dozens of boys gathered at the southern entrance of al-Jalazonerefugee camp, near Ramallah city, and clashed with Israeli soldiers. Later in the same day near Ramallah a Palestinian child was wounded by two bullets to the left leg when Israeli forces invaded Qarawet Bani Zaid village, northwest of Ramallah.
At least 15 more civilians were treated for the effects of tear gas inhilaiton during clashes that were reported in Hebron, Bethlehem and Jenin cities during army invasions targeting those cities on wededay and Thursday of this week.
Moreover, Israeli army forces conducted at least 64 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank this week. During these attacks, Israeli troops kidnapped 46 Palestinians, including 10 children.
In Gaza this week, Israeli gunboats opened fire on Thursday at Palestinian fishing boats that were sailing about one nautical mile off the fishing port, west of Rafah. The Israeli gunboats surrounded a Palestinian fishing boat and kidnapped two fishermen and took them to an unknown destination.
Earlier in the week Israeli troops shoot and injured on Tuesday a Palestinian young man near the borders between Israel and the southern Gaza strip city of Khan Younis. Local sources said that Israeli troops opened fire at a group of farmers working their land and hit a young man in his leg.
For IMEMC news this is Salam Qumsiy.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for November 23, to the 29th 2013 from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www.imemc.org. This week’s report has been brought to you by George Rishmawi and me, Ghassan Bannoura.
