Audio Link After Text
Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for November 1st, to the 7th, 2014.
Two Palestinians are killed this week as tension remains high in Jerusalem, in the meantime diplomacy is underway to contain more escalation in the city. 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. An international supporter and a Palestinian man were injured on Friday when Israeli troops attack the weekly anti wall and settlements protests organized in West Bank village. IMEMC’s George Rishmawi with details:
Anti-wall and settlements 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 in southern West Bank. Israeli troops used tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets to suppress the three protests.
In al Nabi Saleh, protesters were stopped by Israeli soldiers at the village entrance, while in Bil’in and Ni’lin, protesters managed to reach the Israeli wall.
In Bil’in, a French protesters and a villager were injured after being hit with rubber-coated steel bullets fired by Israeli soldiers. Later many civilians were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when troops invaded the villages of Al Nabi Saleh and Bil’in and fired tear gas at residents’ homes.
Elsewhere in southern West Bank, Israeli troops stopped the weekly anti wall protest at Al Ma’ssara village entrance. Soldiers forced people back into the village using rifle buts and batons, no injuries were reported.
In the southern West Bank city of Hebron, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in protest of the Israeli attacks against Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem by Israeli settlers and soldiers. The protest was organized by the Palestinian political factions in Hebron.
Israeli troops opened fire at Palestinian protestors and showered them with dozens of tear gas canisters and rubber coated-steel bullets wounding ten.
Eyewitnesses said most injuries resulted from inhaling tear gas, while some others suffered bruises as they were hit with the rubber-coated steel bullets. They were all treated by field medics, as their wounds were described to be light.
For IMEMC News this is George Rishmawi.
The Political Report
Palestinian cabinet puts off a scheduled visit to the Gaza Strip, in light of recent bombings in the territory. Meanwhile, diplomacy is underway to contain more escalation in the occupied East Jerusalem. IMEMC’s Rami al Meghari has more:
A meeting of the Palestinian consensus government in Ramallah, ruled out a visit to the Gaza Strip, in the wake of bombings throughout the Gaza Strip.
A press release by the cabinet, headed by Dr. Rami Alhamdallah, decried the bombings of some Fatah leaders’ homes across the region, and dubbed them ‘ counterproductive’ for underway conciliation efforts between the former ruling Hamas party and the Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
The canceled visit by Alhamdalllah along with a number of ministers, was meant to find out ways to help the war-torn territory and push forward conciliation efforts.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas party, which gave up governance for the consensus temporrary cabinet, formed by President Abbas in April of this year, also condemned the attack and called for an immediate probe.
The bombings also hit a stage, set to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the passing away of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of Fatah party.
Meanwhile, several Gaza-based political factions, including leftist and Islamist, also denounced the attack on Gaza Fatah leaders’ homes as an outrageous crime, demanding justice for perpetrators.
At the political level, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamine Natenyahou, was reported to have assured the Jordanian Monarch, Abdallah II, that the status of the Alaqsa mosque of Jerusalem, will not change.
The assurance came in the backdrop of recent Israeli measures in the mosque, which led to Palestinian and Jordanian anger, as Jordan is the caretaker of the Alqsa mosque, since Israeli takeover of East Jerusalem, in 1967.
Other international and regional players called on Israel to refrain from actions that would fuel tension in the occupied Palestinian territories including the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem.
For IMEMC News, I am Rami Almeghari in Gaza.
The West Bank and Gaza Report
Two Palestinians were killed this week, in the meantime Tension in Jerusalem continues as radical settlers escalate attacks on al Aqsa Mosque. IMEMC’s Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura Reports:
On Wednesday, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli police in East Jerusalem after he attacked police officers with his car. A police officer was killed in the attack.
The Palestinian driver first rammed a number of Israeli security officers while waiting at a crosswalk, then continued to the train stations and rammed a number of cars in the street. The Palestinian driver has been identified as Ibrahim al-‘Akari, 38, from the Shu’fat refugee camp in Jerusalem.
The Hamas movement officially claimed responsibility for the attack, and said Ibrahim al-Akari is one of its members, and that he carried out the attack in retaliation to Israel’s ongoing violations against the Palestinian people, and the constant attacks targeting the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem.
Also on Wednesday a Palestinian man rammed his car with an Israeli military vehicle near Hebron city in southern West Bank injuring at least 10 Israeli soldiers. The man left his car and escaped. Moreover, a Palestinian man and an Israeli settler were killed on Wednesday evening due to a car accident at a settler’s road near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
According to witnesses the settler car went out of control and hit the Palestinian car on the other side of the road. Two more Palestinians were injured in the attack and were moved to a hospital in Jerusalem for treatment, local sources reported.
Since the start of the week Israeli settlers under the protection of Israeli soldiers continued to invade al-Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem leading to clashes with Palestinians worshipers. Many Palestinians were injured in the clashes.
On Friday clashes erupted at Qalndiya checkpoint in near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, in Bethlehem city and Hebron as well as many location in Jerusalem. The clashes started when Israeli soldiers attacked Palestinians protesting the ongoing attacks on al-Aqsa mosque.
On Thursday a Palestinian farmer from the al-Khader town, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, managed to escape an attack by an Israeli settler who tried to ram him with his car, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Also this week, The Israeli army demolished 20 tent homes and animal pens in the Jordan Valley village of Bardala. Fifty people were rendered homeless, over half of whom are children.
In Gaza, Egyptian authorities have been keeping the Rafah border crossing closed to passenger movement, in both directions, since last October. Palestinian officials were not able to provide any information regarding the re-opening of the crossing in the near future.
On Friday, a number of bombing attacks targeted a stage, set to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the passing away of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of Fatah in addition to some party leaders’ homes. Damage was reported but no injuries. ISIS linked group claimed responsibility.
For IMEMC News this is Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for November 1st, to the 7th, 2014. 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 Samer Jaber, and me Ghassan Bannoura.
