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Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for 9th, to the 15th, 2015.
This week, Palestinians marked the 67th anniversary of Nakba day amidst more Israeli escalation in attacks targeting Palestinians communities in Gaza and the West Bank. 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. Four protesters were injured by Israeli troops’ gunfire, scores others suffered effects of tear gas inhalation on Friday as Israeli forces attacked nonviolent protests organized in West Bank villages. IMEMC’s Majd Batjali with the details:
This week protesters marked the 67th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba. Four youth were injured, and many others were treated for the effect of tear gas inhalation as Israeli troops attacked the weekly protest organized by the villagers of Kufer Kadum in northern West Bank.
In central West Bank, at the villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin, Israeli soldiers attacked the protesters as soon as they reached the gate in the wall that separates local farmers from their lands. Many protesters suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation and were treated by field medics at both locations.
At the nearby al Nabi Saleh village, Israeli troops fired several rounds of rubber-coated steel bullets at the villagers as soon as they reached the village entrance. Moreover Israeli troops fired tear gas at residential areas causing damage to homes. Many residents suffered effects of tear gas inhalation as a result.
Also on Friday at the village of al Ma’ssara near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, soldiers attacked villagers and their international supporters as soon as they reached the entrance of the village and forced them back. No injuries were reported.
For IMEMC News this Majd Batjali.
The Political Report
European Parliament is considering new moves regarding stalled peace process between Palestinians and Israelis, as the International court of justice is ready to receive complaints over Israeli war crimes, against Palestinians. IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari has more:
European Union parliament would likely withdraw European nationalities from Israeli settlers, based on Israeli responses to European mediation, soon.
According to Israeli media reports, a number of European high-ranking officials are visiting the region, soon, in an attempt to mediate resume the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Among those officials, the foreign minister of Germany,
After having passed a law, labeling Israeli products, made in illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, the European parliament will likely consider other moves like banning entry of settlement-made goods, into European countries. Yet, European officials will be listening directly to Israeli officials, in light of recent Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks that he would not accept a two-state solution.
Meanwhile, US’s President, Barak Obama, was quoted as saying this week that chances for peace between Israel and Palestinians are dim, in light of frozen talks. In the meantime, International Court of Justice, is ready to receive complaints over Israeli war crimes, across the occupied Palestinian territories.
On the internal level, millions of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the diaspora, are commemorating this week, the 67 anniversary of the Palestinian people’s Nakbah or the 1948’s Israeli displacement of hundreds of Palestinians from their ancestors’ lands in historical Palestine. On top of Palestinians’ demands is the right of return, as guaranteed by United Nations’ General Assembly resolution of 191.
Dr. Khaled Safi, professor of Arab Modern History with the Gaza-based Alazhar University told IMEMC that the Palestinian people’s commemoration of May15, 1948’s expulsion, should not remain merely commemoration.
Khaled Safi: Arabic
‘ ‘We need a collective national effort that keeps record of the Nakbah history, in a time Israel always attempts to obliterate the Palestinian identity and memory. And I believe that such a collective work is not less significant than any other forms of the Palestinian struggle, including armed and political ones’
The Palestinian central bureau of statistics suggests that till the end of 2014, the number of Palestinian refugees stood at five and a half million. Most live scattered among 58 refugee camps in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories. Eight of those camps are in the Gaza Strip.
More than 1-pont-5 million Palestinians live outside of the Arab world as part of a large, international diaspora. The largest populations of diaspora Palestinians outside of the Arab world live in Chile, the United States and Honduras.
For IMEMC News, I am Rami Almeghari in Gaza
The West Bank and Gaza Report
This week Palestinians marked the 67th anniversary of Nakba day. Meanwhile in Gaza Israeli attacks targeting farmers and Fishermen escalated this week. IMEMC’s Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura reports:
In 1948, Jewish forces destroyed hundreds of Palestinian villages and towns, to establish the state of Israel. As a result more than 800,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes and became refugees and still are prevented from returning. Rallies were organized in all major cities. Protesters demanded the right of return and end to the Israeli occupation.
On Friday three Palestinian youth were injured when Israeli troops used live gunfire to attack Nakba day protest organized outside Ofer military base near the central West Bank city of Ramallah. The three were moved to a hospital in Ramallah city after sustaining moderate wounds, local sources reported.
On Thursday night, at least eight Palestinians have been injured after Israeli soldiers, and settlers, invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus, leading to clashes with local youths. The eight Palestinians were moved to the Rafidia governmental hospital, while medics provided medical treatment to many residents who suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation.
In the Gaza Strip this week, 50 Palestinian civilians were injured on Thursday afternoon when an Israeli missile exploded near residents homes in Beit Lahyia town in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Three civilians were moved to hospital and were admitted to surgery after sustaining critical wounds, medical sources added.
According to witnesses, a missile that was fired by Israeli jetfighters and did not explode during last summer Israeli war on Gaza was found near residents’ homes on Thursday, when some local men tried to disarm it and remove it the missile went off causing huge damage and injuring 50 civilians.
Palestinian sources report that during the Israeli war on Gaza last summer, Jetfighters bombed Gaza with hundreds of live ammunition, scores of those missiles and bombs did not explode and continue to threaten the life of the civilian population of the coastal enclave.
Also in Gaza this week, Israeli forces continued to opened fire at Palestinian farmers near boarder areas and attack fishermen. On Monday Israeli tanks invaded areas east of Gaza city while troops opened fire at on farmers in southern Gaza. On Tuesday Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian farms in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip, burning a large amount of wheat crops. No injuries were reported in all attacks.
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 9th, to the 15th, 2015. 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 George Rishmawi and me Ghassan Bannoura.
