Audio Link After Text
Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for November 21, to the 27, 2015.
US Secretary of State John Carry visit to the region being nothing new as Israeli attacks leave thirteen 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. On Friday, many were injured including a journalist; scores were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli troops attacked nonviolent protests organized in West Bank villages. IMEMC’s Majd Batjali with the details:
At the village of Kufer Kadum in northern West Bank three youth were injured by live rounds and many residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as Israeli troops attacked the weekly protest there. Troops later stormed the village and fired tear gas and chemical water into residents homes.
Meanwhile in the villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin, in central West Bank, Israeli soldiers attacked the protesters as soon as they reached the gate in the wall that separates local farmers from their lands.
In Bil’in Israeli soldiers shot and injured Hamdi Abu Rahma a local journalist. 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, troops attacked protesters at the village entrance. Israeli soldiers fired several rounds of rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at protesters and nearby homes. Many residents suffered effects of tear gas inhalation as a result.
In Bethlehem, 300 Israeli and Palestinian peace activists marched at settlers road 60 to protest he Israeli occupation. The protesters gathered near an Israeli military checkpoint separating Bethlehem city from Jerusalem.
For IMEMC News this Majd Batjali.
The Political Report
White House Stands by ‘Big No’ on recognizing construction in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Palestinians believe Kerry did not bring anything new, IMEMC’s George Rishmawi with the details:
The United States administration rejected a request by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize the construction in the Israeli settlement blocs built in the West Bank.
Spokesperson of the White House Mark Toner said the US is committed to a decades-old policy on Israeli settlements, and is not going to change it.
“I can be very clear that we’re not changing – again, we’re not changing – the decades-old U.S. policy regarding settlements,” Toner, said this week when asked at the daily briefing about reports that Netanyahu demanded recognition of Israel’s right to build in the West Bank settlements in exchange for granting Palestinians the same right.
This message was conveyed to Netanyahu during his meeting with the US Secretary of State John Kerry who was visiting the region during the past week.
Netanyahu argued, the US recognition will make it easier to convince his cabinet to give the Palestinians building permits, however, Toner insisted that administrations of both America’s main parties have long recognized that settlement activity and efforts to change the facts on the ground undermine the goal of a two-state solution.
In the meantime a Palestinian official source told media that Kerry did not have anything new during his meeting with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Kerry has only reiterated stances the US Administration has had for a long time.
In other news, Israeli human rights center, B’Tselem, held the Israeli government responsible for the committing of field executions against Palestinians by both Israeli forces and civilians.
The director general of the center, Hagai Elad, said that the Israeli government encouraged Israeli forces to act as judge or executioner and to shoot Palestinians dead, even after apprehending them.
Elad noted that the collected CCTV footage show Israeli police shooting both Hadil and Nurhan Awad as they lay motionless on the ground. The footage show that an Israeli civilian knocked Nurhan to the ground before she was shot.
He also noted the incident in which Ashraqet Qatnani, aged 16, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers after being run over by Gershon Mesika, the former head of the Shomron regional council. Gershon confirmed that the soldiers shot her dead even though she was posing no danger to anyone.
The center also said that Israeli ministers and other politicians, as well as top military and police officers, openly encourage civilians to shoot and kill any Palestinian suspected of assaulting Israelis, regardless of the extent of danger that he or she poses at the time.
At least 104 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military, settlers and other Israeli civilians since the beginning of October to date.
For IMEMC News, this is George Rishmawi
The West Bank and Gaza Report
Thirteen Palestinians were killed this week by Israeli gunfire while at least 200 others injured as clashes continue in Gaza and the west Bank. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura Report:
On Friday two Palestinians were killed by Isralei troops gunfire in two separate attacks. an armed Israeli settler shot dead a young Palestinian man, identified as Fadi Khseib, 25. The slain Palestinian is the brother of Shadi Khseib, who was killed by a armed Israeli settler on Sunday.
On Thursday Three Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank. Two of the killed on Thursday were left bleeding on the ground after being shot by Israeli soldiers until they died, Palestinians medical sources reported.
One youth was killed in clashes in the southern West Bank al-Aroub refugee camp, another young man was killed when Israeli shot him during clashes in the town of Qatanna near Jerusalem. Moreover a 51 year old man was killed at the Za’atara (Tappuah) military checkpoint south of Nablus city in northern West Bank.
Earlier in the week, a 16-year-old Palestinian shot by Israeli forces, during clashes two weeks ago, succumbed to his wounds on Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian student, after the teen stabbed an Israeli soldier near al-Fawwar refugee camp, in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron.
On Monday, Israeli troops shot and killed three Palestinians in three separate attacks. Israeli forces shot and killed a teenager on Monday afternoon after he allegedly attempted to stab an Israeli soldier at the Huwwara checkpoint south of Nablus. Also on Monday, Palestinian man was shot dead after stabbing and killing an Israeli settler and injuring another on settlers road 443 west of Ramallah. Earlier on Monday midday, a 16-year-old Palestinian girl was shot dead in Jerusalem, after allegedly carrying out a stabbing attack near the Mahane Yehuda market.
Three more Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire on Sunday. One Palestinian woman was killed on sunday at the checkpoint of Huwwara, near Nablus, two men were killed in two spate shooting incidents one near the central West Bank city of Ramallah and the other near Bethlehem in southern west Bank.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of health 104 Palestinians were killed Israeli gunfire since October 1st. moreover at least 12,000 Palestinians have been injured in the same period. 200 were injured in ongoing clashes this week all over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile Israeli forces conducted at least 88 invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank this week. During these invasions, Israeli troops kidnapped at least 166 Palestinian civilians, including 35 children.
For IMEMC News this is Ghassan Bannoura.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for November 21, to the 27, 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 by Maher Qasiess and me Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.
