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Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for January 02, to the 08, 2016.
At least five Palestinians were killed this week by Israeli gunfire, meanwhile President Abbas to discuss with Palestinian leadership the future of security coordination with Israel. 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. scores of protesters were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation on Friday when Israeli troops attacked anti wall and settlement protests organized at a number of west Bank villages. IMEMC’s Majd Batjali has more:
On Friday protests were organized at the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin and Al Nabi Saleh in central West Bank. Anti-wall and settlements protests were also organized in the northern West Bank village of Kufer Qadum.
Scores of residents and their supporters were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation in Kufer Qadum, when Israeli troops attacked the weekly protest. Later troops stormed the village and fired tear gas at residents homes causing damage.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers attacked protesters in Al Nabi saleh before even leaving the village. At the nearby villages of Bil’in, and Ni’lin, residents and their supporters reached the Israeli wall. Soldiers stationed their showered them with tear gas and chemical water that generate bad smell. Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
For IMEMC News this is Majd Batjali.
The Political Report
The Palestinian president announced this week that the PLO would officially make a decision next week regarding the upholding of contractual relations with Israel, namely the security coordination. IMEMC’s George Rishmawi has the details:
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made an announcement concerning security coordination with Israel, during a speech delivered in the occupied West Bank town of Bethlehem during Orthodox Christmas celebrations on Wednesday.
Abbas reiterated past statements made by Palestinian political bodies supporting the end to agreements signed with Israel, notably the end of security coordination with Israel established through the Oslo Accords. Despite threats made in September by the Palestinian president to renege from the agreements, moves have yet to be made to cut coordination with his Israeli counterparts.
Abbas said “The Executive Committee and the Central Committee of the PLO as well as commanders of Palestinian Authority security services will hold meetings next week to give the final decision and we will adhere with whatever they decide.”
The president also said that as the international community has convened to address conflicts in Syria and Libya, it should also convene to solve the problems of the Palestinians, adding that the status quo maintained since Israel’s military occupation began in 1967 must end.
The Palestinian leadership won’t allow the status quo to continue, Abbas said, calling for the removal of all settlements established in the occupied West Bank since 1967.
Abbas rejected that the PA was facing imminent collapse, in response to ongoing recent talks by Israeli leadership regarding the pressing possibility that the body could soon dissolve due to a wave of unrest, Palestine’s economic crisis, and a political crisis in the Palestinian leadership.
Abbas said, “The PA is one of our accomplishments and let nobody dream of its collapse.”
According to Palestinian media sources, Abbas stressed during his speech that the PA will only be replaced by a Palestinian state, and no one should dream that it will collapse. The Palestinian Authority is one of the achievements of the Palestinians and will not be given u on.
Abbas also said that the Palestinian leadership will not accept any other scenarios, referring to reports that the Israeli government had recently discussed various scenarios that could emerge in the aftermath of the collapse of the PA.
The president’s remarks come despite comments made by PLO Central Council member Muhammad Shtayyeh last month cautioning that the PA will face “extreme difficulty” in surviving the current situation for much longer. Shtayyeh asked: “If Israel is intending to kill teenagers everyday, who have a lack of means for living…with all of the aggression that Israel is employing, how long can the Palestinian leadership maintain this reality?”
The question remains, how long will the Palestinian Authority sustain under this pressure, and is the collapse of the PA an Israeli interest.
For IMEMC News, this is George Rishmawi
The West Bank and Gaza Report
Five Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire this week, meanwhile Israeli troops continued to attack Gaza fishermen and farmers. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura reports:
With the five killed this week, the number of Palestinians shot dead by Israeli gunfire since October 1 have reached 149. Four Palestinian civilians, three from the same family, were killed by Israeli troops’ gunfire on Thursday near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
On Thursday evening, Israeli soldiers shot and killed, Khalil Shalalda, 16, at the Beit ‘Einoun military roadblock, east of Hebron. He is from Sa’ir town, near Hebron. He is the brother of Mahmoud Shalalda , who was killed by the Israeli army last November. Earlier on Thursday, Three Palestinians from the Kawazba family in Sa’ir – were killed by Israeli soldiers on Thursday evening at the Gush Etzion checkpoint near Hebron.
The Israeli army claimed that all four killed “attempted to stab soldiers manning the roadblocks, No soldiers were injured in the alleged attacks. The Israeli military has come under fire in recent months for its practice of pre-emptively shooting any Palestinian it deems ‘threatening’ – including children. In addition, soldiers have been captured on camera on several occasions planting knives next to the bodies of unarmed Palestinian civilians who were killed by Israeli gunfire.
On Wednesday a Palestinian 12-year-old child suffered a serious head injury, after Israeli soldiers shot him in the head, druing an army invasion targeting the al-‘Isawiyya town, in occupied Jerusalem.
Earlier in the week, a Palestinian teenager was shoot and killed by Israeli soldiers on Tuesday near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. Ahmad Kawazbah, 18, was shoot near the illegal Israeli settlement of Gush Atzion south of Bethlehem on Tuesday midday. Israeli soldiers accused him of trying to stab soldiers.
Palestinian sources said that Kawazbah was critically wounded by the soldiers and was left on the ground bleeding until he died. Soldiers did not allow Palestinian medics from reaching Kawazbah in time to provide him with medical care.
A Palestinian teenager was injured and arrested by Israeli police in Jerusalem on Monday evening, Israeli media sources reported. The 17-year-old teen, was shot and injured, by Israeli police near the tram station in West Jerusalem; The Israeli police claimed that he stabbed a soldier and a settler before he was shot and arrested by officers. Israeli media sources said that the two Israelis were moved to hospital after sustaining light wounds.
also , Five Palestinians were injured on Monday when a house caught fire in Jayous village near Qalqilia city in northern West Bank. The house caught fire when Israeli soldiers invaded the village and fired tear gas into residents homes, local sources reported. The five were moved to a hospital in Qalqilia city, two in critical conditions, Palestinian sources added.
In the Gaza Strip this week, Israeli troops attacked farmers and residents homes close to central and southern borders with Israel, causing damage. Attacks were reported on Tuesday and Thursday of this week. On Wednesday, Israeli navy ships attacked a Palestinian fishing boat in Palestinian territorial waters of the shore of Gaza city. The boat caught fire and was destroyed, no injuries were reported.
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 January 02, to the 08, 2016. 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.
