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Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for January 16, to the 22, 2016.
This week, British Doctors call for boycott actions against Israel, in the meantime two Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli attacks in 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. Five residents including a child were injured by Israeli troops’ gunfire, scores others suffered effects of tear gas inhalation on Friday when Israeli forces attacked nonviolent protests organized in West Bank villages. IMEMC’s Majd Batjali with the details :
This week protests were organized in the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin and al Nabi Saleh in central West Bank, and in the northern West Bank village of Kufer Kadum.
Three villagers were injured, as Israeli troops attacked the weekly protest organized by the villagers of Kufer Kadum. Troops fired live rounds, mushroom bullets and tear gas at protesters and their supporters at the village entrance. Soldiers also fired at residents homes live rounds and tear gas.
Nine-year-old Ayat Zahi was among the three villagers injured. She was hit with a live round in her hand and was moved to a nearby hospital for treatment. The other two were hit with rubber-coated steel bullets.
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. Two local youth were lightly wounded in Bil’in after being hit by rubber coated steel bullets.
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.
For IMEMC News this Majd Batjali.
The Political Report
British Doctors call for boycott actions against Israel and Human Rights Watch slam the Israeli settlements. IMEMC’s George Rishmawi has more:
British doctors have called for the removal of Israel from the World Medical Association (WMA) over claims of “medical torture” on Palestinians seeking treatment.
Ze’ev Feldman, the representative of the Israeli doctors, told an Israeli Parliament meeting that some 71 UK doctors have started to pressure the WMA to revoke the membership of the Israel Medical Association, over claims that Israeli doctors perform medical torture on Palestinian patients.
According to media sources, if the British physicians succeed, the Tel Aviv regime will be banned from taking part in international medical conferences and publishing in journals.
The move follows similar measures launched by scholars around the world over the past few months. In December, over 200 South African scholars released a statement announcing their support of an academic boycott of Israel.
In November, the American Anthropological Association, the largest professional organization of anthropologists in the world, approved a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions.
Moreover, the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, known as BDS, is gaining momentum in US college campuses and churches as well as in many places in Europe. The BDS movement seeks to end the Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands.
In other news, Human Rights Watch, this week, called on Israeli and international businesses to withdraw from Jewish-only settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, saying they contribute to and benefit from Israeli violations.
The international rights group said in a statement, according to Palestinian media sources, that Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights — as well as international humanitarian law — were ‘intrinsic to abusive, harmful, and longstanding policies in the West Bank.’
The organization said that the only way for businesses to avoid contributing to this violation of international law would be to completely withdraw their business activity from the occupied Palestinian territory.
The statement was issued following the release of a 162-page report on Israeli and international businesses operating in the occupied Palestinian territory, entitled Occupation Inc.
Studies conducted for the report said settlement businesses contributed to rights violations through the labor abuse of Palestinians, development of Israeli Jewish-only infrastructure in the occupied territory, as well as the confiscation and restriction of Palestinian lands.
PLO Secretary-General Dr. Saeb Erekat said in response to the report that the findings countered statements made by Israeli leadership that settlement businesses “contributed” to the Palestinian economy.
In a statement, Erekat praised the report, but expressed disappointment that it fell short by failing to call for a complete ban on trade with Israeli settlements.
For IMEMC News, this is George Rishmawi
The West Bank and Gaza Report
This week, Israeli attacks leave two killed Palestinians in the West Bank, meanwhile in Gaza, troops attack farmers and fishers. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura Reports:
A Palestinian youth was killed, on Saturday, by Israeli troops manning a military checkpoint located at the southern entrance of Nablus city in northern West Bank. Wesam Qasarwah, 21, was shot with ten bullets after he crossed the checkpoint. Local sources said that he tried to throw a knife at soldiers from a distance and that he did not threaten the life of the soldiers barricaded inside the checkpoint.
On Monday, Palestinian youth was killed and his brother was critically injured on Monday when a settler hit them with his car near the northern West Bank city of Salfit. Khalil Ammer, 19 and his brother Udai, 18, were riding their bicycles near the main road of their village Massah when a settler hit them with his car and fled the scene. Khalil was killed on spot and Udai was critically injured and moved to a nearby hospital in Salfit, Palestinian sources added.
Moreover, a Palestinian family was attacked, on Tuesday, by Israeli settlers near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian sources reported. According to local sources, the family was in their car at the Barta’a-Jenin road when they were attacked by the armed Israeli settlers.
Witnesses told local media that the group of armed settlers came from the Dotan illegal Israeli settlement near Barta’a village. Medical sources said that the all-family members including two children sustained cuts and broses and were moved to a hospital in Jenin, due to the settlers attack.
Elsewhere, three Palestinians homes were demolished by the Israeli army on Wednesday during in deferent parts of occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israeli soldiers demolished, Wednesday, an under construction Palestinian home, and its surrounding walls, in Beit ar-Roush village, south of Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West bank. On Wednesday at dawn, the soldiers invaded Wad Qaddoum neighborhood in Silwan town, in occupied Jerusalem, and demolished an under construction home, after surrounding the area. also in Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers demolished a newly-built Palestinian home in Beit Hanina neighborhood,; the family was preparing to move into their residence next week.
Also this week, Israeli forces conducted at least 127 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. During these invasions, Israeli troops kidnapped more than 77 Palestinian civilians including four children.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers station along the southern borders with the costal region attacked farmers on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday of this week. Damage was reported to farmlands but no injuries. On Friday Israeli navy attacked Palestinian fishing boats in Palestinian waters forcing them to go back to shore.
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 16, to the 22, 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.
