Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Wednesday, May 18, 2016.
Troops invade West Bank communities, demolish a Palestinian home and kidnap a Palestinian lawmaker and other civilians. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.
Israeli soldiers demolished, on Wednesday at dawn, a Palestinian home in Shu’fat neighborhood, north of occupied East Jerusalem, after surrounding and isolating it.
Eyewitnesses said dozens of soldiers invaded the neighborhood, before breaking into the home of Rajeh Mohammad Saleh Hawareen, and forced him along with his family out of their property. Army bulldozers then proceeded to demolish the property, without allowing the family to remove all of its belongings and furniture.
The home was demolished so that Israel can pave a road linking between the illegal Israeli colonies of Ramat Shlomo and Pisgat Zeev, built on Palestinian lands in the occupied territories, in direct violation of International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention to which Israel is a signatory and a constant violator. The soldiers completely isolated the entire area, and prevented the Palestinians from approaching the property.
On Tuesday at dawn, the soldiers demolished two Palestinian homes in the Suwwana neighborhood, east of the city walls of occupied East Jerusalem, rendering 23 Palestinians homeless.
Elsewhere, Israeli soldiers kidnapped, earlier on Wednesday, at least six Palestinians, including a law maker and two teenagers, in different parts of the occupied West Bank, after invading their homes and searched them.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) said the soldiers kidnapped legislator Wasfi Kabaha, 52, from his home in the al-Bustan neighborhood in Jenin. legislator Kabaha was kidnapped and imprisoned at least nine times, spending more than fourteen years in prison, including being repeatedly held for extended periods under Administrative Detention order, without charges or trial.
Later on Wednesday evening, Israeli soldiers invaded the town of al-Khader, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, kidnapped a child, only 11 years of age, and refused to allow any member of his family to accompany him.
And that’s all for today from the IMEMC News; this was the Wednesday, May 18, 2016, news round-up from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. From more news and updates, please visit our website at www.imemc.org Today’s report has been brought to you by George Rishmawi and me Ghassan Bannoura.
