Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Monday, June 13, 2016.
Israeli forces continue to siege Palestinian village, in the meantime army flares destroy Palestinian olive trees. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned. Israeli forces, on Monday at dawn, broke into and raided Palestinian homes in the southern West Bank town of Yatta, tightening the siege that has been imposed on the town since Thursday.
The siege on Yatta followed the Tel Aviv shooting which was carried by two youths from the town, and saw four Israelis killed and several others injured. The army closed the town entrances with sand hills, and even blockaded roads between several neighborhoods, just one day after the soldiers opened them.
In the meantime, The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Monday at dawn and late at night Sunday, at least fifteen Palestinians in different parts of the occupied West Bank. Home searches and kidnappings were reported in East Jerusalem, Qalqilia and Tulkarem cities in northern West Bank in addition to Bethlehem and Hebron areas in southern West Bank.
Moreover, Agricultural lands located behind the apartheid wall in Qalqilia, were set on fire late Sunday night due to the firing of flares by Israeli forces, Palestinian media reported.
Dozens of olive trees were reportedly engulfed in flames after Israeli forces fired light flares over agricultural lands in Qalqilia. Palestinian civil defense rushed to the scene and managed to prevent the fire from spreading. Losses were estimated at about 50 olive trees and 100 dunams of land.
In other news, Israeli authorities, on Monday, decided to extend the administrative detention of a 23-year-old Palestinian circus performer, in spite of widespread outcry from activists and rights groups around the world demanding his release.
Israeli authorities ruled to extend Muhammad Abu Sakha’s remand for another six months, from June 13 until Dec. 12, in addition to the six months he has already served in administrative detention — Israel’s controversial policy of internment without trial or charge.
And that’s all for today from the IMEMC News; this was the Monday, June 13, 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.
