Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for April 01, to the 07, 2017.
As Israel welcomes the US attack on Syria this week Israeli army gunfire leave one Palestinian teenager killed another civilian injured. 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 Israeli soldiers attacked nonviolent protests organized in West Bank villages using tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets. In central West Bank, nonviolent protests were organized in the villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin. Troops used tear gas and rubber coated bullets against the unarmed protesters.
Both Bil’in and Ni’lin villagers and their international and Israeli supporters managed to reach the Israeli wall built on local farmers lands. At the village of Kufer Kadum, in northern West Bank, Israeli troops used live rounds and tear gas to attack villagers and their international and Israeli supporters. Many residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. Troops also fired tear gas at residents homes causing damage.
Also on Friday, about 150 Palestinian and Israeli peace activists marched near the West Bank city of Jericho in the freedom march. The protest which demanded an end to the occupation and halt of Israel’s annexing the Jordan Valley, was organized by combatants for peace and the standing together collation. Protesters marched along the settlers’ road just outside Jericho city and ended peacefully.
The Political Report
This week, Trump meets with the King of Jordan prior to US attack against Syria, the attack was highly welcomed by Israeli leaders, IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura has more:
This week, U.S. President Donald Trump and Jordan’s King Abdullah II both took part in a joint press conference in Washington D.C., where they discussed issues including the Middle East; Syria, Palestine and Israel were the primary focus.
Trump and Abdullah II both used the press conference to condemn the chemical attacks in Syria with Trump stating that this attack where innocent civilians including children and babies were killed has crossed many lines.
King Abdullah II expressed his ‘gratitude towards Trump for his involvement in the Middle East and his eagerness to solve the core conflict in the region’, referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Trump said, “Finally, we discussed to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East, including peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. And, I’m working very, very hard on trying to finally create peace between the Palestinians and Israel, and I think we’ll be successful.”
This is the second meeting between the two leaders was the since Trump took office.
In the meantime, Israel welcomed the American attack against Syrian targets. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed this attack against Syria saying that he was aware of such an operation. His minister of defense Avigdor Lieberman said that this is a message to the Syrian President Bashar Asad who is claimed to have used Chemical weapons against Syrians few days ago.
The United States fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syria overnight in response to what it believes was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 100 Syrians.
While Damascus said that six Syrians were killed, the Pentagon claimed civilians were not targeted and the strike was aimed at a military airfield in Homs.
In the meantime, Right-wing Israeli ministers are expected to introduce a formerly postponed bill to Israel’s parliament, next week which aims to annex the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adomim.
The Times of Israel reported that the controversial bill would be introduced at the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday by Members of Knesset Yoav Kish (Likud) and Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home).
Maale Adumim is the third largest settlement in population size, encompassing a large swath of land deep inside the occupied Jerusalem district. Many Israelis consider it an Israeli suburban city of Jerusalem, despite it being located on occupied Palestinian territory in contradiction of international law.
For IMEMC News, this is Ghassan Bannoura
The West Bank and Gaza Report
This week, a Palestinian teen was killed another civilian injured by Israeli army gunfire in the West Bank as tanks destroy farm lands in Gaza. IMEMC’s Majd Bajali reports:
Israeli police officers shot and killed, on Saturday afternoon, Ahmad Ghazal, 17, from Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, after he reportedly stabbed a police officer and two other Israeli settlers, in the al-Wad Street, leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem. The army later forced all stores shut, and abducted 20 Palestinians, including 17 merchants.
Israeli sources said that one police officer, was moderately injured, and two Israeli civilians, 18 and 23 years of age, suffered mild wounds in the incident.
Later in the week, Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday at dawn, the Deheishe refugee camp, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and clashed with local youths, before shooting and seriously injuring a young man, and abducted eight other Palestinians during violent searches of homes, in Bethlehem district, including three in Deheishe.
During the week, Israeli troops demolished more than a dozen Palestinian homes in a number of areas in Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers demolished, on Tuesday morning, fourteen apartments, in addition to an agricultural room and four walls, in Zaaim village, east of occupied East Jerusalem, reportedly for being built without permits.
Moreover the Jerusalem City Council has ordered the eviction and closure of three Palestinian apartments in Wadi Hilweh neighborhood, in Silwan town in the occupied East Jerusalem, due to ongoing excavations carried out by the Israeli authorities under their homes, destroying their foundations.
On Thursday, One Israeli soldier was killed, and another suffered mild wounds in what Israel called a deliberate ramming attack, carried out by a Palestinian driver, who was detained at the scene, at the junction of Ofra illegal Israeli colony, east of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.
Also this week, Israeli forces conducted at least 68 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem. During those invasions troops detained 73 Palestinian civilians, including 16 children.
In Gaza this week, bulldozers and tanks moved into the northern and southern Gaza Strip, near and destroyed farm lands along the separation fence. while Israeli planes also sprayed lands with toxins. The lands are planted with wheat, barley, Okra, melons, and several other types of plants that provided livelihood to many families.
For IMEMC News this is Majd Bajali.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for April 01, to the 07, 2017. From the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www-dot-imemc-dot-org, This week’s report has been brought to you by Sa’ed Naji and me Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.
