Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for April 30, to May 6, 2016.
Israeli attacks targeting Palestinian communities in Gaza and the West Bank leave two killed civilians, meanwhile international efforts to deescalate the situation in Gaza are reported this week. 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 fired by Israeli troops who attacked on Friday anti wall and settlements protests organized in West Bank villages. This week anti wall and settlements protests were organized in the central west Bank villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin, and al Nabi Saleh. In addition, protests took place in the village of Kufer Qadum in northern West Bank and Beit Jala town in the south. Israeli soldiers used live rounds, tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets against the unarmed protesters.
Scores of residents and their international supporters were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly protest organized in Kufer Kadum village. Troops also fired tear gas into residents’ homes after invading the village. In Bil’in and Ni’lin ,protesters managed to reach the Israeli wall. Meanwhile in 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.
Also on Friday, Combatants for Peace Movement organized the monthly peaceful demonstration against the occupation and the violence it creates. Protesters gathered at Batteer village roundabout adjacent to road 60 near Beit Jala town and marched heading to the tunnel checkpoint separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem. Around 300 Palestinian and Israeli activists joined the freedom march. During the protest people chanted against occupation and settlements.
The Political Report
This week, regional players are reported to have intervened to prevent further escalation on the ground in Gaza. IMEMC Rami al Meghari with the details:
Qatari ambassador to the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Alamadi, is reported to have mediated a ceasefire in Gaza, following the eruption of a fresh spate of violence in the coastal region. Alamadi has stated that a calm will be observed soon.
In the meantime, Israeli inner cabinet decided Friday that Israel’s army will continue excavations along the Gaza-Israel border lines, in what Israel says attempts to discover and destroy subterranean underground tunnels, dug by Hamas and other armed resistance groups in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israeli army fire on Gaza killed a Palestinian woman of her fifties and injured a number of civilians , others. On the other hand, resistance factions in Gaza responded with a barrage of mortar shells.
Over the past 48 hours, Israeli drones and tanks opened fire on farm lands, open fields and factional sites, across the Gaza Strip.
In Gaza, Palestinian factions including the ruling Islamist Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, declared that they can not accept a new De-facto on Gaza borders and called for international intervention to prevent further Israeli actions , which they consider as a violation of last 2014’s ceasefire deal.
The factions warned that they would be obliged to respond their own way.
For IMEMC News, I am Rami al Meghari in Gaza.
The West Bank and Gaza Report
Israeli troops kill a Palestinian man in the West Bank, meanwhile Israeli bombardment targeting Gaza leave on killed and four injured. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura Reports:
On Tuesday of this week, Israeli soldiers shot and killed Ahmed Shehada 36, from Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem. He was killed after he ran over a number of Israeli soldiers at a military checkpoint, west of Ramallah city.
Witnesses indicated that the incident was a traffic incident but the soldiers opened fire at Shehada killing him claim he ran over the soldiers with his mini truck.
Also on Tuesday, dozens of Palestinian journalists gathered in front of Ofer prison, southwest of Ramallah, to protest against the detention of Palestinian journalists on the World Press Freedom Day. Israeli forces immediately started firing tear gas canisters and sound bombs. As a result, three journalists were wounded.
Earlier in the week, a Palestinian youth was injured on Sunday during clashes between Palestinian youth and invading Israeli troops at al Azza refugee camp in the southern west Bank city of Bethlehem.
Also this week, Israeli forces conducted at least 54 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. During these invasions, Israeli troops kidnapped at least 40 Palestinian civilians, including 11 children.
In Gaza this week, Palestinian medical sources have reported that a Palestinian woman was killed, on Thursday evening, after the Israeli army fired shells into Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The sources said that Zeina al-‘Amour, 55, was killed after the Israeli army fired artillery shells into the al-Fakhari area, east of Khan Younis. One Palestinian, identified as Khozeima al-Farra, 21, was injured in the bombardment.
Earlier on Thursday, Palestinian medical sources have reported that an elderly man, and three children, suffered moderate-to-severe wounds at dawn Thursday in a serious of Israeli air strikes targeting a number of areas in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli invasions and destruction of Palestinian farm lands targeting Gaza border areas continued this week. Such attacks were reported on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of this week.
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 April 30, to May 6, 2016. 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 George Rishmawi and me Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.
