Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for June 4, to the 10, 2016.
This week a Palestinian youth died after being shot by Israeli troops in the West Bank meanwhile France voices concerns over Israeli measures against Palestinians. 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. 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.
in Kufer Kadum many residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as Israeli troops attacked the weekly protest there. Troops later stormed the village and fired tear gas into residents homes.
Meanwhile in the villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin, in central West Bank, Israeli soldiers attacked the protesters as soon as they reached the gate in the wall that separates local farmers from their lands.
At the nearby al Nabi Saleh village, troops attacked protesters at the village entrance. Israeli soldiers fired several rounds of rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at protesters and nearby homes. Many residents suffered effects of tear gas inhalation as a result
The Political Report
This week France warns against current Israeli measures against Palestinians, in the meantime Palestinian factions calls on President Abbas to end security coordination with Israel. IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari has more:
France warned this week that current Israeli measures against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian Territories, would further complicate efforts for peace in the Middle East. It also emphasized on the need for going ahead regarding the French initiative for peace in the Middle East, mainly holding an international conference, upon a French initiative.
France had earlier condemned a shootout incident in the Israeli city of Tel-Aviv, in which four Israelis were killed. Two Palestinians from the West Bank of Hebron, were reported to have carried out the shootout inside a supermarket.
In a related news, the UN’s office for humanitarian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, decried an Israeli decision to cancel 83 thousand permits for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza, during the holy month of Ramadan. The office described the decision as ‘ collective punishment”.
In the meantime, Palestinian Authority condemned all forms of violence that target civilians , whoever and wherever. The PA’s condemnation came in the backdrop of Tel-Aviv’s shootout.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas’s speaker of parliament, Ahmad Bahar, called the PA to drop what he termed security coordination with the Israeli occupation and halt arrest campaigns of Palestinian resistance members. Bahar also called on the rival Fatah party to go for national unity, asserting on his party’s willingness to realize such a unity , based on previous understandings in Gaza, Cairo and Doha.
Meanwhile, representatives of both Hamas and Fatah are set to meet next week in Doha, for talks over possible national conciliation.
For IMEMC News, I am Rami Al Meghari in Gaza.
The West Bank and Gaza Report
Israeli attacks targeting West Bank communities in the West Bank leave one killed youth, meanwhile in Gaza Navy ships attack fishers. IMEMC’s George Rishmawi reports:
On Monday, 20-year old Jamal Dweikat died of serious wounds he suffered last week after Israeli soldiers shot him during an invasion targeting the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Dweikat was shot with a live round in the head, and remained in a very serious condition. Dweikat, and another wounded Palestinian, were moved to a hospital in Nablus, before he was transferred to an Israeli hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Elsewhere, a number of extremist Israeli settlers invaded, on Wednesday morning, Palestinian agricultural lands, in the al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, and bulldozed them while many soldiers were deployed around the area. Moreover, Palestinian media sources reported on Thursday that Israeli settlers, sprayed racist graffiti on the walls of the Palestinian village of Abu Ghoush, northwest of Jerusalem. The painted graffiti included racist slogans, such as “Death to Arabs” and “Price Tag”.
During the week, Israeli forces conducted at least 51 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem. During these invasions, Israeli troops kidnapped at least 44 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children.
In the meantime, The Israeli Government issued an order freezing more than 83,000 permits that allow Palestinians to enter occupied East Jerusalem. The freeze comes in the wake of a deadly shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, in which four Israelis were killed and six were wounded.
Two Palestinian suspects were detained on the scene, and the Israeli military detained a number of Palestinian in the town of Yatta near Hebron, where the two alleged assailants come from.
In the Gaza Strip this week, Israeli navy ship attacked, on Wednesday at dawn, a number of Palestinian fishing boats, in the Sudaniyya Sea area, northwest of Gaza city, and kidnapped three fishermen. The navy opened automatic gun-fire against the fishing boats, causing damage, before kidnapping the three fishermen, and took them to Ashdod Port.
Elsewhere, on Monday, Israeli military bulldozers reportedly penetrated into the Gaza Strip, east of the border fence. Eyewitness stated that five Israeli D9 bulldozers, went 50 meters deep into Palestinian lands. Israeli bulldozers repeatedly sweep these lands in violation of the Cairo agreements of 2014 which came as a result of the summer long Israeli offensive in the region.
For IMEMC news this is George Rishmawi
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for June 4, to the 10, 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 Maher Qassiss and me Ghassan Bannoura.
