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Israeli army closes northern entry to Salfit governorate with cement blocks
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - Israeli forces have closed the northern entry to the Salfit governorate with cement blocks, Palestinian security sources confirmed on Friday. The security sources told Ma’an’s Nablus correspondent that an Israeli bulldozer accompanied by three military jeeps closed the northwestern entry to the Salfit governorate near the Ariel settlement with cement blocks. The Ariel settlement is the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank. This northern entry to the Salfit governorate is used by thousands of civilians daily and is the main route connecting Salfit and a number of surrounding villages. [end]
Israel closes Sufa crossing after Hamas threaten protest
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - Israeli forces closed the Sufa crossing east of Rafah in the southern the Gaza Strip on Friday morning, Palestinian sources reported. The sources told Ma’an that the Sufa crossing was supposed to be opened from 9am until 5pm as usual in order to allow food and commercial supplies into the Gaza Strip but the Israeli authority closed the crossing for "security reasons." Hamas has called on its affiliates to march towards the Sufa crossing after Friday prayers to condemn the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Ma’an’s correspondent said that Israeli military vehicles raided the area near the crossing before the Friday prayer ended and before the demonstration had started. Last week Hamas affiliates staged a protest march at the Karni crossing east of Gaza City. During the demonstration one civilian was killed and dozens were injured when Israeli forces. . . more.. e-mail
Housing Ministry to issue tender for construction in East Jerusalem neighborhood
Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 5/30/2008
Days before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s departure for Washington, Housing Minister Ze’ev Boim announced Friday that his ministry will issue a tender on Sunday for the construction of hundreds of housing units in two controversial East Jerusalem neighborhoods: 120 units in Har Homa and 700 units in Pisgat Ze’ev. Both Har Homa and Pisgat Ze’ev are under the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem municipality, but are situated beyond the green line. Tens of thousands of people currently reside in each of them. In an interview with "Kol Hai" radio Friday, Boim said that he was waiting for the authorization of the defense minister before issuing an additional tender for the construction of 600 apartments in the settlement of Beitar Ilit, south of East Jerusalem, which is not under the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem municipality. more.. e-mail
Dozens of settlers access Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus protected by army
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Nablus Ma’an - A number of Israeli settlers entered the Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus at dawn on Friday under the protection of the Israeli army, Palestinian security sources said. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an’s Nablus correspondent that Israeli military jeeps accompanied the convoy of settlers’ cars as they headed to Joseph’s Tomb, located east of the city, to perform prayers. Joseph’s Tomb is a sacred site for both Jews and Muslims. At the start of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in October 2000, the shrine became a target of armed Palestinian resistance. Seventeen Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed in fighting around the tomb. On October 7, 2000 the Israeli army withdrew from the site leaving it in the hands of the Palestinians. more.. e-mail
Settlers invade abandoned army base in Beit Sahour and stay there for several hours
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMc News, International Middle East Media Center News 5/30/2008
A group of 30 settlers invaded an abandoned military base located outside Beit Sahour city center, in the northern part of the West Bank. A group of local NGOs workers in Beit Sahour arrived at the scene in an attmpte to stop the settlers from taking over the place. Israeli army forces arrived shortly after and moved the settlers and the NGOs workers away from the area. A group of settlers had also invaded the same location two week, stayed for a few hours, and left pro-Israeli graffiti on the buildings. Local activists are hoping to maintain a presence on the site in order to dissuade Israeli settlers from coming to set up a permanent settlement. This land, known as Ush Ghrab (Crock’s Nest) was occupied by the Israeli army since 1967 and was used as a military base. The Israeli army unilaterally withdrew from this land in 2006. more.. e-mail
More rockets hit south; Islamic Jihad claims responsibility
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 5/31/2008
Four Qassams fired at Israel Friday afternoon; two land near Gaza’s Erez crossing. Two more rockets fired from Gaza Friday night - More rockets hit south: Palestinians fired four Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel Friday afternoon. All the rockets reportedly landed in open areas: Two fell in the Shaar Hanegev regional council area and two others landed near Gaza’s Erez crossing. No injuries were reported in the rocket barrage. Friday night, two more rockets were fired from Gaza. The Qassams landed near the border fence causing no injuries or damages. The "Red Color" anti-rocket alert system was first activated around 5:30 pm Friday, prompting area residents to take cover. Shortly after the attack, the Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. more.. e-mail
News Briefs - IDF Raids Gaza
Ha’aretz 5/30/2008
Israel Defense Forces tanks and infantry raided the northern Gaza Strip before dawn yesterday, and rounded up some 60 Palestinian suspects. The prisoners were passed on to be interrogated by the Shin Bet security forces. A few hours later, Palestinian militants fired three Qassam rockets and three mortar shells at Israeli territory. No injuries or damage was reported. Also yesterday, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Agriculture agreed to provide 20 bullet-proof tractors for Israeli farmers in the villages surrounding the Gaza Strip. Under the plan, devised by Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, farmers with plots within a kilometer from the border fence will be the first to receive the armored vehicles. The first four tractors will be ready within a few weeks, and the remaining 16 over the next couple of months. more.. e-mail
Brigades target Israeli military jeep
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Gaza Ma’an - Islamic Jihad’s military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades and Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed joint responsibility for launching an explosive device at an Israeli military jeep east of the town of Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Friday. The brigades told Ma’an that at 8. 32 am on Friday morning the Al-Quds Brigades and the Al-Aqsa Brigades staged a joint attack and detonated a device near an Israeli military jeep east of the Abu Al-’Ajin area located to the east of Deir Al-Balah in the central the Gaza Strip. They said in a statement that this attack came in retaliation for ongoing Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people. [end]
Al-Aqsa brigades clash with Israeli forces near Sufa crossing
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - Fatah’s Al-Aqsa brigades claimed they clashed with Israeli forces near the Sufa crossing east of Rafah in the southern the Gaza Strip on Friday. The brigades said in a statement that immediately after the Friday prayers ended, violent clashes took place between Al-Aqsa brigades members and the Israeli army near the Sufa crossing where Israeli forces were razing agricultural lands. The Al-Aqsa brigades confirmed that they will respond to any ongoing Israeli incursions, assassinations and detentions. more.. e-mail
An-Nasser brigades launch projectile at Kfar Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The An-Nasser brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), claimed responsibility for launching one homemade projectile at Kfar Gaza on Thursday evening. The brigades said in a statement that this came in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli blockade and aggressions against Palestinians. [end]
Fatah affiliated brigades shell Sufa crossing
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Abu Ar-Rish brigades, a military wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at Sufa crossing east of Khan Yunis on Thursday. The brigades said in a statement that this came in retaliation for ongoing Israeli atrocities against Palestinians. [end]
Al-Aqsa brigades shell Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Al-Aqsa brigades, the military wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at Sderot on Thursday evening. The brigades said in a statement that this came in retaliation for ongoing Israeli atrocities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. [end]
Al-’Asifa brigades claim responsibility for bombing Kissufim
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Gaza Ma’an Fatah’s Al-’Asifa brigades claimed responsibility for launching four mortar shells at Kissufim Israeli military site east of Khan Younis, on Friday at dawn. The brigades told Ma’an that the shelling was a natural response to Israeli crimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. [end]
Israeli forces detain Tulkarem citizen
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Tulkarem Ma’an Israeli forces detained a Palestinian citizen at Beit Ebba checkpoint west of Nablus, in the northern West Bank on Thursday evening. Our correspondent said that the Israeli troops at the checkpoint detained 30-year-old Rami Talal Shnar from Tulkarem, who is a student at the Jerusalem Open University. [end]
Hamas: PA security arrests 13 Hamas affiliates across West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - Hamas said that Palestinian security forces arrested thirteen Hamas affiliates across the West Bank on Thursday evening. Hamas said in a statement that the Palestinian Authority’s forces arrested six Hebron university students from their homes in the Hebron governorate. They were named as Ala’ Al-Mahareek, ’Omar Abu ’Arqoub, Nabil Sbeih, Ibrahim Kassab, Mohammad Al-Arouri and Wisam Doufash. In Tulkarem governorate, they arrested ’Amer Al-Brouq, Hani Zubaidi, Adham Jabsheh and Mohammad ’Abbas in Deir Al-Ghosoun. In Ramallah governorate, they arrested Mahmoud Al-Hatel, a student in Bir Zeit University. [end]
This Week In Palestine - Week 22 2008
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMc - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/30/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| Time 12m 0s || File 10. 9 MB || This Week In Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. IMEMC. org, for May 24th, through May 30th, 2008. As Egyptian mediation efforts between the Palestinian resistance and Israel continue, the Israeli army maintained its siege on Gaza and kidnapped civilians from the West Bank. These stories and more, coming up, stay tuned. Nonviolent Resistance We begin our weekly report with the nonviolent actions in the West Bank. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura has the details: Bethlehem The Israeli army attacked the nonviolent protest organized by the villagers of Al-Me’sara village south of Bethlehem on Friday morning and kidnapped one protester. Supported by international and Israeli peace activists, the villagers gathered at the nearby Israeli settlers road and demanded. . . more.. e-mail
Israel destroyed 200 West Bank buildings in 2007
Middle East Online 5/28/2008
WEST BABK - Israel demolished 208 buildings in the occupied West Bank last year, a UN agency said on Friday, adding that the Defence Ministry corrected its previous figure of 107. Most of the houses were torn down under demolition orders issued because there were no construction permits, which Israeli authorities only seldom grant to Palestinians. The buildings are located in the so-called Area C, which makes up more than 60 percent of the West Bank and is under full Israeli control. "We have been informed that according to the records of the Israeli Ministry of Defence the number of structures demolished in Area C of the West Bank in 2007 is not 107, as reported earlier, but 208," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. In the first quarter of this year, Israeli authorities demolished 124 structures in the West Bank, the UN agency said. more.. e-mail
Israel set to tear down scores of Palestinian homes
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 5/28/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Thousands of Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank risk being displaced as the Israeli authorities threaten to tear down their homes and in some cases entire communities, a UN agency said on Wednesday. "To date, more than 3,000 Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank have pending demolition orders, which can be immediately executed without prior warning," the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report. "At least 10 small communities throughout the West Bank are at risk of being almost entirely displaced due to the large number of pending demolitions orders," OCHA added. Most of the orders were issued because there were no construction permits, which Israeli authorities only seldom grant to Palestinians. The buildings are located in so-called Area C, which makes up more than 60 percent of the Occupied West Bank and which is under full Israeli control. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army steals historical artifact from the northern part of the West Bank
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/27/2008
Palestinian sources reported on Tuesday that the Israeli antiquities department under the protection of the Israeli army stole a stone coffin from the village of Sabastya, located near the city of Nablus in the northern part of the West Bank. Sebastya village has archaeological sites that date back 3000 years, including artifacts from the Canaanite, Roman, Byzantine, Phoenician and Islamic periods. Dergham Farees, from the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Nablus, told IMEMC that the Israeli antiquities department along with the Israeli army started digging a site in the village last Wednesday and they finished on Monday of this week. Witnesses told media that the army has removed a stone coffin with symbols on it, and then took it away. Farees told IMEMC that the army and the Israeli government used the fact that the Palestinian village is located in area. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli military checkpoint in Nablus takes on look of border crossing
Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 5/27/2008
Nablus -- Huwara Checkpoint in Nablus is being extended and converted from a barrier checkpoint into a terminal, as occurred at Ramallah’s Qalandiya Checkpoint. These West Bank checkpoints, including Bethlehem’s 300, are being converted into what appear as border crossings; another notch in the onging rewriting of boundaries which will become de-facto borders. Several days ago Israeli bulldozers began to destroy lands to the north where cars are now put to wait. Last year the checkpoint began to change, with people forced to walk through tunnel of chain link fence. This barrier controls the movement of Palestinians within the West Bank to the south and central areas. Palestinian officials, while pointing out that its own security forces have been running smoothly in the city for two years, have stated repeatedly that Israeli checkpoints are not for Israeli. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli army injures seven Palestinians and kidnaps another eight from Qalqilia city
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/27/2008
Palestinian sources reported that the Israeli army has injured eight civilians and kidnapped another eight so far during an ongoing military operation targeting the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia on Tuesday. Army jeeps and a bulldozer invaded the down town Qalqilia city in the early hours of Tuesday morning; troops opened fire randomly at residents’ homes, and started to conduct a house-to-house search campaign. Witnesses said that local youth gathered near the attacked area and hurled stones at the invading troops, soldiers responded with tear gas and live rounds, eight were injured by the army fire, among them Mo’ath Abu Hamed, who sustained critical wounds in the face. Security sources in the city told IMEMC that by Tuesday afternoon, the Israeli army has kidnapped eight civilians. The sources added that the army operation is still on going. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces detain ten civilians across the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/27/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - the Israeli forces detained ten Palestinians early on Tuesday morning across the West Bank. Israeli sources said that Israeli army forces detained ten of "wanted" activists in Nablus, Qalqilia, the outskirts of Bethlehem outskirts the Hebron district, namely Beit Fajjar, As-Samou’, Bani Nu’eim and Yatta, confirming that all the detainees were transferred to interrogation centers. more.. e-mail
Five arrested, eight injured in Israeli raid in Qalqilia
Ma’an News Agency 5/27/2008
Qalqilia - Ma’an Israeli forces stormed schools, stores, and residential buildings during a military operation in the West Bank city of Qalqilia on Tuesday afternoon, arresting five people and injuring eight. Palestinian security sources said that the Israeli forces detained Yasser Mohammad ’Aref Nofal, Mohammad Akram Shreim, Abdallah ’Azzam Da’oud, a member of the Preventive Security force, Mohammad Isma’il Badra, a member of the National Security force, and Haitham Ghaleb Al-Aqra’. Israeli troops raided the Al-Khansaa’ and Abu ’Ali Iyad schools, and stormed a residential building in the Shreim neighborhood in the west of the city. All the building’s residents were herded into one apartment while the soldiers ransacked the rest of the apartments and arrested 24-year-old Mohammad Shreim. Palestinian sources said that around 35 military vehicles were deployed in various neighborhoods of the city. more.. e-mail
Gaza: One Palestinian woman and her two children injured due to unknown explosion
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/27/2008
Palestinian medical sources reported that a Palestinian woman and two of her children were injured during an unknown explosion hit their home located in Gaza City on Tuesday morning. Doctors said that Ghadah Al Hillo and her two children Jihad, 5, and Aaiyah, 6, were taken to the hospital for injures sustained during an explosion at their home in Gaza City. The doctors added that the three sustained moderate wounds. As of the time of this report no reasons for the explosion has been reported. more.. e-mail
Gazan woman, two children injured in explosion
Ma’an News Agency 5/27/2008
Gaza Ma’an A Palestinian woman and two of her children have been injured in an ambiguous explosion in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City, Palestinian medical sources at Ash-Shifa Hospital said on Tuesday. The sources identified the victims as Ghada Al-Hilou, and her children five-year-old Jihad and six-year-old Ayah. All three were hospitalized after they sustained moderate injuries in the explosion. more.. e-mail
An-Nasser brigades shell Kissufim military post
Ma’an News Agency 5/27/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The An-Nasser brigades the military wing of Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) claimed responsibility for launching four homemade projectiles at Kissufim military post east of Khan Yunis on Monday evening. The brigades said in a statement that this attack came in retaliation for ongoing Israeli atrocities. more.. e-mail
An-Nasser brigades shell Zikim military post
Ma’an News Agency 5/27/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The An-Nasser brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at Zikim military post, south of the Gaza Strip on Monday. The brigades said in a statement that this came in retaliation for ongoing Israeli atrocities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. more.. e-mail
Haaretz: Israeli military to deploy a defense system near the Gaza Strip
Rami Almeghari, International Middle East Media Center News 5/27/2008
An anti-rocket defense system will be operating soon near the Gaza Strip, in what Israeli military says a bid to minimize harm caused by Palestinian homemade shells fire by almost 95 percent, the online Israeli daily Haaretz reported. On Monday, according to Haaretz, Israeli army officials said that the Ironc Dome defense system, will be ready to operate for initial testing this year. Director general of the Israeli defense minister, Pinhas Buchris, told the mayors of nearby Israeli towns such as Sderot and Ashkelon, that he estimates that the defense system will be operating within a month. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem post Israeli online newspaper reported Tuesday that Israel is currently considering the creation of a buffer zone, few kilometers depth inside the Israeli territories. The paper added that such a zone is meant to reduce chances of Palestinian cross-border attacks. . . more.. e-mail
Eviction orders approved for 2 settler-occupied Hebron stores
Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 5/28/2008
The Judea and Samaria Appeals Committee of the Civil Administration, the Israel Defense Forces arm that governs civilian affairs in the West Bank, approved on Tuesday eviction orders for two Hebron stores occupied by settlers roughly two years ago. The two stores are in the "triangle" market, not far from the city’s Jewish Avraham Avinu neighborhood. Their Palestinian residents were evacuated from the triangle market and the nearby wholesale market after Baruch Goldstein’s 1994 massacre of Muslim worshipers at the Cave of the Patriarchs and a stabbing in the area. Some time later, after the Jewish settlers moved in, two of the merchants who had previously rented the stores asked Peace Now to approach the Civil Administration for an eviction order on their behalf. Tuesday’s decision will not go into effect for another two months, during which. . . more.. e-mail
The Amona deterrent effect
Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 5/28/2008
"Like a dog that comes back to sniff at his vomit, so the previous movers and shakers of the settlement movement are reverting back to the system of deals and closings, agreements and understandings, cut and paste, paste and cut. . . and the wounds of Gush Katif and northern Samaria are still bleeding before our eyes," wrote a group of West Bank outpost residents in a petition circulated last weekend. Doron Nir Zvi of Yair Farm, Yehoshafat Tor of Maon Farm and residents of some of the outposts surrounding Itamar, who signed these harsh statements, no longer trust the Yesha Council of Settlements. They suspect the council is cooking up an agreement on the outposts behind their backs. Even Daniella Weiss, the former head of the Kedumim Local Council, is convinced there is an agreement on the outposts. more.. e-mail
Jewish families evicted from Hebron market
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 5/27/2008
2 families that moved into stores in West Bank city’s market4 years ago forced by military committee to evacuate, though given permission to appeal for legal rights to property within 60 days - The Military Appeals Committee on Tuesday evicted two Jewish families from the Hebron market stores in which they have been living, and instructed them to evacuate the premises within 60 days. The committee determined that the families would be allowed to file an ordered appeal requesting to rent the property. Four years ago, the two families began residing in four stores in the Hebron wholesale market. In response, the Peace Now Movement launched a complaint against the families and the Civil Administration issued an eviction warrant. The settlers, on their part, appealed to the Military Appeals Committee, which permitted the families to stay put until the issue was resolved. more.. e-mail
Egyptian police uncover 500 kg TNT near Rafah
Associated Press, YNetNews 5/27/2008
TNT was hidden in 10 bags near border crossing. Egyptian police also discover various weapons from around 30 years ago hidden in central Sinai village - Despite talks of a truce, the Palestinian terror organizations in Gaza continue their attempts of smuggling various weapons through Egypt into the Strip. An Egyptian security official says police have uncovered a cache containing 500 kilograms of TNT hidden in 10 sacks near the border with the Gaza Strip. The official said the TNT was found in a deserted area 500 meters away from the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza. Police also found a second weapons cache Tuesday in Qudaima village in central Sinai. It contained a few packets of TNT and weapons left over from Egypt’s wars with Israel, including mortar shells and rockets. During the past few years the Palestinians have made many attempts to smuggle. . . more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 052708
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMc - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/27/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 4 m 0s || 3. 66 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Tuesday, May 27th, 2008. The Israeli siege on Gaza leaves four Palestinians killed, while troops attack West Bank cities injuring seven, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The News Cast One more Palestinian patient died on Tuesday after having been denied access to treatment outside of the Gaza Strip. This is the 167th case where a patient dies from not receiving appropriate treatment due to denial of access to medical facilities by the Israeli army. . Sources in Gaza declared that Mohammad Alimawi, 22, of the eastern Gaza city neighborhood of Shiejaiya, died of cancer at Gaza city hospital. Alimawi received treatment at an Israeli hospital several months ago. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers and army start to expand illegal settlement on Bil’in land
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/26/2008
Israeli settlers under the protection of the Israeli army started on Monday morning to install homes on lands that belong to villagers from Bil’in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Iyad Burnat, of the local committee against the wall and settlement construction, said that villagers noticed the construction since early morning on Monday. Villagers tried to reach their land in order to stop the settlers but Israeli troops prevented them from crossing the wall. A group of men from the village were staying over night in there land managed to come close to the trucks installing the mobile homes of the settlers and stopped them by standing infornt of them, Burnat stated. He added that the men will continue to block the trucks way in an attempt to stop the destruction of the villagers lands. In 2007 the villagers of Bil’in won an Israeli high court of Justice decision. . . more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades Zita village near Tulkarem and kidnaps three civilians
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/26/2008
The Israeli army invaded the village of Zita located near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem and kidnapped three civilians there, on Monday at dawn. Local sources said that Israeli forces searched a number of homes before kidnapping Hamdan Mubark, 16, Wa’el Hamza, 16, and Taysser Balqees, 19, and took them to unknown locations. During the invasion eyewitnesses said that clashes erupted between local youth and the invading Israeli troops, no injures reported. [end]
Israeli forces raid two villages near Jenin
Ma’an News Agency 5/26/2008
Jenin - Ma’an Israeli forces raided the West Bank towns of Al-Yamoun and Kafr Dan, near Jenin, early on Monday morning, local sources said. Residents of the two villages said that Israeli troops raided houses, fired their weapons intensively and used sound grenades. Israeli military vehicles roamed the streets. Witnesses said the invading forces withdrew by dawn. No arrests were reported. [end]
PFLP’s military wing fire two projectiles at Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 5/26/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, claimed responsibility on Monday morning for firing two homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Sderot, which borders the Gaza Strip. The group said in a statement that the shelling came in retaliation for the Israeli policy of incursions into Palestinian cities and assassination of resistance activists. [end]
Fatah and Islamic Jihad fighters shell Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 5/26/2008
Gaza - Ma’an A group calling themselves the Abu ’Ammar Brigades, a military wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility for launching one homemade projectile at the Israeli town of Sderot, which borders the Gaza Strip, on Sunday at 6 pm. Separately the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at Sderot on Sunday at 5 pm. [end]
An-Nasser Brigades claim responsibility for projectile attack
Ma’an News Agency 5/26/2008
Gaza - Ma’an The An-Nasser Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at Yamit, an Israeli military post in the northern Gaza Strip. The Brigades said in a statement that this attack was in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. [end]
Israeli forces arrest three Palestinians near Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency 5/26/2008
Tulkarem Ma’an Israeli forces seized three Palestinian youths from the northern West Bank village of Zeita, north of Tulkarem overnight on Sunday. Palestinian security sources said that Israeli forces raided the center of the village and arrested three teenagers on charges of throwing stones at Israeli military patrols. [end]
Israeli forces impose checkpoint near Jenin
Ma’an News Agency 5/26/2008
Jenin Ma’an Israeli forces on Monday hindered the movement of the Palestinian residents of the West Bank city of Jenin. Local residents told Ma’an that Israeli forces erected a checkpoint near the village of Jaba’, southwest Jenin, stopping and searching Palestinian vehicles, resulting in a massive traffic tie-up. [end]
Palestinian civil defence officer arrested at checkpoint near Ramallah
Ma’an News Agency 5/26/2008
Jenin Ma’an Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian man at the Za’tara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday. Palestinian security sources identified the arrestee as Tariq Zakarna, an officer in the civil defense service from the town of Qabatiya, near Jenin. Local sources told Ma’an’s reporter that Israeli soldiers staffing the checkpoint forced Zakarna to get out of a taxi and arrested him after checking his identity card. [end]
’Rocket interception system to be tested next month’
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 5/26/2008
Defense Ministry director-general tells heads of Gaza vicinity regional councils ’Iron Dome’ system expected to intercept at least 92% of Qassams. In order to speed up system’s development, Armament Development Authority receives halachic permission to work on Shabbat - Progress made in development of rocket interception system. Defense Ministry Director-General Pinchas Buchris told heads of Gaza vicinity local councils on Monday evening that the first tests in the ’Iron Dome’ system will begin next month. According to the Defense Ministry briefing, a launching test was conducted so far, and now the defense establishment plans to test other aspects of the system in a series of advanced experiments. more.. e-mail
Defense officials: Anti-rocket system to be ready to test this year
Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/26/2008
Defense officials said Monday that the Iron Dome defense system, which is designed to protect Israeli civilians against Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip, will be ready for initial testing this year. The defense system is meant to provide Sderot and Ashkelon residents with a 95-percent level of protection against rockets and mortar shells. Defense Ministry Director-General Pinhas Buchris met Monday with the heads of the local authorities bordering Gaza to outline the latest developments in the production of the system. He told them that in his estimation, the system would be ready to undergo a series of tests within a month. The officials added that there had been a recent breakthrough in the Iron Dome’s interception system, and that it could be operational as soon as 2010. more.. e-mail
Shin Bet chief: Hamas rocket threat from Gaza is mounting
Barak Ravid Avi Issacharoff and Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/26/2008
Hamas has rockets capable of striking Ashdod and Kiryat Gat, according to Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin. The head of the security force informed the cabinet yesterday that "it is only a matter of time" before these long-range rockets will be used. Diskin also warned that "the chances of a calm with Hamas are very slim. "The Shin Bet sees the arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip as the most important security concern there at the present time. Diskin stressed that so long as the Philadelphi Route that runs along the border between Rafah and Sinai is not totally blocked, the range of the rockets smuggled into the Strip will only be increased. Iran continues to assist Hamas, Diskin said, asserting: "We have identified Iranian efforts to transfer more sophisticated rockets to the Gaza Strip. more.. e-mail
Ashdod residents unfazed by report of rising Hamas threat
Fadi Eyadat, Ha’aretz 5/26/2008
The report by Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin at the cabinet meeting Sunday, stating that Hamas has the capability to launch rockets at Ashdod and Kiryat Gat, did not surprise people in that area. "It’s to be expected. We knew in the end that they would reach Ashdod, too," said local resident Avi Dvir. Dvir was at the Mei Ami beach with his family and sister, who was on a visit from Holland. "Of course, I’m worried about the lives of my four children, but there’s not too much we can do. We’re not going to leave town, but the government has to make some decisions," Dvir added. "It is going on everywhere in the country. First Sderot, then Ashkelon and now Ashdod. "Ashdod’s population of approximately 230,000 lives in impressive apartment houses and its shopping centers are bustling. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 052608
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/26/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB ||Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Monday, May 26th , 2008. One Palestinian patient dies in Gaza due to the Israeli siege, while in the West Bank Israeli settlers continue to annex Palestinian lands, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News Cast Palestinian sources reported on Monday that a Palestinian patient died in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night due to the Israeli siege imposed on the Palestinian coastal region. Hind Al Ashkar, from Al Nuserat refugee camp located in central Gaza, had kidney failure, doctors said that she applied several times for the Israeli army to grant her permission to leave Gaza for life saving medical care but the army refused. more.. e-mail
Eight injured in Israeli incursion in Gaza on Saturday evening
Ma’an News Agency 5/25/2008
Gaza Ma’an Eight Palestinians were injured by Israeli fire on Saturday evening in Gaza City and in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, medical sources said. Muawiyah Hassanain, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian Health Ministry said that ambulances evacuated three injured people to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City after Israeli artillery targeted a group of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades fighters. The spokesperson of the de facto Health Ministry in Gaza, Khalid Radi said the attack injured five people, two of them critically. Separately, three Palestinians were injured as Israeli military vehicles invaded the town of Khuza’a in the Khan Younis district of the southern Gaza Strip. Hassanain said that the wounded were evacuated to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. He described their wounds as moderate. more.. e-mail
Five Palestinians wounded in IOF shelling
Palestinian Information Center 5/25/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Five Palestinian citizens were wounded at a late hour on Saturday in Israeli occupation forces’ shelling east of Gaza city, local sources reported. They said that the IOF troops fired a land-to-land missile at a group of Qassam Brigades fighters east of Gaza wounding three of them while two locals were also injured in the blast. Medical sources said that two of the injured were in a very serious condition. The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, reported that another group of its fighters survived IOF shelling in Shujaia suburb also in Gaza city. The armed wing said that its fighters fired 35 mortar shells at the invading forces. In southern Gaza, a Qassam fighter was wounded when an IOF tank targeted a group of Qassam fighters east of Khan Younis. more.. e-mail
Police rampage in Jerusalem, Israeli bus rams Palestinian car, kills four workers
Palestinian Information Center 5/25/2008
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Four Palestinian workers were killed on Sunday while five others were wounded when an Israeli bus rammed into their car on the ring road west of Ramallah city, witnesses reported. They said that the bus collided with the car head-on and completely crushed it. They added that two of the injured had sustained "very serious" injuries. Meanwhile, in occupied Jerusalem, Israeli occupation police and border guards on Sunday assaulted Palestinian vendors in downtown occupied Jerusalem. Eyewitnesses said that the policemen savagely rummaged through the vendors’ market and damaged their vegetables. The policemen detained a number of sellers and fined them while those coming from the West Bank were taken into custody. The witnesses reported that policemen mercilessly beat up the vendors, who included women and juveniles prompting some disgusted onlookers to intervene. . . more.. e-mail
Palestinian Authority’s security forces seize four Hamas members in the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/25/2008
Nablus Ma’an The Hamas movement said on Sunday that the Palestinian Authority’s security forces seized four Hamas members in the West Bank on Saturday evening. Hamas said in a statement that one of the arrestees was from Hebron in the southern West Bank. Two others were from Ramallah in the central West Bank and a fourth from Jenin in the north. [end]
Al-Aqsa Brigades confront Israeli forces in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/25/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing of the Fatah movement, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, said on Sunday that a group of their fighters fought with an Israeli infantry force near the Sufa border crossing of the Gaza Strip. They also said the group hurled a roadside bomb at an Israeli bulldozer. The group aid in a statement that the Israeli forces were forced to retreat to their base. [end]
Corpses of three Palestinians returned to Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/25/2008
Gaza Ma’an Israel returned the corpses of three Palestinians to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including one who had been injured last Wednesday during an Israeli incursion in Al-Bureij refugee camp. All three Palestinians died at Ichilov General Hospital at Tel Aviv medical center, said Muawiya Hassanain, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian Health Ministry. Sixteen-year-old Khalid Abdul-Hadi died on Sunday of wounds sustained during Wednesday’s incursion, Hassanain said. Hassanain added that Palestinian patient Muhammad Abu Duqqa and elderly patient Muhammad Abu Ata also died of medical conditions not related to violence. [end]
Shin Bet: Hamas rockets could hit far beyond Ashkelon
Barak Ravid , Haaretz Service and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 5/25/2008
The head of the Shin Bet security service Yuval Diskin warned Sunday that the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, now has rockets capable of striking beyond Ashkelon, and possibly reaching as far as Ashdod and Kiryat Gat. Click here for mapPalestinians have been firing homemade Qassam rockets at the Negev town of Sderot, some 5 kilometers from the Gaza border, for the past seven years. Recently, however, they have been able to reach Ashkelon, some 12 km away. Diskin’s assessment is that they have now doubled their range. The Shin Bet chief, who made the comments at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, based his assertion on information attained by the security service." As long as there is no substantial prevention of smuggling between Sinai and Gaza, and currently there is none, it is. . . more.. e-mail
Diskin: Time favors Hamas
Roni Sofer, YNetNews 5/25/2008
Shin Bet chief updates government on Hamas’ new capabilities, claims Iranian rockets smuggled into Gaza could reach Ashdod, Kiryat Gat. Warns State must act fast, threat to Israel is steadily rising - Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin said during the weekly government meeting on Sunday that since the breaching of the Philadelphi Route Hamas has succeeded in smuggling very advanced weapons into the Gaza Strip, and that there are certain indications that the organization now has rockets able to surpass Ashkelon, and possibly even to hit Ashdod and Kiryat Gat. "There has been cooperation between Hamas and Iran, and the Shin Bet has already recognized Iranian-made rockets that have a range far greater than the Gaza Strip. Time favors Hamas and the rest of the terror organizations, and the threat on the State of Israel is steadily rising," Diskin warned. more.. e-mail
Israeli army vacates an army post near Gaza
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/25/2008
The Israeli army vacated on Sunday a military outpost near the Gaza Strip, Israeli media sources reported." For the first time since Israel withdrew forces from the Gaza Strip, coordinator of the Israeli government in the Gaza Strip, General Yousi Mishleb, ordered the evacuation of the directorate of civil coordination and liaison in northern Gaza Strip, for fears the soldiers inside might be harmed", the sources said. The evacuated offices will be removed to the Joles army base, 17 kilometers away from the Strip, added the sources. According to Yede’out Ahronot online newspaper, some of the army commanders objected to the evacuation order, for concern over misinterpretation that the Israeli soldiers ’might be incapable of protecting the Gaza-Israel border lines in the north of Gaza’. The commanders said that the soldiers should remain bin positions , for they should be. . . more.. e-mail
Fearing Gaza rockets, IDF moves troops, civilian staff from Erez
Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/25/2008
Israel will transfer dozens of Israel Defense Forces soldiers and civilian employees stationed at the Erez crossing’s Coordination and Liaison Administration to a base removed from the range of rockets and mortars being launched from the Gaza Strip, it was announced Sunday. Defense officials opted for the move following Thursday’s attempted bomb attack in which a truck carrying significant amounts of explosives blew up on the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing. Last year, a public outcry ensued after a Qassam rocket struck the Zikim inductee base, prompting parents to demand that the army move the soldiers to a base outside of rocket and mortar range. IDF officers were strenuous in resisting the calls, insisting that "wherever there are civilians present, soldiers will not be evacuated. more.. e-mail
IDF soldiers to be moved from base near Gaza amid 'terror' threats
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 5/25/2008
In unprecedented decision, army instructed to evacuate soldiers serving near Erez crossing due to volatile security situation in area. MK Orlev: This is a cowardly act. Those who run away from "terror" - "terror" will chase after them. Are they also planning to relocate Sderot, Kfar Aza and Ashkelon? - For the first time since the disengagement plan, soldiers are being evacuated from a base near the Gaza Strip due to the security situation in the area, Ynet has learned. Major-General Yosef Mishlav, the coordinator of the government’s activities in the territories, has instructed the army to temporarily relocate the soldiers serving in the Coordination and Liaison Authority near the Erez crossing to the Julis base, located about 17 kilometers (10. 5 miles) away from the Strip. This unprecedented decision sparked a great deal of criticism in the IDF. more.. e-mail
Israeli army invades Gaza areas as homemade shells fire continues
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/25/2008
The Israeli army troops invaded into the eastern Gaza neighborhood of Alshijaiya early on Sunday morning, as a number of tanks rolled into the vicinity of the Sufa commercial crossing in southern Gaza Strip. The Al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas party, claimed responsibility for firing back at a column of Israeli tanks near the Sufa commercial crossing to the southeastern parts of Gaza Strip. In a statement, faxed to press, the brigades confirmed that at least eight mortar shells have been fired at invading Israeli forces near the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the Saraya Alquds brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, fired on Sunday a homemade shell onto the Israeli town of Sderot in southern Israel. Also, the popular resistance committees shelled the Nahal Auz Israeli fuel terminal in eastern Gaza with an 80-mm mortar. more.. e-mail
Palestinian fighters confront ongoing Israeli incursion in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/25/2008
Gaza Ma’an Israeli forces continued an incursion in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City for a second day on Sunday while Israeli military vehicles continued to operate near the Sufa border crossing in southern Gaza. Eyewitnesses said that several Israeli military vehicles began destroying farmland near the Sufa crossing, near the city of Rafah. Israeli fire left eight Palestinians injured on Saturday night, medical sources had earlier reported. Meanwhile, Palestinian military groups attempted to confront the invading forces in both Rafah and Gaza City. Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for firing eight mortar shells and one homemade projectile at the Israeli military vehicles east of Gaza City and the nearby Al-Maghazi refugee camp. Separately, Islamic Jihad’s military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed to have fired. . . more.. e-mail
Palestinian teenager seized in Israeli raid near Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency 5/25/2008
Tulkarem Ma’an Israeli forces raided the northern West Bank town of Zeita, north of the city of Tulkarem on Sunday. Palestinian sources said that Israeli forces stormed the town and ransacked several houses before they seized 17-year-old Tha’ir Abu Sharqiyya from his home. Israeli forces also patrolled Tulkarem city and refugee camp. [end]
Israeli forces kill five Palestinians in Rafah, arrest 25
Palestine News Network 5/23/2008
Gaza / PNN -- The number of dead Palestinians left in the wake of the latest Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza Strip’s Rafah rose to five by early Friday afternoon. Israeli forces withdrew from the city to the Sofa Crossing, northeast of Rafah, which then gave a chance for Palestinian ambulances to transport the dead and wounded to Abu Yousef Najjar Hospital. Palestinian sources said that three of the Palestinian citizens killed are Ibrahim Madi, Muhanad Al Awad and Mohammed Rizak. The invasion began at dawn Friday during which Israeli forces broke into homes and conducted invasive searches throughout the area. They brought with them at least 20 tanks, armored personnel carriers (APCs), and other military vehicles. Israeli forces attacked the southern Gaza Strip’s Rafah and killed three Palestinians before noon on Friday. more.. e-mail
Settlers briefly invade abandoned army base in Beit Sahour
Arron Lakuf, International Middle East Media Center News 5/23/2008
On Friday morning, a group of NGO workers in Beit Sahour found five settlers on an abandoned military base near Sheppard’s Field, outside the city center. After the settlers noticed the NGO workers, they immediately called the Israeli army to intervene. The settlers left soon after, and the army arrived to find that a group of around 20 internationals and Palestinians had assembled and was playing games in the abandoned army base. The army then gave the group five minutes to leave. The group left after the warning, but the army detained one Palestinian man, Awni Jobran of the Holy Land Trust, and released him after a brief period. A group of settlers had also invaded the same location last week, stayed for a few hours, and left pro-Israeli graffiti on the buildings. Local activists are hoping to maintain a presence on the site in order to dissuade Israeli settlers from coming to set up a permanent settlement. more.. e-mail
The Qassam Brigades confront an IOF incursion, blow up tank
Palestinian Information Center 5/23/2008
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- The Qassam Brigades said that an IOF tank exploded when it was hit with two RPG’s fired by the resistance, Friday morning, during an incursion of occupation forces into the Fakhari neighbourhood to the east of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. A statement published by the Qassam Brigades said that its fighters fired two RPG’s at 5:40 am at an occupation tank that rolled into the Fakhari neighbourhood to the west of the Sofa crossing, adding that the two missiles hit the tank directly resulting in the explosion of the tank. The Qassam fighters also fired ten mortar bombs at the invading occupation forces. The statement further warned that the Qassam fighters were ready to confront "Zionist enemy conceit" and resist any invasion of the Gaza Strip, promising to "teach the occupation hard lessons at the doors of the Gaza Strip. more.. e-mail
Soldier moderately wounded by anti-tank missile in Gaza
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 5/23/2008
IDF forces exchange heavy fire with Palestinian gunmen in southern Strip during army’s activity against terror infrastructure in the area; soldier’s vehicle hit by anti-tank missile. Hamas claims responsibility, IAF retaliates - An IDF soldier was moderately wounded during exchanges of fire with Palestinian gunmen in south Gaza Friday morning. The soldier was injured when an anti-tank missile was fired at the vehicle he was travelling in during his unit’s activity against terror infrastructure in the Strip. He was evacuated by helicopter to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, claimed responsibility for the missile attack. In response, Israeli aircraft opened fire at gunmen armed with anti-tank missiles in the area. A hit was identified. more.. e-mail
Israeli soldier injured in military operation near Sufa crossing, Al-Qassam brigades claim responsibility
Ma’an News Agency 5/23/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli sources announced on Friday morning that an armed Palestinian fired a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at an Israeli patrol during an Israeli military operation near the Sufa crossing east of Rafah, injuring an Israeli soldier. He was transferred to Beersheba hospital. The Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for launching a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at an Israeli military vehicle east of Rafah confirming that the Israeli forces fired two missiles at them in response. [end]
Abu Ar-Rish brigades shell Sufa military post
Ma’an News Agency 5/23/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Abu Ar-Rish brigades, a military wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at Israeli military vehicles at the Sufa military post on Friday. The brigades said that this came in retaliation for ongoing Israeli aggressions. [end]
Qassam damages greenhouses in western Negev
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 5/23/2008
Following IDF raid in Gaza, rocket landing near Sderot sets fire to nearby wheat field, no injuries - Palestinians fired two Qassam rockets mid-day Friday towards the western Negev, causing no injuries. However, one of the rockets landed in an area of greenhouses near Sderot, causing fire to a nearby wheat field. The second rocket landed in an open area and caused no harm. The rocket barrage came a few hours after IDF soldiers exchanged fire in two different areas in the Gaza Strip. One of the soldiers sustained moderate wounds after an anti-tank missile was fired toward the vehicle he was riding in during activity against terror infrastructure in the southern Strip. The IAF struck the gunmen in response, killing one of them. Calling For HelpGaza-region mayors to Olmert: do something about Qassams / Seven southern municipal leaders send harsh. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli forces kill five in Gaza attacks
Adel Zaanoun, Daily Star 5/24/2008
Agence France Presse - GAZA CITY: Five Palestinian fighters were killed and an Israeli soldier wounded on Friday as the Jewish state conducted new attacks on the Gaza Strip despite Egyptian efforts to mediate a truce around the impoverished territory. Three Palestinians were killed in an air strike called in support of invading Israeli ground forces near the city of Rafah, Palestinian emergency services said. All three were members of the Islamist Hamas movement’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas said in a statement. The gunmen were involved in an exchange of fire with Israeli troops who penetrated 1. 5 kilometers inside the Gaza Strip, which has been run by Hamas since it ousted forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in June 2007, witnesses said. Seven Palestinians were wounded and Israeli forces also abducted 15 people whom they took with them. . . more.. e-mail
The Israeli army tanks leaves Gaza after killing five and kidnapping 25 others
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/23/2008
Palestinian sources reported that the Israeli army has killed on Friday five Palestinian fighters and kidnapped 25 other civilians during two invasions targeting the southern and central parts of the Gaza Strip. Al Qassam Brigades said that Mohaned Awwad, 23, Ibraheem Madi, 20 and Mohamed Abu Rizek, 23, three of the brigades’ fighters were killed during an army attack targeting the Khan Younis and Rafah areas in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Witnesses said that tanks invaded residential areas located near Rafah and Khan Youins and clashed with local resistance fighters; Israeli unmanned plan fighter missiles at the fighters and killed three of them. In the meantime during another invasion targeting areas in the central Gaza Strip, Israeli tanks and bulldozers destroyed Palestinian owned farm land, before leaving Israeli troops clashed with local resistance fighter and killed two on them. more.. e-mail
Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza leaving 5 dead, a number injured
Ma’an News Agency 5/23/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The bodies of three of Hamas’ Al-Qassam fighters were found near the Sufa crossing, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. Medical sources confirmed the identities of the three dead as Ibrahim Maddi, Mohammad Abu Rizeq and Mohannad Abu Awwad. The Al-Quds brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, also found the bodies of two of their fighters east of Al-Bureij, after the Israeli withdrawal. They named the dead as Hussam Abu Abdo and Ra’ed An-Na’eq. In addition, an Al-Quds brigades activist and a member of Fatah’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, were injured in armed clashes with the Israeli troops in the central Gaza Strip. Dr. Mu’awiya Hassanein, the chief of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian health mnistry said that ambulances and Red Crescent members were prevented from reaching the wounded. more.. e-mail
Hamas declares full alert in Gaza, vows unprecedented resistance tactics
Palestinian Information Center 5/23/2008
GAZA, [PIC]-- The Hamas Movement has declared on Thursday full alert status among its fighters in anticipation of possible military showdown with the IOF troops in case Egypt’s efforts for truce failed. For its part, the armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, said they were gearing up to confront and to repel the Israeli occupation army in case they ventured into the populated Strip, vowing new and unprecedented military tactics that will "stun the invaders". The Gaza-based Al-Resalah newspaper quoted sources in the QB as affirming that fighters of Hamas were ordered to deploy along the Gaza borders and to remain vigilant against possible IOF incursion. According to the paper, the QB has prepared tens of martyrs, bobby-trapped cars, and planted bombs, in addition to hundreds of rockets that would be unleashed on Israeli settlements in the event of war. more.. e-mail
IDF kills 5 gunmen in Gaza, Palestinian sources say
Reuters, YNetNews 5/23/2008
Heavy clashes erupt between Israeli soldiers, Hamas gunmen near Rafah in the southern Strip. Palestinians say 30 men arrested in raid - Israeli troops killed three Hamas gunmen on Friday in clashes with militants in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical workers said. Heavy clashes erupted before dawn east of the southern city of Rafah when Israeli troops entered an area known as Sufa in the Hamas-controlled territory. Separately, the Islamic Jihad militant group said two of its fighters were killed by Israeli soldiers in the central Gaza Strip. An Israeli army spokeswoman said soldiers fired at a group of gunmen who had tried to plant a bomb near Israel’s border fence with the Gaza Strip. She said troops had been operating in the area since Thursday evening and clashed with militants. more.. e-mail
Palestinian shot by Israeli guard in Ar-Ramlah
Ma’an News Agency 5/23/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - A Palestinian civilian was severely wounded when an Israeli settlementguard opened fire on him, shooting him in the head in Ar-Ramla northern Israel, on Thursday eveningIsraeli sources quoted the guard as saying that the Palestinian civilian was driving his car strangely at the entrance to the Duleiv settlement. Theguard claimed the man refused to stop. The sources added that aPalestinian and an Israeli Jew were also in the car. According to Israeli investigations, a 16-year-old from Beni Borak was travelling in the car with the two Palestinians in the village of Kharabta towards the settlement of Duleiv. The Israeli guard then claimed that the driver tried to deliberately run him over as he tried to storm the gate of the settlement. He said he initially opened fired on the car’s tires. more.. e-mail
Israeli security guard in West Bank settlement shoots Palestinian taxi driver in head
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/23/2008
On Thursday night about 10 pm, a Palestinian taxi driver was shot in the head and critically wounded by an Israeli security guard who said that the driver refused to stop on command. The taxi driver, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was driving an Israeli soldier and a teenage Israeli girl to a Jewish girl’s school inside the settlement of Dolev when the security guard for the school stepped in front of the car and demanded that he stop. When the driver didn’t immediately stop, the security guard shot him in the head. The driver was later transported by helicopter to an Israeli hospital. He is now being detained by Israeli police for questioning, despite having been shot in the head earlier in the evening. The two passengers, the Israeli soldier and the Israeli teenage girl, have also been detained for questioning. more.. e-mail
Israeli occupation digs a trench alongside border security fence
Palestinian Information Center 5/23/2008
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- IOF troops started digging a trench to the west of the border security fence east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Local sources told PIC correspondent on Friday that the IOF have started the digging about a week ago, starting from the occupation military position close to the Faraheen neighbourhood east of Abasan al-Kabira and continued south along the border-line untile they reached the Khuza’a neighbourhood. A report issued by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said that the digging is taking place daily starting early morning until evening and that the IOF frequently open fire towards Palestinian agricultural fields. The report said that the trench, which is about three meters wide five meters deep, is being dug about 70-100 meters west of the border fence (ie inside the Gaza Strip). more.. e-mail
PA security forces detain nine Hamas members across West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/23/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - Hamas said that the Palestinian Authority security forces detained nine Hamas members across the West Bank on Thursday evening. Hamas said in a statement that the Palestinian security forces detained Mohammad Moussa and Abdallah Ghneim in Al-Khader village near Bethlehem. In Ramallah, they detained Hazem Al-Khatib, Hamza and Mo’ath Abu Jom’aa and Mohammad Ash-Shalabi in the town of Beitounia western Ramallah city. In Tulkarem, they detained Nidal Abu Thariffa and Issam Al-Jetawi who, was released ten days ago from Israeli custody. [end]
PFLP and Islamic Jihad claim joint attack on Israeli force
Ma’an News Agency 5/23/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Abu Ali Mustafa brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberationof Palestine (PFLP) and the Al-Quds brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for a joint bombing operation in which they hurled two inflammable bottles at a special Israeli force near Nissanit early on Friday. The brigades said in a joint statement that this came in retaliation for Israeli atrocities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. [end]
Abu Ali Mustafa brigades target Israeli bulldozer with RPG east of Khan Yunis
Ma’an News Agency 5/23/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Abu Ali Mustafa brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for launching an RPG at an Israeli bulldozer east of Khan Yunis on Friday morning. The brigades said in a statement that they ambushed a special Israeli force and clashed with them east of Khan Yunis. They confirmed that this action came in retaliation for ongoing Israeli aggressions. [end]
Israeli forces detain four Palestinians in Ramallah and Hebron
Ma’an News Agency 5/23/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli forces detained four Palestinian citizens across the West Bank, claimed they are "wanted". Israeli sources confirmed that the Israeli army detained four of the so-called "wanted" in Ramallah and Hebron early on Friday morning, adding that the arrestees were transferred to interrogation centers. [end]
Abu ’Ammar brigades launch projectiles at the western Negev
Ma’an News Agency 5/23/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - Fatah’s Abu ’Ammar brigades claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at the western Negev late on Thursday evening. The brigades confirmed in a statement that this came in the series of retaliations for the ongoing Israeli aggressions and incursions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. [end]
Palestine Today 052208
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/22/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Thursday, May 22nd, 2008. The Israeli army kills two Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and kidnaps at least 7 others in the West Bank, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The News Cast On Thursday afternoon, one Palestinian civilian was killed and 14 others injured when Israeli troops opened fire during a peaceful demonstration at the Al Mentar crossing, in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip. Medical sources identified the slain as Abed Al Kareem Aheel, 24; medics said that 3 of the wounded are in critical condition. The demonstration’s participants were protesting the 11 month Israeli siege on the Palestinian coastal region. more.. e-mail
Israeli youth encouraged to burn Christian texts
Middle East Online 5/23/2008
TEL AVIV - Israeli police are investigating allegations that the deputy mayor of a Tel Aviv suburb organised the burning of copies of the New Testament before hundreds of students at a Jewish religious school, a justice official said on Friday. Uzi Aharon, of Or Yehuda suburb, is under investigation over suspicions of committing an act hurting people’s religious feelings, a justice ministry spokesman said. Aharon was quoted in the Maariv daily newspaper as saying the book burning was a reaction to increasing "missionary activity" in Or Yehuda. According to the daily, several residents complained and town’s deputy mayor drove around the neighbourhood with a loudspeaker urging people to hand the texts to Jewish religious students. They reportedly collected the texts and later burned them in a bonfire. In an interview with Israeli Army Radio, Aharon said that he indeed. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli forces kill Palestinian farmer in central Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency 5/22/2008
Gaza Ma’an A 62-year-old farmer, Salim Al-Bahaysa, was shot dead by Israeli forces which had invaded the area of Johr Ad-Deik in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday morning. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an’s reporter that Israeli military vehicles fired heavily at Palestinian farmers killing Al-Bahaysa. No other casualties have been reported. Al-Bahaysa’s son Ahmda was killed last Tuesday by Israeli artillery shells in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City. [end]
Israeli Arab driver critically hurt by guard at W. Bank settlement
Nadav Shragai and Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz 5/23/2008
A guard at a religious girls’ high school in the West Bank settlement of Dolev on Thursday critically wounded an Israeli Arab driver, whom he claimed had attempted to ram through the school’s gates. According to the guard, the driver did not respond to a request that he stop and be checked. Police were investigating the incident in an effort to ascertain whether its motivations were criminal or terrorist. The school’s students are girls from difficult backgrounds, whom the northern West Bank settlement hosts and takes care of. The driver arrived at the institution just after 10:00 PM. The guard said that he refused to undergo a security check, and then tried to run him over. At this point, the guard shot the driver in the head. The driver was subsequently evacuated by an ambulance in which he was resuscitated, then placed in a helicopter which took him to a hospital. more.. e-mail
Blast at Erez crossing thought to be part of botched abduction bid
Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/23/2008
A truck filled with explosives blew up on the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing Thursday in the Gaza Strip. IDF sources said it seems the truck was supposed to explode on the Israeli side, but must have blown up too early either due to a technical problem or because it ran into poles near the crossing. A short time later, the Israel Air Force attacked a jeep fleeing the area near the crossing and heading toward Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces believes that the failed attack, and the jeep, were part of an attempt to abduct IDF soldiers. At 6:30 A. M. Thursday morning the huge explosion rocked the northern part of the Gaza Strip, as the truck loaded with about four tons of explosives blew up about 100 meters from the Israeli side of the crossing. Islamic Jihad said it and Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade cooperated in the attack. more.. e-mail
Gaza crossings under attack: gunfire at Karni, suicide bomb bid thwarted at Erez
Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff and Reuters, Ha’aretz 5/23/2008
A Palestinian man was killed and five others wounded in violent clashes that erupted Thursday afternoon between militants and Israel Defense Forces troops at the Karni Crossing from the Gaza Strip to Israel. The IDF said that hundreds of people had gathered at the crossing, some carrying light weapons and anti-tank missiles. Militants opened fire and hurled rocks at IDF troops stationed nearby. The soldiers returned the fire, leading to the Palestinian casualties. Also on Thursday, IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip found a cache of weapons. including anti-tank missiles, hidden in a schoolyard in the Sajayeh refugee camp. Earlier Thursday, a Palestinian bomber blew up an explosives-laden truck on the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing on the Israel-Gaza Strip border early Thursday morning. more.. e-mail
Israeli authorities close Sufa crossing
Ma’an News Agency 5/22/2008
Gaza Ma’an Israel has sealed the Sufa crossing point in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said on Thursday. The sources told Ma’an that the crossing should have been opened as usual from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm to allow the delivery of food products and other vital goods, but the terminal was not opened on Thursday. The sources noted that 55 truckloads of food products passed through the Sufa crossing on Wednesday. Later in the day, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades claimed responsibility on Thursday for firing a homemade projectile at an Israeli military post at Sufa. The military group said in a statement that the operation was an act of retaliation for Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. more.. e-mail
Palestinian resistance attack IOF troops at Beit Hanoun crossing
Palestinian Information Center 5/22/2008
BEIT HANOUN, (PIC)-- The Palestinian resistance has carried out Thursday morning an attack at the Israeli-controlled Beit Hanoun crossing, northern Gaza Strip, in retaliation to the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, where it detonated a truck heavily laden with explosives in IOF troops stationed there. Palestinian sources reported that the truck, which was packed with more than four and a half tons of explosives, exploded concurrently with the firing of home-made rockets and mortar shells on the crossing. Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement alongside Al-Aqsa Brigades, the groups of Ayman Abu Jodeh, claimed their joint responsibility for this attack. Within its reticence policy, the IOF command alleged that the operation did not result in any casualties and closed the crossing after the blast. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces apprehend 3 Palestinians near Jenin
Ma’an News Agency 5/22/2008
Jenin Ma’an Israeli forces on Thursday arrested three Palestinians in the northern West Bank village of Burqin west of Jenin, and stormed the nearby village of Arraba. Palestinian security sources said the Israeli forces seized 46-year-old Sheikh Ibrahim Jabir, a Hamas activist, 16-year-old Nur Addin Qabaha and 23-year-old Yousif ’Uwaidat after ransacking their homes in Burqin. Local sources told Ma’an’s reporter that 20 Israeli military vehicles raided the village and the nearby Burqin Valley. They stormed several houses, firing sonic bombs inside and damaging the interior of the homes. Separately, ten military vehicles raided Arraba and inspected several houses. No arrests have been reported. more.. e-mail
Palestinian fighters ambush Israeli military patrol in central Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency 5/22/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing affiliated to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the National Resistance Brigades, claimed responsibility on Wednesday evening for ambushing an Israeli military patrol east of Johr Ad-Deik in the central Gaza Strip. The Brigades said in a statement that the group that ambushed the patrol fired gunshots and grenades at an Israeli military jeep. They affirmed the operation was in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli daily assaults against the Palestinian people. [end]
Palestinian teenager dies month after being shot by Israeli soldiers
Ma’an News Agency 5/22/2008
Gaza Ma’an Palestinian teenager Khalid Abdul-Hadi died on Wednesday evening of wounds he sustained last month when he was shot by Israeli troops in the central Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical sources told Ma’an that Abdul-Hadi was hospitalized after he sustained critical wounds. He died on Wednesday at Ash-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. [end]
Al-Quds brigades claim targeted Israeli force east of Khan Yunis
Ma’an News Agency 5/22/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for launching eight mortar shells at an Israeli force on Thursday, east of Khan Yunis. [end]
VIDEO - Palestinian killed in IDF attack in Gaza
Ali Waked, YNetNews 5/22/2008
Sources in Strip say army fired at Hamas members’ procession in protest of blockade. Military officials say soldiers shot at armed Palestinians approaching border fence - A Palestinian was killed and 18 others were injured Thursday after Israel Defense Forces soldiers opened fire at protestors taking part in a procession organized by Hamas, Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip reported. IDF officials said that the troops fired at several Palestinians approaching the border fence. At first, the army said, the soldiers attempted to disperse the people using crowd dispersal means, but at a certain stage the forces spotted a number of gunmen and fired at the lower part of their bodies. Earlier Thursday - Truck bomb set off at Erez crossing; no injuries among IDF soldiers more.. e-mail
Suspect in settler’s murder detained in West Bank
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 5/22/2008
Palestinian believed to be part of terror cell that killed Ido Zoldan in November 2007 apprehended in joint IDF-Shin Bet operation -IDF forces and Shin Bet officers operating in the northern West Bank Wednesday night arrested Keis Kdumi, who is believed to have been part of a terror cell which killed Israeli settler Ido Zoldan in a shooting attack in November of 2007. Kdumi was arrested in a West Bank village and turned in to security forces for further questioning. Zoldan, a 29-year-old resident of the Shavei Shomron settlement, was murdered in a shooting attack on November 19, 2007, on the eve of the Annapolis peace conference near the settlement of Kedumim. According to the indictment filed against two other members of the terror cell - Abdullah Braham and Jafar Braham - who were apprehended in early December, the assailants drove near the West Bank. . . more.. e-mail
VIDEO - Antitank missile ’found in Gaza school’
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 5/22/2008
IDF soldiers uncover weapons at school yard in Sajaiyeh neighborhood. Earlier, Palestinian man killed, 18 injured by Israeli fire during Hamas procession - Israel Defense Forces soldiers operating in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday uncovered a launcher and an antitank missile in a school yard in the Gaza City neighborhood of Sajaiyeh. Givati and armored forces of the 401st Brigade took part in the operation. The forces also shot and hit a gunman. Earlier Thursday, a Palestinian was killed and 18 others were injured as IDF soldiers opened fire at protestors taking part in a procession organized by Hamas, Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip reported. IDF officials said that the troops fired at several Palestinians approaching the border fence. At first, the army said, the soldiers attempted to disperse the people using crowd dispersal means, but at a certain stage the forces spotted a number of gunmen and fired at the lower part of their bodies. more.. e-mail
VIDEO - Extraordinary punishments lead to rise in IDF soldiers’ complaints
Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 5/22/2008
Haaretz. com/Channel 10 daily feature for May 21, 2008. Last year saw a five percent rise in the number of complaints submitted by Israel Defense Forces soldiers against their commanders. Of 6,404 complaints that were filed, 2,736 were found to be justified, 1,076 were found to be unjustified and the rest are still under investigation. Most of the complaints did not come from highly sought-after infantry units, but rather from units that are considered less prestigious. In one incident, a female soldier complained about her commander, also a woman, who ordered her not to file a complaint over an incident of sexual harassment that she suffered at her military base. more.. e-mail
Hebron: Israeli settlers and troops attack shepherds; kidnap one
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/19/2008
A group of Israeli settlers, supported by Israeli troops, on Monday attacked Palestinian shepherds, kidnapping one, near the village of Yatta in the southern West Bank district of Hebron. Witnesses said that a group of armed settlers from the Nuf-Nisher settlement attacked the shepherds while they were herding their sheep on their land, located near the illegal settlement. As soon as the attacks commenced, Israeli troops rushed to the area. Two shepherds were injured by settlers and Abed Rashed, 33, was abducted by Israeli troops, witnesses added. Nasser Al Nawa’jah, of the local committee against settlement construction, told reporters that such attacks take place on a daily basis, and the Israeli army frequently aid the settlers in those attacks. Al Nawa’jah added that those settlers’ attacks are aimed at forcing Palestinian farmers to leave their lands, in order to expand the nearby Israeli settlement. more.. e-mail
IDF kills would-be bomber at West Bank checkpoint
Amos Harel and Yuval Azoulay and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 5/20/2008
The Israel Defense Forces killed an armed Palestinian man at the Hawara checkpoint in the West Bank city of Nablus Monday afternoon. The IDF said that a Palestinian man arrived at a checkpoint acting suspiciously while pacing back and forth. The force manning the checkpoint called on him to identify himself and noted that he was handling an object that appeared to be an explosives belt secured to his body. A witness, taxi driver Mohammed Mustafa, told The Associated Press "they asked him to lift up his shirt and raise his arms and then they shot him." The troops then fired at the man when he lowered his hands suddenly toward the explosives. An IDF investigation revealed that the man had been carrying three pipe bombs. The IDF spokeswoman said army sappers later detonated the pipe bombs at the scene in a controlled explosion. more.. e-mail
Israeli soldiers shoot dead young Palestinian at Huwwara checkpoint
Ma’an News Agency 5/19/2008
Nablus Maan Israeli forces shot dead a young Palestinian man at the Hawwara checkpoint, south of Nablus on Monday evening. Israeli military sources said the young man refused to comply with soldiers who ordered him to stop and raise his hands. They then opened fire on him, thinking he was wearing an explosive belt. Eyewitnesses told Maans Nablus correspondent that Israeli soldiers manning the checkpoint fired a volley of six shots at the young man, who appeared to be around 16 years of age, hitting him several times in the back. They then completely closed the checkpoint preventing anyone from passing through. According to the eyewitnesses, the Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint had asked the young man to lift up his shirt and when he refused they immediately opened fire on him. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces seize five Palestinians in overnight raid near Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 5/19/2008
Nablus - Ma’an Israeli forces seized five Palestinians early on Monday morning during a raid in the village of Al-Laban Ash-Sharqiya, south of the city West Bank city of Nablus. Local Palestinian sources said that more than twenty separate groups of Israeli soldiers stormed the city at 1am, imposing a curfew and invading houses. The sources added that the Israeli forces prevented civilians in the village from going to work and mosques in the morning. Local sources said the arrestees are: 18-year-old Ahmed Moussa Samara, 18-year-old Bader Adnan Daraghmeh, 20-year-old Iyad Mohammed Jaber, 20-year-old Hatem Hassan Rashid, and 16-year-old Murad Hassan Ahmed. [end]
The Israeli army attacks a village near Nablus and kidnaps five civilians
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/19/2008
The Israeli army invaded the village of Al Laban Al sharkiy located near the northern West Bank city of Nablus and kidnapped five civilians on Monday morning. Local sources reported that army vehicles and soldiers invaded the village in the early hours of Monday morning. Troops searched and ransacked villagers homes before kidnapping the five civilians and taking them to unknown locations, witnesses said. The five kidnapped were known as; Bader Darghamah, 18, Hatem Daraghmah, 20, Murad Awwad, 18, Ahmad Samarah, 18, and Iyad Awwad, 20. Israeli army sources reported that during pre dawn invasions on Monday targeting several West Bank cities and towns Israeli troops kidnapped 18 Palestinians civilians. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army attack Jenin refugee camp, in northern West Bank, and kidnaps and elderly man
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/19/2008
A Palestinian elderly man was kidnapped on Monday at dawn by the Israeli forces that invaded the Jenin refugee camp located in the northern part of the West Bank, local sources reported. The man Hassan Al Hajj, 60, was kidnapped from his home in Jenin refugee camp after Israeli troops attacked and searched the house. Witnesses said that Israeli troops attacked the refugee camp on Monday at dawn and searched scores of local homes; they added that soldiers opened fire randomly at resident homes, damage but no injures were reported. [end]
Israeli forces arrest 19 Palestinians across the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/19/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli forces arrested 19 Palestinians across the West Bank early on Monday morning after storming a number of cities. Israeli sources claimed that the army arrested nineteen "wanted" Palestinians in Jenin,Qalqilia, Ramallah, adding that the arrestees were transferred to investigation centres. [end]
IOF troops kidnap 19 Palestinians in different parts of WB
Palestinian Information Center 5/19/2008
WEST BANK, (PIC)-- IOF troops kidnapped at dawn Monday 19 Palestinian citizens in different areas of the West Bank especially in Al-Khalil, Nablus and the Jenin refugee camp where they broke into and ransacked dozens of houses and buildings at the pretext of looking for wanted Palestinians. Palestinian local sources reported that a large number of the Israeli Golani and Shimshon brigades reinforced by a military chopper kidnapped a Palestinian ex-detainee called Omar Al-Aramin, 54, in the area of the Rashaida Arabs in Al-Khalil after chasing him for hours and took him to an unknown destination. The IOF troops kidnapped Aramin many times and recently demolished his house. Two weeks ago, he went on hunger strike in protest at the continuing abduction of Palestinian women in Israeli jails. IOF troops boarding dozens of military vehicles also stormed the Jenin refugee camp and the. . . more.. e-mail
Rafah incursion devastated Gazan agriculture, Interior ministry said
Ma’an News Agency 5/18/2008
Gaza Ma’an Israeli military bulldozers destroyed ten poultry farms and vast areas of farmland in the Shoukah area east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, the Gaza-based Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Sunday. The ministry said that orange groves, almonds and olive trees as well as greenhouses have been destroyed. The Ministry estimated losses totaled 1. 5 million US dollars. Israeli tanks and bulldozers operated in the Shoukah area for several hours on Saturday morning. Three Palestinians were abducted by Israeli forces in the same incursion. The Ministry said Israel is destroying Gaza’s farms in order to deprive the Palestinians in the Gaza of food, in an attempt to worsen the effects of the Israeli-led siege of Gaza. more.. e-mail
Palestinian fighters launch projectile at Israeli position
Ma’an News Agency 5/19/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing of the left-wing Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the National Resistance Brigades, and the military wing of Fatah, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at the Sufa military installation on the border of the Gaza Strip on Monday. They said in a statement that the attack was an act of retaliation for ongoing Israeli atrocities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. [end]
Kamal Udwan Brigades target Israeli military post
Ma’an News Agency 5/19/2008
Gaza Ma’an The Kamal Udwan Brigades, a military group within Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Brigades, on Monday claimed responsibility for launching a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at an Israeli military bulldozer near an Israeli military post, east of Al-Buraeij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. They also said their fighters fired two homemade projectiles at an Israeli watchtower in the same area. They said in a statement that the shelling came in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. [end]
Negev leaders: We’ll force government to stop Qassam fire
Fadi Eyadat, Ha’aretz 5/19/2008
A number of western Negev regional leaders met on Sunday for the first time in years to form a unified approach to "force the government to decide to end Qassam fire on [Israeli] communities," Ashkelon Mayor Roni Mahtsari said on Sunday. The leaders of the municipal authorities, which include communities in the Gaza envelope, Sderot and Ashkelon, will demand to address the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Mahtsari said. The leaders have decided to allot a certain amount of their community budget to public relations to inform people of the residents’ plight in light of the security situation. Delegates to the meeting slammed the government for its inability to halt the rockets and provide better defense protection for the communities. "We demand the government make a decision within a few days. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 051908
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMc -Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/19/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Monday, May 19th 2008. One Palestinian dies in Gaza due to the Israeli siege, and in the West Bank, the Israeli army kidnaps 18 Palestinian civilians. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned. News Cast Palestinian medical sources reported that Abed Al Karem Al Ghalbaan, 57, died at midday on Monday in a Gaza City hospital. Doctors stated that Al Ghalbaan had contracted cancer of the liver, and added that he had been denied Israeli army permission to leave the Gaza Strip for the life saving medical care he needed. With Al Ghalbaan’s death, the number of Palestinians who have died due to the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip now stands at 158. more.. e-mail
Female corporal prevents suicide attack at checkpoint
Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/20/2008
Corporal Michal Ya’akov of the Israel Military Police’s Teuz Battalion was responsible for preventing a suicide attack at the Hawara checkpoint in Nablus yesterday evening. "The entire incident lasted maybe 30 seconds," Ya’akov related. "I was about two feet away from him and asked him to go through the metal detector. "It beeped, and I asked him to raise his hands, and then I saw the explosive devices under his shirt, near his pants. I yelled ’bomb at the checkpoint,’ and the entire force went into action, perfectly. We called him to lie down so the shockwaves from the explosion would be closer to the ground, but he refused. "Then I saw him lower his arms suddenly and the checkpoint commander shot him several times. I assume he was trying to activate the bombs in order to blow himself up," she said. Ya’akov said that when she asked the terrorist how old he was when he approached the roadblock, he said he was 16. more.. e-mail
Gaza cafe bombed amid crackdown on Western pop culture
News Agencies, Ha’aretz 5/19/2008
Assailants detonated a bomb outside a popular cafe in Gaza City early Sunday morning, apparently part of a campaign by shadowy extremists to eliminate perceived symbols of Western influence. The pre-dawn blast smashed the cafe’s windows and damaged its door. No one was hurt. Cafe owner Khalid Harbid said another bomb went off outside his cafe last month. He charged that Gaza’s Islamic Hamas rulers are not protecting his business. "My cafe has become Sderot, Harbid said, referring to the western Negev town targeted daily by Palestinian rocket fire. A Hamas official said police were investigating the situation. On Friday, assailants detonated a bomb outside a Christian school, causing no injuries. Over the past two years, extremists in Gaza have detonated bombs near cafes, hairdressers, record stores and. . . more.. e-mail
Army Ready for Gaza Assault After Rocket Attack: Israel
Agence France Presse, MIFTAH 5/17/2008
Israel warned on Thursday that its forces were prepared to launch a major military operation in the Gaza Strip after a rocket attack that wounded at least 14 people while US President George W. Bush was in Israel. The Israeli army has never been this ready to launch a large-scale operation in Gaza, said Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, a member of Israel’s security cabinet. It may be that we have no choice but to destroy all the nests of terror. Apparently we’ll have no choice, he told public radio. Two small Palestinian militant groups claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s rocket attack on a shopping mall in southern Israel, which came as Bush held talks in Jerusalem. Israel says Hamas bears ultimate responsibility for such attacks because the Islamist movement has been in control of Gaza since ousting forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in June. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces withdraw from southern Gaza, leaving farms destroyed
Ma’an News Agency 5/17/2008
Gaza - Ma’an Israeli forces withdrew from the Al-Shoukah area east of the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, bring to a close an incursion that began at dawn. Witnesses said Israeli tanks left behind a swath of destroyed farmland and other property. Eight dunams (one dunam is 1000 square meters) of land belonging to farmer Yasser Jaber, and the largest chicken farm in the Rafah area were destroyed. Israeli troops siezed three Palestinians in the attack. Five others were detained and released later in the day. Palestinian sources said that Israeli forces drove 500 into the Gaza Strip and are combing the area between the Kerem Shalom crossing point and Sufa crossing point. Muawiya Hassanain, the director of the ambulance and emergency department in the Palestinian Health Ministry, said that no injuries were reported in connection with the incursion. more.. e-mail
Poultry farms’ losses due to IOF destruction estimated at $1.5 million
Palestinian Information Center 5/18/2008
RAFAH, (PIC)-- The agriculture ministry in the PA caretaker government in Gaza on Sunday said that the poultry breeding farms in Shoka area, Rafah district, south of the Strip, have lost more than 1. 5 million dollars due to the Israeli occupation forces’ destruction streak. The ministry in a statement said that ten poultry farms were destroyed on Saturday in Shoka, east of Rafah, at the hands of IOF troops within a few hours. It pointed out that the losses were coupled with vast bulldozing of cultivated lands planted with citrus, olive and almond trees in addition to other crops. The IOF targeting of poultry farms was meant to deprive the Gaza populace from "white meat" after it deprived them of "red meat" when it closed down all Gaza crossings almost a year ago, the ministry pointed out. The ministry expressed dismay at the Arab and international silence towards the Israeli. . . more.. e-mail
Weekend sees more rocket fire from Gaza
Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/19/2008
Qassam rockets and mortars from the Gaza Strip continued to strike communities bordering the costal territory over the weekend, and the Israel Defense Forces remained on high alert in the area. No injuries were reported as a result of the Palestinian bombardment. Early Friday morning, the Israel Air Force attacked a group of armed Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip a short while after they fired mortars at Israel. An IAF aircraft fired a missile at the gunmen and struck them, the Israel Defense Forces reported. Yesterday, an IDF patrol arrested a young Palestinian who had crossed the separation fence near Na’alin. A search revealed that he was armed with a knife, and he was taken for questioning. Also yesterday, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter told Israel Radio that Hamas’ military arsenal is almost on par with that of a sovereign state and said that a military campaign against Hamas could go on for years. more.. e-mail
Two youth kidnapped near Bethlehem
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 5/17/2008
Palestinian sources in Bethlehem city reported on Saturday that Israeli soldiers invaded the town of Tiqua’, east of the city, broke into several homes and clashed with dozens of youth before kidnapping two. The sources stated that at least five military vehicles invaded the town and soldiers fired rubber-coated bullets and gas bombs at dozens of youth who hurled stones and empty bottles at the invading forces. Soldiers also broke into and searched dozens of homes especially homes located close to a main road used by Palestinians residents and Israeli settlers. Soldiers detained several youth and struck them with batons before kidnapping two of them and taking them to an unknown destination. more.. e-mail
Israeli army seizes four teenagers accused of attacking settlement
Ma’an News Agency 5/17/2008
Nablus Ma’an The Israeli military invaded the West Bank village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, on Friday afternoon, seizing four young Palestinians. The head of the village council, Abed An-Nasser Badawi, told Ma’an that the Israeli army fired sound grenades and deployed teargas in residential areas of the village. Badawi identified the arrestees: 16- year old Mahmoud Nafez al Bum, 15-year-old Rabee’ Jaser Al-Bum, 17-year-old Mu’men ash Sheikh Musa, 16-year-old Mohammad Usama. The Israeli army accused the teenagers of setting fire in a watchtower and a number of electric poles in the illegal Israeli settlement of Alielah. No injuries were reported. [end]
Israeli forces withdraw from southern Gaza after kidnapping three civilians
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/17/2008
Palestinian sources reported that the Israeli army left the city of Rafah located in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday midday. Witnesses said that Israeli tanks and bulldozers invaded Al-Shouka area east of Rafah today at dawn. They added that Israeli bulldozers uprooted vast areas of farmlands, and destroyed property in the area. Local sources stated that five Palestinians were kidnapped by the invading forces, two were released later on and three were taken to an unknown location. Medical sources reported no injures in the attack. Palestinian resistance groups said that their fighters clashed with the invading forces, both sides reported no injures. [end]
Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, Al-Quds Brigades shell Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 5/17/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at Sderot, an Israeli town that borders the Gaza Strip. The brigades said in a statement that the shelling was in response to Israeli massacres of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Separately, the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for launching two projectiles at Sderot. [end]
Palestinian fighters shell Sufa crossing
Ma’an News Agency 5/17/2008
Gaza Ma’an - The Abu Ali Mustafa and Ahmad Abu Reesh Brigades, claimed joint responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at the Sufa border crossing in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Both brigades claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on Israeli targets east of the Gaza airport. They affirmed in a statement that "these attacks are confirming our stance of resistance, our national principles and the continuation ofthe fight against occupation." [end]
Homes ransacked in dawn incursion in Qabatiya
Ma’an News Agency 5/17/2008
Jenin - Ma’an Israeli forces invaded the West Bank town of Qabatiya on Saturday morning at dawn in search of members of the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades. Sources in Islamic Jihad said that five Israeli armored vehicles entered the town. Israeli soldiers broke into two homes belonging to members of the Al-Quds Brigades. The troops ransacked the two houses, damaging furniture and interrogating the families of the Palestinian fighters. [end]
Hamas: Fatah forces kidnap three movement activists in the West Bank
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/17/2008
Hamas sources reported on Saturday that Palestinian security forces of President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah have arrested three supporters of Hamas in the West Bank, on Saturday at dawn. The sources added that the arrests took place in the northern West Bank city of Nablus and nearby Refugee camp of Al Ein. Meanwhile Hamas added that one of its supporters was detained and interrogated by the Fatah forces in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem on Friday at night. [end]
Three Hamas supporters ’arrested’ in the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/17/2008
Nablus Ma’an - The Hamas movement said that the Palestinian security forces arrested three of its supporters in the West Bank on Friday night. Hamas said that the security forces arrested Mahmoud Al-Masri from Al-Ein refugee camp near the city of Nablus, Tha’erMansur, also from Nablus. In Tulkarem, the security forces detained Faris Abed Rabu after summoning him for interrogation, Hamas claimed. [end]
Ex-IAF Chief: Expect thousands of rockets on Israel in future war
Haaretz Service and The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 5/18/2008
The Israel Air Force’s outgoing commander-in-chief has said that during a future war Israel’s home front is likely to be bombarded with thousands of missiles and rockets in the possession of Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria. Major General Eliezer Shkedi made the comments in an interview with Israel Radio which was aired Saturday. He also said that the strengthening of Syria and Hezbollah is very worrying. Hezbollah guerillas fired some 4,000 Katyusha rockets at northern Israel throughout the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Shkedi told Israel Radio that during the war, Hezbollah attempted to launch armed drones which the IAF succeeded in downing. The threat of this form of attack still exists, he said, and while its answer is complicated the air force has improved its capability of discovering and identifying unmanned aerial vehicles. more.. e-mail
Armed Palestinian groups in Gaza prepared for large-scale Israeli attack
Ma’an News Agency 5/17/2008
Gaza - Ma’an Palestinian armed resistance groups said on Saturday that they are ready for any military operation Israel may launch in the Gaza Strip. The spokesperson of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, Abu Ubeida, said, "I think that the [Israeli] occupation is unable to carry out any large-scale ground operation, but it could shell our homes and kill people from the air." "Gaza will not receive them with roses," he added. These comments came in response to media reports that Israel is considering an escalation of attacks in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported this week that the Israeli military is considering assassinating high-profile fighters affiliated to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Palestinian leaders are also awaiting news of Israel’s response to an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire with the armed groups. more.. e-mail
Settlers attack a Palestinian village near Nablus
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/16/2008
Dozens of extremist settlers of the Yitzhar settlement, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, attacked Palestinian villagers of Aseera Al Qibliyya on Friday. Several Palestinian villagers were beaten by the settlers who also caused excessive damage in the village. Meanwhile, the settlers claimed that the Palestinian villagers provoked them "by setting a wheat field belonging to the settlement on fire". Israeli police sources reported that settlers and Palestinians villagers hurled stones at each other. The army and the police said that they launched a probe into the incidents. But, Palestinian residents stated that the Israeli police and soldiers did not attempt to stop the settlers from carrying their attack. Two weeks ago, settlers of Yitzhar attacked the same village and caused excessive damage, but the army claimed that the Palestinians caused these clashes "after approaching the settlement and setting a field on fire". more.. e-mail
Herds of Jewish settlers attack Palestinian village
Palestinian Information Center 5/16/2008
NABLUS, (PIC)-- Scores of extremist Jewish settlers from the settlement of Yizhar, on Friday afternoon, attacked residents of the nearby Palestinian village of Asira al-Qibleya to the south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Local sources said that around forty settlers entered the village and started throwing stones at Palestinian houses causing damage to some houses. An IOF patrol forced the settlers to leave the village, but no arrests were made in lines of the settlers who mounted the aggression. The same village was attacked last week by settlers from the same settlement. The settlers set the crop fields on fire and attacked the house of Jamal Saleh at the edge of the village. Villagers rushed to the scene to try and put the fire out and protect the Saleh family. The settlers assaulted them causing serious injuries to 16-year-old Abdelrahim Abdellatif and 44-year-old Rebhi Asayrah. more.. e-mail
Settlers, Palestinians clash in West Bank
Ali Waked, YNetNews 5/16/2008
Palestinians say dozens of settlers rioted in village; settlers say Palestinians set wheat field on fire - Who’s telling the truth? Dozens of settlers from the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar rioted in the village of Asira al-Kabaliya, Palestinian sources reported Friday. According to the report, several Palestinians were beaten up by settlers, who also caused extensive property damage in the village. However, according to the settlers, Palestinians from a nearby village provoked the latest clash after setting a wheat field owned by Yitzhar residents on fire. The settlers said that teams who arrived on the scene to put out the fire were stoned by Palestinians, and claimed that this was the third time in the past two weeks that villagers set fields on fire. Around 6 pm Friday, police in Samaria received a report about settlers and Palestinians hurling stones at each other near Yitzhar. more.. e-mail
Two Islamic Jihad fighters wounded in northern Gaza
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/16/2008
Palestinian medical sources reported that two fighters of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, were wounded on Friday evening after the Israeli air force targeted a group of fighters in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. A senior source at the Brigades stated that the Israeli air force targeted a group of its fighters who gathered in Tal Qleibo, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The source added that that two fighters were wounded in the attack. Abu Ahmad, media spokesperson of the Brigades, stated that the fighters are ready to counter any Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip. In an interview with Maan News Agency, Abu Ahmad said that the Al Quds brigades, and all resistance groups in Gaza will use all available means to counter a possible Israeli invasion into Gaza. Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, said that Israel is planning a major offensive in. . . more.. e-mail
Assailants set off bomb outside Christian school in Gaza
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 5/16/2008
Unknown assailants detonated a bomb outside a Christian school in Gaza City before dawn Friday, causing no injuries. The powerful explosion was heard in surrounding neighborhoods at around 4 A. M. Damage was visible at the entrance to the Zahwa Rosary School, which is run by Catholic nuns but caters mainly to Muslim students. Police officials from Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza, said they were looking into the incident. A Two nuns were in their convent adjacent to the school when the bomb went off, a school official said. The official declined to be named, saying she was frightened by the incident and concerned for her safety. The incident appeared to be the work of a poorly trained individual or group, she said - police told school officials that the bomb had been set incorrectly, and it caused little damage. more.. e-mail
Undercover gunmen blow up entrance to Rosary Sister’s school in Tal Al-Hawa
Ma’an News Agency 5/16/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - Palestinian sources reported early on Friday morning that unidentified gunmen blew up the door of the Rosary Sister’s school in Tal Al-Hawa in the middle of the Gaza city. The sources told Ma’an that the gunmen detonated a bomb near the door of the school at 2. 00 am on Friday morning, which resulted in some material damage. No injuries were reported. [end]
National Resistance brigades shell Nahal Oz; Abu Ali Mustafa brigades shell Ashkelon
Ma’an News Agency 5/16/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The National Resistance brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), claimed responsibility for launching two mortar shells at the Nahal Oz Israeli military base, east of the Gaza Strip on Thursday evening. Meanwhile, the Abu Ali Mustafa brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), claimed responsibility for launching one homemade projectile at Ashkelon also on Thursday. [end]
Al-Quds brigades shell Nativ Ha’tsara
Ma’an News Agency 5/16/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Al-Quds brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at Netiv Ha’asara, north of the Gaza Strip on Friday morning. The brigades said in a statement that this action came in retaliation for the continuous Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people. [end]
An-Nasser brigades shell Erez crossing
Ma’an News Agency 5/16/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The An-Nasser brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), claimed responsibility for launching four mortar shells at Erez crossing on Thursday evening. The brigades confirmed in a statement that this came in retaliation for Israeli atrocities. [end]
Al-Quds brigades shell Meftahim
Ma’an News Agency 5/16/2008
Gaza - Ma’an- The Al-Quds brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at Meftahim, east of Khan Yunis, on Thursday evening. The brigades said in a statement that this came in retaliation for Israeli aggressions. [end]
Testimony: Life of a family in Sderot under the threat of Qassam rockets
Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, ReliefWeb 5/15/2008
Ya’acov Swisa, unemployed computer technician - I was born in Sderot and have lived here almost all my life. It was fun to grow up here. I always loved the place. When I was a boy, I felt as safe as could be. We didn’t even lock our doors at night. I used to wander around the market in Gaza with no fear at all. Before everything started, about seven or eight years ago, life here was normal. I worked. We weren’t well off, but we lived with dignity. I am disabled. In the past, I used a prosthesis and could get around and work like everyone else. About seven months ago, on November 6, 2007, I was at home with my small son. I went to take the garbage out and then I heard the Color Red siren, which means that a Qassam rocket has been fired. I rushed to get back inside as soon as I could because my son was alone. I walked fast, but then I lost my balance on the stairs. more.. e-mail
This Week In Palestine - Week 20 2008
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/16/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 19 m 0s || 17. 3 MB || This Week In Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. IMEMC. org, for May 10th, to through to May 16th, 2008. The Egyptian efforts to reach calm in the Gaza Strip continue, as the Israeli siege and military fire left 10 Palestinians dead. These stories and more, coming up, stay tuned. Nonviolent Resistance Let’s begin our weekly report with the nonviolent actions in the West Bank. Here’s IMEMC’s Mary Smith with the details: Bethlehem On Friday midday, the popular committee of Al Khader village"near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem"held a non-violent demonstration to protest the construction of the illegal Israeli wall, demanding an end to the Palestinians Nakba and recognition of their right of return. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces detain Palestinian in Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 5/16/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - Israeli forces detained a Palestinian in the West Bank city of Nablus on Friday morning, after a number of Israeli military vehicles stormed the city. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an’s correspondent in Nablus that the Israeli forces stormed a number of neighborhoods in the city and arrested 22-year-old Ahmed Nasser Abu Al-Kalbat. [end]
IOF plan escalation of atrocities against Gaza
Palestinian Information Center 5/16/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces are gearing up to escalate their aggression against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after getting a green light from George Bush, according to an Israeli newspaper. The Jerusalem Post said that "Defense officials" said that while the IOF "was preparing for possible military action in Gaza, Israel was still interested in obtaining a cease-fire with Hamas, via Egyptian mediation." The paper reported that the IOF escalation against Hamas is expected to start after George Bush leaves on Friday. It is obvious that Bush has given the green light for further Israeli occupation atrocities in the already devastated Gaza Strip under the rubric of "fighting terror." The Israeli President, himself a seasoned war criminal, told reporters that the best thing that Bush brought with him was giving the Israeli occupation a free hand. . . more.. e-mail
Two fighters killed east of Gaza, six Palestinians killed on Wednesday
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/15/2008
Palestinian sources reported that two fighters of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, were killed late on Wednesday at night, and three others were injured after being targeted by Israeli shells east of Al Shujaeyya neighborhood in Gaza City. The attack took place shortly before midnight and targeted Mohammad Harara, and Ahmad Al Malahi. The bodies of the two fighters were severely mutilated, medical sources reported. Four Palestinians, including one fighter, were killed and fourteen residents were wounded during an early morning Israeli military attack that targeted Jabalia town, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and Khan Younis in the southern part, the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, reported on its website. Among those three killed were Ibraheem Salaha, 19, who was hit with a tanks shell and Khader Salamah, 17, who was playing on his bicycle when Israeli soldiers shot him, witnesses stated. more.. e-mail
Israeli gov’t to okay hundreds of homes in West Bank: official
Xinhua News Agency, ReliefWeb 5/14/2008
JERUSALEM, May 14, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) --Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Zeev Boim will approve the construction of hundreds of housing units in the West Bank next week, local daily Ha’aretz reported Wednesday, citing an Israeli official. Roi Lachmanovitch, a spokesman for the Shas party, said Boim will on Sunday approve construction in the Beitar Illit settlement near Jerusalem and other areas, adding Boim voiced commitment to the construction in a recent conversation with Shas leaders. Shas is a member of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s ruling coalition. Shas’ announcement on Wednesday came hours before U. S. President George W. Bush is due to arrive in Israel to prod Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate a long-awaited peace deal. Earlier this month, U. S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted that expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank affected confidence atmosphere between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). more.. e-mail
Israeli settlement policy hitting eastern Beit Sahour
Palestine News Network 5/15/2008
Najib Farrag -- Some 100 Israeli settlers stormed eastern Beit Sahour City before noon Thursday. They are attempting to overtake part of Bethlehem District’s land this is marked Area C under the Oslo Accords. About thirty cars had gathered after the bypass road east of Beit Sahour, coming from several settlements, including the neighboring settlement of Har Homa erected on Abu Ghneim Mountain, between Bethlehem and Beit Sahour on the eastern side. During the onslaught a number of those settlers fired racist chants, shouting that this land belongs to them and they intend to establish a settlement there. Israeli sources reported that these ultra-fundamentalist settlers claim there is a hidden stone in the area with something in Hebrew etched into it. The settlers told the Israeli press that establishing yet another settlement is a natural response to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s policy of settlement building and expansion. more.. e-mail
Qassam rocket strikes Sderot synagogue; no one hurt
Mijal Grinberg and Reuters, Ha’aretz 5/16/2008
Three Qassam rockets were fired into the western Negev town of Sderot from the Gaza Strip Thursday evening, one of which struck the yard of a preschool adjacent to a synagogue, causing extensive damage to the building but no casualties. Several passersby were treated for shock. Earlier Thursday, three rockets slammed into the Sha’ar Hanegev regional council. No injuries or damage were reported. Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned on Thursday against hasty military action against militants in the Gaza Strip, a day after a rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled territory hit a shopping mall in the coastal city of Ashkelon. "After the events of yesterday the blood boils and the gut wants to react," Barak said during a speech in Jerusalem. But he added: "It is more important to exercise judgment and to follow a policy of think first, act later. more.. e-mail
Gazan man dies in Israeli hospital of wounds sustained in Israeli strike
Ma’an News Agency 5/15/2008
Gaza Ma’an A 40-year-old Palestinian citizen died on Thursday in an Israeli hospital where he was being treated from serious wounds he sustained in Israeli strike on his house in Khuza’ah in the southern Gaza Strip on 4 May. Muhammad Najjar’s brother, Husam Najjar, was also killed immediately in the strike. Najjar’s wife was also injured in the same strike as well as his nephew, 24-year-old Muhammad Sameer Najjar, who sustained two gunshots to his head. Medics say he is clinically dead. [end]
Palestinian civilian succumbs to wounds sustained in IOF sniper attack
Palestinian Information Center 5/15/2008
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- A 45-year-old Palestinian man on Thursday succumbed to serious wounds sustained when an IOF sniper hit him ten days ago while trying to help his brother. Local sources told PIC reporter that Maher Al-Najjar was pronounced dead in an Israeli hospital. Maher was trying to save his brother Husam who was hit on the rooftop of his home during an Israeli incursion in Khuza’a town east of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Husam was immediately killed in the incident while Maher was seriously wounded. Meanwhile, IOF troops stormed Nablus and Balata refugee camp east of the city at dawn Thursday and kidnapped a number of citizens, including a father and his son, after breaking into their homes, locals reported. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers attempt to found settlement outpost in Beit Sahour
Ma’an News Agency 5/15/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an Dozens of Israeli settlers broke into an area called ’Ush Ghurab in Beit Sahour in the eastern Bethlehem district on Thursday morning, demanding the establishment of a settlement outpost. Israeli soldiers were present to protect the settlers. The area used to house an Israeli military base, which was evacuated about a year ago. Ma’an’s reporter said the soldiers denied journalists access to the area. Heated arguments erupted between settlers and local Palestinian citizens who gathered in the area. The mayor of Beit Sahour Hani Al-Hayik, as well as the governor of Bethlehem Salah Ta’mari and Fatah-affiliated lawmaker Fuad Kukali went to the site. "Such practices represent Israeli intentions which should not be underestimated," the governor of Bethlehem said. He explained that such steps were part of an overall Israeli policy aimed at enhancing and intensifying settlement construction in the Palestinian territories. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers occupy a land east of Beit Sahour, say they want to build a settlement there
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center News 5/15/2008
Israeli troops arrested Farid Al-Atrash, a lawyer from Bethlehem as he was among other Palestinians protesting the presence of Israeli settlers who occupied a piece of land east of the town of Beit Sahour near Bethlehem in order to build a new settlement on that land, Thursday morning. Salah El-Taamari, governor of Bethlehem told IMEMC over the phone that "Israel is not showing any sign of positiveness towards allowing a Palestinian independent state to be built, [. . . ] they continue to occupy more land and to build more illegal settlements on them. One of the settlers who refused to disclose his name denied the existance of Palestine in this land and insisted that it is called Judea. "This is not Palestine, this is Judea, the Roman emperor Hadrian named it Palestine, but before that it was Judea, the land of Christ is Judea, and the Koran says this is the land of ’Bani Israel’ children of Israel, and we are Bani Israel," he said. more.. e-mail
Israeli military kidnaps 19 Palestinians across the West Bank
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center News 5/15/2008
Palestinians sources reported that 19 Palestinians had been kidnapped from different part of the West Bank early on Thursday morning. Army kidnapped those Palestinians in military operations that were carried out in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus and Hebron. Sources said that army invaded the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem and kidnapped three from several areas in the city. Sources identified them as Shehada Shehada,19 Ibrahim al-Hereimy,20, and Mohammad ’Abed Rabo,35. Four more Palestinians kidnapped in the northern West Bank city of Nablus as army invaded the city. Sourced added that there had been more Palestinians kidnapped in other West Bank cities, particularly Ramallah and Hebron but have not been identified. Translated by Nisreen Qumsieh - IMEMC News. more.. e-mail
Army seizes 19 across West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/15/2008
Bethlehem -Ma’an - The Israeli army carried out several invasions early on Thursday morning in different cities of the West Bank, seizing 19 Palestinians. Israeli sources confirmed that Israeli forces had seized 19 Palestinians who are on Israel’s ’wanted list’ from the cities and villages ofthe northern West Bank city of Nablus, the central West Bank city of Ramallah and the southern West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Hebron. The sources added that all of the arrestees were transferred to Israeli interrogation centers. Also on Thursday morning Israeli soldiers seized a Palestinian after breaking into his home in the Al-Daheya area east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian security sources said that Israeli forces seized 40-year-old Ghanem Tawfiq Sawalmeh from the area of Daheya Al-Tahta. more.. e-mail
Young Palestinian injured in clashes with Israeli army
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center News 5/15/2008
On Thursday morning, a Palestinian from the town of Sa’er, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, was wounded by Israeli fire after clashes broke out in the area. Local sources in Hebron reported that Gharam al-’Eramen,17, was wounded in clashes which broke out between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces after they invaded the town and imposed tight security measures in the area. Sources added that military intercepted the ambulance while trying to transfer the wounded Palestinian to the hospital for treatment and kidnapped him. The young man was then moved to an unknown detention center. Translated by Nisreen Qumsieh - IMEMC News. [end]
Toddler wounded in mall attack regains consciousness
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 5/15/2008
Father Adi Afgin maintains vigil at bedsides of wife, two-year-old daughter who were wounded by Palestinian rocket on Wednesday, says family will remain in Ashkelon - Two-year-old Tair Afgin, who was wounded when a Palestinian Grad rocket crashed into an Ashkelon shopping mall on Wednesday, has regained consciousness. Doctors at the Sheba Medical Center said on Thursday that the girl’s condition continues to be serious but confirm she is stable. Tair’s father, Adi Afgin, said he knew his wife and daughter were among the 15 injured when he heard the medical clinic on the mall’s second floor had been hit. At first he rushed over to the commercial center with his mother-in-law but quickly began making his way to the nearby Barzilai Hospital after he failed to locate his family in the crowd. more.. e-mail
Palestinian military groups continue to fire projectiles at Israeli targets bordering Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/15/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing affiliated to Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility on Thursday for firing two homemade projectiles at the Israeli military post of Nahal ’Oz. They said in a statement that the shelling came in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli atrocities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They added the shelling also indicates that resistance is the best way for dealing with occupation. Separately, the National Resistance Brigades, the military group affiliated to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), said their fighters launched four mortar shells at Israeli military vehicles stationed east of Gaza City. They also said they fired two homemade projectiles at the Sufa crossing in a joint operation with Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Brigades. more.. e-mail
Palestinian activist affiliated to Fatah Al-Intifada injured in clashes with Israeli forces
Ma’an News Agency 5/15/2008
Gaza Ma’an A Palestinian military group, Kamal Udwan forces affiliated to "Fatah Al- Intifada" said on Thursday that one of their activist has been injured in clashes with an undercover Israeli force south of Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The group said in a statement that a group of their fighters was ambushed at 1 am by an undercover Israeli force. The group managed to flee the ambush after clashing with the Israeli force for more than three hours. They also fired three rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at the Israeli troops. [end]
Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades shell the Western Negev
Ma’an News Agency 5/15/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), claimed responsibility on Thursday for shelling the Western Negev area with a homemade projectile, in addition to shelling the nearby Israeli kibbutz of Kafr Aza. The Brigades affirmed in a statement that the attacks were in response to "the Israeli escalation and massacres against the Palestinians." [end]
Al-Quds Brigades shell Israeli military post near Gaza City
Ma’an News Agency 5/15/2008
Gaza Ma’an - The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, announced on Thursday that its fighters shelled the Israeli military post of Nahal Oz east of Gaza City with five home made projectiles. In a statement the Brigades said "this shelling comes in response to the Israeli attacks and invasions of the Gaza Strip" and affirmed they would continue with the resistance track." [end]
Palestinian security forces arrest three Hamas supporters across the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/15/2008
Nablus - Salfit - Hamas said that the Palestinian security forces arrested three of its supporters from the West Bank on Wednesday. In a statement, the movement said that the security forces arrested Sa’ed Amer, after he was summoned for interrogation, and Yousef Abu Husien from his home both are residents of town of Dura, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. The statement added that the security forces arrested Abed Ar-Rahman Au’dah a resident of Tulkarem and a student of An-Najah University. [end]
Army seizes Palestinian from Qalqilia
Ma’an News Agency 5/15/2008
Nablus - Salfit - Ma’an - The Israeli army seizeda 20-year-old resident of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia early on Thursday morning. Ahmad Yousif Mohammad Samarah Ishreim’s mother, Um Ibrahim, said the soldiers deliberately damaged the door of their house located near As-Sabe’ Street, ransacking its contents and intimidating the sleeping children. Ahmad has a brother who has been imprisoned in the al Naqab Israeli detention facility for several months and was expected to be released the same day as Ahmad was seized[end]
Fatah claims Hamas attacked Nakba rally in Jabalia
Ma’an News Agency 5/15/2008
Ramallah Sources within the Fatah movement claimed on Thursday that Hamas men attacked a rally to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that more than 30 participants in the rally were injured as a result of gunfire and being beaten with clubs. Fatah’s spokesperson in the West Bank Fahmi Za’arir told Ma’an that Hamas members assaulted the participants, specifically women. "This represents the continuation of the coup that Hamas staged in the Gaza Strip, and it came on a special day in which all Palestinian forces united to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba," he said. Wafa quoted eyewitnesses as saying that Hamas men also ransacked the home of Fatah affiliate Jamal Abu Habil in Jabalia and assaulted members of the National Activity Committee. more.. e-mail
Mortar shells rain on Negev, IDF expands range of alert system
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 5/15/2008
Gaza terror groups step up rockets, mortar shell attacks day after Grad rocket wounds 15 in Ashkelon. Seven. . . more.. e-mail
News in Brief - Shabak shuffle, Negev alarm system
Ha’aretz 5/16/2008
The Shin Bet security service acquired a new deputy head yesterday. D. , the new deputy to Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin, had previously filled several high-level positions in the organization, including head of the northern district, head of human resources and head of command headquarters. D. will replace Y. , who served as deputy chief for the past three years but is now taking leave to study. The Shin Bet Law prohibits publication of their full names. (Amos Harel)The Color Red alarm system, which warns of incoming rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, will be expanded to additional communities in the western Negev, the army’s Home Front Command decided yesterday. Netivot and communities in the Sdot Negev Regional Council will henceforth get a 30-second warning, just as Ashkelon does. Wednesday’s rocket attack on Ashkelon was not preceded by an alarm, since the system was deactivated. . . more.. e-mail
MI Chief: Rockets could hit Be’er Sheva within two years
Barak Ravid Amos Harel Fadi Eyadat and Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 5/16/2008
Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin has told Haaretz that in two years time every community within 40 kilometers. . . more.. e-mail
Ashkelon mall back open after attack, but no one shopping
Fadi Eyadat, Ha’aretz 5/16/2008
A day after a Grad Katyusha rocket struck Ashkelon’s Hutzot Mall, the city is making an effort to. . . more.. e-mail
Qassam Brigades: Ashkelon attack natural response to Israeli daily atrocities
Palestinian Information Center 5/15/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said that the Ashkelon attack carried out, on. . . more.. e-mail
Four killed in Israeli raids on Gaza
Middle East Online 5/14/2008
GAZA CITY - Four Palestinians were killed on Wednesday in Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, medics said, as US President George W. Bush landed in Israel on the first leg of a Middle East tour. Three Palestinians were killed during clashes with Israeli troops east of the northern town and refugee camp of Jabaliya, according to Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services. Witnesses said two of the men were militants from the Islamist Hamas movement that has ruled the Gaza Strip since June last year. An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the incident, saying troops targeted Palestinian gunmen near the fence that surrounds the impoverished territory. "There was some shooting against an army patrol near the security fence, forces entered the security fence to search for the shooters. Armed men fired at the force and the army fired back," he said. more.. e-mail
14 hurt as rocket hits Israeli shopping mall
Rachel Stevenson, The Guardian 5/14/2008
A rocket fired from Gaza hit a shopping centre in the Israeli city of Ashkelon today, injuring several people, police have said. At least 14 people, including two young children, were hurt when the rocket hit the third floor of the building. Three were seriously hurt, and rescuers were continuing to search for casualties. The blast came as the US president, George Bush, met Israeli leaders in Jerusalem to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. Speaking in Jerusalem moments before the rocket strike, the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said he was working for peace, including a truce with Hamas, but said Israel would hit back hard if rocket attacks continued. "We will not be able to tolerate continuous attacks on innocent civilians," he said. more.. e-mail
Plan puts shul in Arab part of J’lem
Akiva Eldar, Ha’aretz 5/14/2008
The Jerusalem municipality has begun the process of approving a plan for a new housing complex, including a synagogue, in the heart of the Arab neighborhood of Silwan south of the Old City. The plan, submitted by the right-wing Elad association, includes 10 apartments, kindergarten classrooms, a library and underground parking for 100 cars. Documents show the land the complex is to be built on belongs to the Israel Lands Administration (ILA); however, the ILA said it was unaware of the plan. The municipal spokesman said Elad had leased the land, and therefore the plan does not require ILA approval. A municipal document dated January 21, 2008 notes that all necessary recommendations had been received in the planning file. The area slated for the new project is located 200 meters from the Old City walls, in an area considered one of the. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli forces detain nine Palestinians in Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 5/14/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - Israeli frces detained nine Palestinians from the city of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, after storming a number of houses on Wednesday morning. Palestinian security forces told Ma’an that fifteen Israeli military vehicles stormed the city, late on Tuesday night and raided a number of houses in several neighborhoods. The sources confirmed the names of the detainees: 22-year-old Tha’er Nejem and Osayd Abu Hawwash, 24-year-old Tareq Taher, 28-year-old Marwan Ja’jaa’ and Majdi Abu Yassin, 26-year-old Mohammed As-Sirssi, 20-year-old Mohammed ’Ata Me’yari and 25-year-old Hazem Affouri and Amjad Sbeih Abu Yassin. Israeli Radio said that Israeli forces had arrested twelve Palestinians from the West Bank, including ten from Nablus. more.. e-mail
Mother, child hurt by rocket
Yigal Hai, Ha’aretz 5/15/2008
Avital Afgin, 24, was hoping to spend quality time with her 2-year-old daughter Tair when a Palestinian Grad rocket slammed into an Ashkelon mall yesterday afternoon, injuring them and at least 80 others. Both sustained serious injuries from potentially-lethal shrapnel wounds that covered their bodies. Mother and child are both in serious but stable condition, a senior doctor at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon told Haaretz. "They are both under anesthesia for the initial stages of treatment and diagnosis," Barzilai Deputy Director General, Dr. Arnon Afek, told Haaretz. "They are suffering from multiple shrapnel wounds. Fortunately, most of the injuries are superficial. "Afek said both patients were undergoing surgery. "Treatment of patients suffering from massive trauma is complex," he said. "We’re taking care of the most urgent problems and complications, but there are other injuries that require close attention. more.. e-mail
VIDEO - News / Several hurt after Katyusha strikes Ashkelon mall
Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 5/15/2008
Haaretz. com/Channel 10 special news bulletin for May 14, 2008. Several people are hurt after a Katyusha rocket strikes an Ashkelon mall. U. S. President George W. Bush arrives in Israel to participate in the Presidential Conference. West Bank Palestinians protesting the Nakba clash with IDF troopsUri messer is likely to testify against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. [end]
Rocket hits Ashkelon mall, 90 hurt
and Agencies, By Yuval Azoulay Amos Harel and Ari Shavit, Ha’aretz 5/15/2008
A shopping mall in Ashkelon was hit yesterday afternoon by a long-range rocket fired from the Gaza Strip injuring around 90 people, four of them seriously. Two militant groups, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed responsibility. Among those seriously hurt are a 24-year-old mother and her infant daughter, both flown to Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, for treatment. They suffered head injuries. Two others sustaining serious injuries were rushed to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for emergency surgery. Most other injuries were light. Yesterday’s attack made recent statements by the military intelligence chief, Major General Amos Yadlin, prophetic. He had told Haaretz that "every community within a 40-kilometer range may come within range of the Hamas rockets: Ashdod, Kiryat Gat, even Be’er Sheva. more.. e-mail
Ashkelon residents fume over IDF deactivation of alert before strike
Yuval Azoulay Amos Harel and Ari Shavit , and Agencies, Ha’aretz 5/15/2008
The Israel Defense Forces came under criticism from Ashkelon residents fuming over the army’s decision to shut down the Color Red early warning siren, thus depriving local civilians of an opportunity to seek shelter from the Grad Katyusha rocket which struck a mall on Wednesday. The long-range rocket fired from the Gaza Strip injured around 90 people, four of them seriously. Two militant groups, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed responsibility. Among those seriously hurt are a 24-year-old mother and her infant daughter, both flown to Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, for treatment. They suffered head injuries. Two others sustaining serious injuries were rushed to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for emergency surgery. Most other injuries were light. more.. e-mail
Rocket fired from Gaza injures 14 Israelis in shopping mall
Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem, The Independent 5/14/2008
At least 14 people were wounded -- three of them seriously, including a child -- when a Grad rocket fired by Gaza militants exploded in a shopping centre in the Mediterranean Israeli city of Ashkelon yesterday. The attack, one of the most serious from Gaza using longer-range missiles, was launched as the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, was meeting President George Bush in Jerusalem. Mr Olmert had already hinted at a possible large military invasion of Gaza to stop rocket attacks. The rocket caused a section of the roof of the shopping mall to collapse, briefly burying four people under the rubble. A spokesman at Barizilai hospital in Ashkelon, where the wounded were taken, said a woman and her young daughter, and another woman had been seriously wounded. The attack, claimed by Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees, came after five Palestinians in Gaza, said. . . more.. e-mail
Two civilians kidnapped as Israeli troops attack Abu-Dis and Al Eziryiah near Jerusalem
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/14/2008
Two Palestinian civilians were kidnapped during and Israeli army attack targeting the towns of Abu-Dis and Al Eziryiah located near Jerusalem city, two civilians were kidnapped. Hanni Jaffal, 19, from Abu-Dis, and Jameel Halabah, 19, from Al Eziryiah, were released from Israeli detention camps just eight moths ago. Witnesses said that troops searched a number of homes in the two towns before taking the two youth to unknown locations. Also on Wednesday morning Israeli troops stopped the car of Mujahed Abu Rumi, 40, in Al Eziryiah town and took him and his son to the nearby settlement of Ma’alyih Adomem, there soldiers fined him with 500 NIS claming he was driving an illegal car. The soldiers also gave Al Rumi a military order for an interview with the security service office next week. Local sources said Al Rumi house and his brothers houses were attacked and searched. . . more.. e-mail
40 families leaving Gaza border community after member killed
Fadi Eyadat Mijal Grinberg and Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/15/2008
Some 40 families from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Gaza Strip, have decided to leave the area. "We decided to leave the kibbutz until things quiet down, and unfortunately, it will be with white flags," Dudi Doron, a member of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, said Tuesday. "Neither I nor my children will be Israel’s hostages. We will come back when there is a solution to life," Doron said. Last night, like every night since Friday, when kibbutz member Jimmy Kedoshim was killed by mortar fire while standing in his garden, a number of kibbutz members met to discuss plans to leave en masse. "Its a matter of where to go and not if to go," another member, Shlomi Koren, said. "I don’t expect anyone to solve the problem for me. I have to do it myself because no one has shown any willingness to do it. more.. e-mail
Gaza rocket hits Israeli mall
Al Jazeera 5/14/2008
A rocket has hit a shopping centre in the Israeli city ofAshkelon, injuring at least 14 people. The attack on Wednesday was launched from the Gaza Strip, police said. Eli Bean, a rescue service director, said a girl was among the wounded. Media outlets were reporting extensive damage to the shopping centre, called the Hutzot mall. Several Palestinian resistance groups within Gaza have claimed responsibility for the attack. The rocket came hours after George Bush, the US president, landed in Israel to celebrate the creation of the state with the Israeli government. David Chater, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Israel, said: "This is not the ordinary Qassam rocket that is usually fired. They are essentially homemade rockets with not much explosive force. "This appears to have been a Grad rocket which has a much more explosive warhead on it. It has made a direct hit on a shopping mall in Ashkelon. more.. e-mail
IAF airstrikes in Gaza leave two militants dead, four wounded
News Agencies, Ha’aretz 5/15/2008
Israel Air Force aircraft struck twice in Gaza City late Wednesday, aiming for a group of Hamas militants, killing two and wounding four, witnesses and Hamas officials said. The Israel Defense Forces said its forces attacked armed Palestinians. The IAF strikes followed a rocket attack on Ashkelon which left 14 Israelis wounded. Two militant groups in Gaza claimed responsibility. The IDF killed two Hamas militants and two Palestinian civilians on Wednesday in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, medical workers said. On Wednesday morning, a gunman was killed in an Israel Air Force strike during a ground raid near Khan Yunis, in the southern part of the territory, the medical workers said. An IDF spokeswoman confirmed the strike. Alongside the aerial attack, IDF ground troops were operating in the area, and Lieutenant Colonel Tal Carmel was very lightly wounded by shrapnel. more.. e-mail
Israeli aerial attack kills Qassam fighter and wounds two others in Khan Younis
Palestinian Information Center 5/14/2008
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- A Palestinian fighter affiliated with the Qassam Brigades was killed and two others sustained injuries after Israel warplanes fired Wednesday morning missiles at a group of the Brigades during confrontations with invading IOF troops in the Abasan area, east of Khan Younis. The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, affirmed that its fighters managed to shoot dead an Israeli soldier and fired an RPG at a military bulldozer’s tower, adding that its fighters also fired earlier at dawn four mortar shells and two RPGs at the invading IOF troops, and engaged in direct clashes with them in the Abasan area. In the same area, two fighters affiliated with the Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, sustained injuries in the morning during an Israeli aerial attack. Palestinian local sources reported that the Israeli incursion into the east of. . . more.. e-mail
Palestinians: 2 Hamas operatives killed in IAF strike in Gaza
Jerusalem Post 5/15/2008
Palestinian sources reported early Thursday morning that two Hamas terrorists were killed in an IAF strike of a Hamas look-out station in the Saja’iya neighborhood in Gaza City. A strike against terrorists in Gaza had been authorized by the IAF, according to the IDF spokesman’s office. Palestinians also claimed that IDF artillery was fired in the direction of the north of the Strip. No casualties have yet to be reported from this alleged separate strike. [end]
PA security forces arrest 10 near Hebron
Ma’an News Agency 5/14/2008
Hebron - Ma’an - The Palestinian security forces arrested ten Palestinians accused of shooting at the security forces in the West Bank town of Yatta, south of the city of Hebron, on Wednesday. The arrest took place in the presence of Samih As-Seifi, the security forces commander in the Hebron area, Colonel Ramadan ’Awad, the police chief of Hebron, Iyad Faraj, the chief of Palestinian military intelligence. As-Seifi told Ma’an that they had arrested a number of ’criminals’ who are accused of firing their weapons in residential areas. He added that one of the arrestees attempted to flee, but was ultimately captured. The security forces also had confiscated an M16 rifle from the arrestees. Separately, the Palestinian police ended an armed fight between two families in Yatta days ago. Five injuries were reported in connection with the fight and seven were arrested. more.. e-mail
Soldiers, undercover forces invade two areas near Khan Younis
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/14/2008
The Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported that Israeli soldiers and undercover forces invaded on Tuesday night after midnight two areas near Khan Younis city, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses told WAFA that military bulldozers uprooted farmlands belonging to residents of Khuza’a village, east of Khan Younis. The bulldozers were accompanied by nearly 25 tanks and armored vehicles. The uprooted lands were planted with almond and citrus trees, in addition to hothouses planted with tomatoes and other vegetables. Undercover forces also infiltrated Al Faraheen area, east of Khan Younis. Shortly afterwards, several tanks and armored vehicles invaded the area. The residents fear further escalation as several tanks are armored vehicles were brought to areas close to the border. On Tuesday, soldiers killed one fighter of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing. . . more.. e-mail
The Israeli army attacks on the Gaza Strip leaves 4 killed and 15 injured
Rami Almeghari & Ghassan Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/14/2008
Palestinian medical sources said that four Palestinians were killed and 15 others injured during a number of Israeli army attacks targeting deferent parts of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Three civilians were killed and at least 10 injured when an Israeli tanks shelled residential areas during an invasion targeting the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Among those three killed were Ibraheem Salaha, 19, who was hit with a tanks shell and Khader Salamah, 17, who was playing on his bicycle when Israeli soldiers shot him, witnesses stated. Palestinian security sources said that several Israeli tanks and armored vehicles swept earlier in the day into the vicinity of the eastern cemetery of Jabalaya, just close to the Israel-Gaza border lines. Earlier on Wednesday morning one Al Qassam brigades of Hamas fight was killed and three others injured during an Israeli air raid targeting. . . more.. e-mail
4 Palestinians dead, at least 15 injured in Israeli raids on Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/14/2008
Gaza Ma’an Four Palestinians were killed and more than 15 were injured on Wednesday in several Israeli air and ground raids on the Gaza Strip. Palestinian medics affirmed that two Palestinians were killed and six others were injured as Israeli forces invaded ’Izbat Abid Rabbu near Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, a series of Israeli air strikes on the southern Gaza Strip killed one Palestinian activist affiliated to Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades and injured five others, most of them seriously. The director of Kamal Udwan Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Bassam Abu Warda, stated that two dead bodies arrived to the hospital, one of them so badly injured it has not yet been identified. The other was identified as 17-year-old Mahmoud Al-Majdhub who received a gunshot to his back as Israeli soldiers invaded ’Izbat Abid Rabbu. more.. e-mail
Israeli military kidnaps five in Nablus
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center News 5/14/2008
Israeli forces invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus and kidnapped five Palestinians in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Local sources reported that soldiers attacked several areas in the city known as; al-Kroom, ’Ashoor, Ksheika street, Tal’et al Toor and Tal Street, while randomly opening heavy gunfire and sound bombs on dwellings. During the ofesnive, soleirs broke into several civilian homes, searching for claimed wanted Palestinians and confiscated properties. The sources added soldiers kidnapped five Palestinians during the attack. The five residents were identified as Tarek al-Taher,24, Marwn ’Aj’aj,29, Sayed Abu Hawash,22, Tha’er Nejem,26 and Hazem al-’Asfoury,23. They were all moved to an unknown destination. Translated by Nisreen Qumsieh - IMEMC News. more.. e-mail
The Minister of Agriculture in the de facto government condemns Israeli agression on Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/14/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Palestinian minister of Agriculture in the de facto government in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Mohammed Ramadan Al-Agha, on Wednesday condemned the ongoing Israeli invasions into the eastern area of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip. Al-Agha said this area is subjected to daily Israeli aggressions and widespread destruction by Israeli bulldozers. He confirmed that a number of farmers have been killed along with the destruction of the infrastructure due to Israeli aggressive practices against the area. He said that the Israelis tend to burn or raze the wheat harvest depriving belonging to Palestinian farmers, adding that the amount of losses has exceeded 2. 5 million dollars in the agricultural areas of the sector. more.. e-mail
Palestinian Resistance factions claim launching of projectiles at Israeli sites
Ma’an News Agency 5/14/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - Palestinian Resistance factions claimed responsibility for launching a number of homemade projectiles at Israeli sites and crossings bordering the Gaza strip on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. The brigades launched two homemade projectiles at the military site near the Kerem Shalom crossing, south of the Gaza strip, at seven o’clock on Wednesday morning. Fatah military wings claimed responsibility for launching a projectile at Yad Mordakhai, south of Ashkelon, at 8. 05 pm on Tuesday. They also said that this came in retaliation for Israeli atrocities. [end]
Al-Quds brigades launch three homemade projectiles at Natif Ha’tsara
Ma’an News Agency 5/14/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The military wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds brigades, claimed responsibility for launching three homemade projectiles at Nativ Ha’etsra late on Tuesday. The brigades also fired at an Israeli military force near Erez crossing, north of the Gaza Strip. They said in a statement that this came in the retaliation for ongoing Israeli atrocities. [end]
Al-Quds brigades shell Israeli positions east of Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/14/2008
Gaza - Ma’an The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for launching ten mortar shells at a number of Israeli military sites east of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon. The Brigades said in a statement that this came in the retaliation for ongoing Israeli atrocities committed against the Palestinian people. [end]
Palestine Today 051408
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/14/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 4 m 0s || 3. 66 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Wednesday May 14th 2008. The Israeli army kills four Palestinians in Gaza, and injures at least 25 others in the West Bank, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The News Cast Palestinian medical sources said that four Palestinians were killed and 15 others injured during a number of Israeli army attacks targeting deferent parts of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Three civilians were killed and at least 10 others were injured when Israeli tanks shelled residential areas during an invasion targeting the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Among the three killed were Ibraheem Salaha, 19, who was hit with a tank shell and Khader Salamah, 17, who was playing on his bicycle when Israeli soldiers shot him, witnesses stated. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces destroy fruit trees and greenhouses in southern Gaza Strip
Palestine News Network 5/13/2008
Khan Younis / PNN -- Israeli forces destroyed green houses, farms, fruit trees and land in the southern Gaza Strip’s Khan Younis area throughout the night. The Mayor of the eastern town of Khoza’, Sheikh Kamal Najjar, reported that "the bulldozers and tanks of the Israeli occupation penetrated the eastern side of town which exploded with destruction on Tuesday. They washed away more than 500 dunams of land belonging to our citizens." Mayor Najjar explained that farmers experienced heavy losses as Israeli forces dug up their lands closest to the boundary near the Israeli military encampments. "This is 400 meters away and their intention is a scheme to erase all manifestations of life from these areas." The head of the municipality estimated losses of farmers since the start of the Israeli bulldozing campaign in the area at one million US dollars, saying that the eastern. . . more.. e-mail
Al-Qassam Brigades fighter killed in Israeli air strike
Ma’an News Agency 5/13/2008
Gaza Ma’an One Palestinian fighter affiliated to Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades was killed and two others were injured on Tuesday when an Israeli reconnaissance plane fired a missile at a group of fighters east of Al-Qarara, near the city of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Mu’awiyah Hassanain, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian Health Ministry identified the dead activist as 21-year-old Tahrir Abdul Ghafoor. Hassanain also said that the wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. He said one of the injured men was in critical condition. The Israeli strike came shortly after two Palestinian homemade projectiles landed in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. One Israeli woman went in shock as a result, and Israeli greenhouses were damaged, Israeli media reported. more.. e-mail
IOF troops bulldoze Palestinian agriculture lands
Palestinian Information Center 5/13/2008
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- IOF troops bulldozed large areas of Palestinian cultivated lands and hothouses in an incursion at dawn Tuesday east of Khuza’a town in Khan Younis district, south of Gaza Strip. Sheikh Kamal Al-Najjar, the Khuza’a mayor, told PIC reporter that the soldiers’ destruction streak reflected their vicious desire for revenge. Preliminary estimates indicated that the invading troops bulldozed more than 120 dunums of lands including 20 hothouses and uprooted hundreds of olive and other types of trees in addition to destroying wheat and barely fields, Najjar elaborated. Inhabitants in the area said that the incursion started at a late hour on Monday night and continued till the early morning hours on Tuesday. Najjar said that the occupation forces embarked on the largest ever bulldozing operation in the area to establish isolation, security zone between this area and borders of the 1948 occupied lands. more.. e-mail
Israeli military razes 50 dunums of Khan Younis orchards
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center News 5/13/2008
In a predawn invasion of Tuesday, Israeli soldiers razed 50 Dunams of lands belonging to residents of Khuza’a town, in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Eyewitness reported that Israeli bulldozers devastated large areas of greenhouses that belong to the farmers of the town. Local source reported that a state of anxiety and fear among the residents in the town as the operation had not been concluded yet. Translated by Nisreen Qumsieh - IMEMC News. [end]
Army shuts down a military checkpoint; installs dozens of temporary ones around Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 5/13/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - The Israeli army closed a military checkpoint known as "Checkpoint 17" north west of the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday morning until further notice, meanwhile setting up dozens of temporary military checkpoints on the outskirts of the city. Local eyewitnesses reported that "the Israeli forces put a note on the checkpoint saying that the checkpoint is closed until further notice. "The soldiers installed a temporary checkpoint on the Al-Batahn Nablus road, north of the city in addition to other temporary checkpoints on the road junction of the nearby settlement of Yetzahar, south of the city. Bus driver, 35-year-old Hashem Abu Zietun, said " Israeli forces have been obstructing hundreds of Palestinian vehicles which pass through the Za’tarah checkpoint south of the city which connects the northern areas of the West Bank with the south since the morning. more.. e-mail
Army invades Jenin refugee camp, arrests two Palestinians
Ma’an News Agency 5/13/2008
Jenin - Ma’an - The Israeli army invaded the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank on Tuesday morning and arrested two of the camp’s residents. Local sources reported that the Israeli army seized , 17-year-old Musa Ahmad Sa’eed and 20-year-old Jamil Abed al Latif Nabhan, and took them to an unknown destination. The same sources indicated that Israeli armored vehicles conducted a wide range of searches of private homes amidst firing rounds of live ammunition. The Israeli army is carrying out sweeps of arrests, breaking into homes in the city of Jenin, villages and towns while the Palestinian security forces are carrying out security deployment to impose law and order in the city and its surroundings. more.. e-mail
PA security arrests five members of Hamas in the West Bank
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 5/13/2008
Media sources close to Hamas movement reported on Tuesday that Palestinian Security Forces, loyal to Fateh movement, arrested on Monday five members and supporters on Hamas in several areas in the West Bank. The sources stated that P. A security arrested Sameh Al Jabsha and Abdullah Loqman from Dier Al Ghsoun village, near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem. In Hebron district, in the southern part of the West Bank, security forces arrested Hussein Al Qawasmi and Faisal Abu Shkheidim. The forces also arrested Shadi Al Ja’bary in front of the Hebron University. Al Ja’bary is a student at the university and a previous member of its students council. Moreover, security forces are still holding captive for the eight day resident Akram Al Qa’oud, al lecturer at the Polytechnic University in the city. more.. e-mail
Two Palestinian military groups fire projectiles at Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 5/13/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing affiliated to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the National Resistance Brigades, claimed responsibility on Monday evening for firing two homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Sderot. Separately, the An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees, said on Monday evening that their fighters launched two homemade projectiles at Sderot. The military groups said in separate statements that the shelling came in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. [end]
Islamic Jihad’s military group claims responsibility for projectile that killed Israeli woman
Ma’an News Agency 5/13/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an The military wing affiliated to Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed responsibility on Monday for firing a homemade projectile at the Israeli town of Hevel Eshkol south of the Gaza Strip, that killed an Israeli woman. The military group said in a statement that the shelling expressed a rejection of the ceasefire while Israeli aggression continues. Israeli sources announced earlier on Monday the death of an Israeli woman in an Israeli town which has not previously been targeted by Palestinian projectiles. They said the projectile hit the woman’s house. [end]
Israeli forces seize two Al-Aqsa Brigades fighters near Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 5/13/2008
Nablus Ma’an Israeli forces arrested two Palestinian fighters affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, in the village of Beita near the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday. Palestinian security sources said that undercover Israeli forces infiltrated in the village and approached a house where 24-year-old Ayman Sama’nah and 22-year-old Muhammad Abu Al-Hayja were hiding. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an’s reporter that five Israeli military jeeps and armored personnel carrier followed the undercover forces surrounded the house, seizing both activists. [end]
Al-Quds Brigades shell Israeli kibbutz
Ma’an News Agency 5/13/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, claimed responsibility for shelling the Israeli kibbutz of Miftahim with three home made projectiles on Tuesday afternoon. In a statement the Brigades claimed that "the projectiles caused a fire in the kibbutz, adding "this shelling is in response to the Israeli attacks." [end]
Woman killed in rocket strike on Negev as son watches; Grads hit Ashkelon
and Agencies, By Fadi Eyadat and Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/13/2008
A 70-year-old woman was killed as her son watched when a rocket fired by militants from the Gaza Strip struck a meter from where she was standing yesterday. The rocket hit a house in Moshav Yesha, 15 kilometers east of Gaza. This rocket struck farther from Gaza than most fired from the Strip. No one else was hurt. The woman, Shuli Katz, and her son were on their way to visit her sister-in-law on Moshav Yesha. A neighbor said that Katz’s sister-in-law, who is visiting from the United States, was afraid to visit Katz at her home, on Kibbutz Gvaram near Ashkelon, because of the two rockets that struck Ashkelon earlier yesterday. Instead, she asked Katz to visit her at Moshav Yesha. At close to 7 P. M. , Katz and her son arrived at the home on the moshav where her sister-in-law was staying. "They drove up to the back entrance with their car. . ." more.. e-mail
VIDEO - IDF attacks Qassam launching cell in Gaza; Hamas gunman killed
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 5/13/2008
(Video) Palestinians say one gunmen killed, five others wounded in Israeli retaliation to rocket fire on western Negev; southern community heads tell Olmert Bush visit to region ’thwarting proper military response’ - VIDEO -The Israeli Air Force attacked a Qassam launching cell near the Gaza town of Khan Younis on Tuesday. According to Palestinian sources in the Strip, a member of Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was killed and five more gunmen were injured in the strike. Israeli woman killed in Qassam attack (Video courtesy of infolive. tv) Five Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israeli territory since Tuesday morning. Both landed in open areas south of Ashkelon. A brushfire erupted as a result and shrapnel hit a high-voltage line. The Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks. more.. e-mail
Army installs temporary checkpoint at entrance to Baqa Al-Sharqieh
Ma’an News Agency 5/13/2008
Tulkarem - Ma’an - The Israeli army installed a temporary checkpoint at the entrance to the town ofBaqa Al-Sharqieh, near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem on Tuesday. Palestinian security sources reported that the Israeli forces tightened its security procedures and imposed a siege on the town, installing a temporary checkpoint and closing the main road into the town. Soldiers manning the checkpoint searched residents and their vehicles. [end]
Israel mulls moving Gaza Strip crossings east to dodge rockets
Amos Harel Barak Ravid Avi Issacharoff, Yuval Azoulay, and Jack, Ha’aretz 5/13/2008
The defense establishment is examining the possibility of transferring the Sufa and Kerem Shalom border crossings, through which goods enter the Gaza Strip, deeper into Israeli territory, a move that would enable the crossings to operate continuously despite the recurring threats of Palestinian terrorism. The new plan being mulled by security officials entails moving the inspection points for cargo trucks further east of its current location, out of range of Palestinian projectiles. Sufa and Kerem Shalom have frequently shut down due to Palestinian mortar and terrorist attacks, preventing the delivery of basic humanitarian aid to Palestinian civlians in the Gaza Strip. While touring the crossing points Tuesday, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai pledged the government would improve efforts to reinforce. . . more.. e-mail
Nujaidat: Building a bridge at Magharba gate may affect Aqsa walls
Palestinian Information Center 5/13/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Zahi Nujaidat, the spokesman of the Islamic Movement in the 1948-occupied Palestinian lands, has warned on Tuesday that walls of the Aqsa Mosque could crack if the Israeli occupation government pursued the construction of the controversial bridge on the ruins of the Magharba gate. He described the Israeli decision of building the bridge as "serious", and would have bad repercussions on the Aqsa Mosque and on the occupied city of Jerusalem, explaining that the bridge, in the event it is completed, would allow thousands of IOF troops and policemen to terrorize the worshippers, and to dominate Jerusalem and the Mosque. Nujaidat’s remarks came in press statements he issued on Tuesday in the occupied city of Jerusalem, and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC. "All the destruction and demolition works at the Magharba gate were leading to one and only. . . more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 051308
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/13/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 4 m 0s || 3. 66 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Tuesday May 13th 2008. Rafah crossing closed as the army attack areas in Gaza, while in the West Bank daily invasions and kidnappings by the Israeli troops continues, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The News Cast Egyptian media sources reported that Egyptian authorities shut down the Rafah border crossing, south of Gaza for an unknown destination. The Egyptian border-police who re-opened the terminal last Saturday for three days to ease the hardship the Palestinians are facing, particularly for those who are immediate need of being medically treated outside the coastal region. The procedures to open the border were implemented based on arrangements made between Hamas and Egypt. more.. e-mail
Rocket fire kills woman in Israel
Al Jazeera 5/12/2008
Israeli rescue services say a woman has been killed in a rocket attack from Gaza. The newspaper Haaretz said quoting the rescue services that the victim of Monday’s attack was a 70-year-old tourist. The rocket struck a house in the Negev town of Moshav Yesha, 15km east of Gaza, farther away than the usual targets of Palestinian rocket fire. No one else was hurt, the Israeli rescue services were quoted as saying. A second rocket struck the Ashkelon National Park on Monday, Haaretzsaid. One woman to be treated for shock after the attack, which caused damage to some homes in the area. Agencies quoted the Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian group allied to Hamas, as saying that it fired rockets into Israel on Monday. On Sunday, Palestinian fighters fired three Qassam rockets at the western Negev, one of which exploded next to a schoolbus carrying children,Haaretz said. more.. e-mail
Israeli court indicts 11 Israeli teens for racially motivated attack against Arabs
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/13/2008
The Jerusalem District Court indicted on Monday eleven Israeli teens from Jerusalem for racially motivated attacks against two Arab youth in the city on the eve of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israeli online daily Haaretz reported. The Eleven youth apparently attacked and stabbed two Arabs in the city. Haaretz stated that the indictment reads that Yaakov Ben Haim, Liran Asraf and Morali Ben Moshe, 18 -- 19 years old, along with eight other underage Israelis, are accused of stabbing two Arab youth of Jerusalem, aged 16 and 18. The eleven youth are charged with racially motivated attack, participating in fights and conspiring to commit a crime. The attack took place near the entrance of a shopping mall in Pisgat Zeevneighborhood in Jerusalem. One of the Arab youth was left unconscious and the other was stabbed several times in his back. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces seize six Palestinians in West Bank raids
Ma’an News Agency 5/12/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an - Israeli forces seized six Palestinians during raids in several West Bank cities overnight on Sunday and Monday. According to Israeli sources, the arrestees were from Jenin, Ramallah, and Hebron. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an’s reporter in Nablus that the Israeli troops seized a young Palestinian man after surrounding him in his car in the village of Rujeeb, east of Nablus. Local sources named the arrestee as 26-year-old Mufeed Dweikat. [end]
Israeli forces invade Jenin and nearby villages, arresting one
Ma’an News Agency 5/12/2008
Jenin Ma’an Israeli forces stormed the West Bank city of Jenin, Jenin refugee camp and the nearby villages of Al-Yamun and Birqin early on Monday morning. Local sources said that several Israeli military vehicles entered Jenin. Israeli troops ransacked house of Ammar Abu Ghalyon, in the refugee camp. Separately, Palestinian sources said that Israeli forces stormed the town of Burqin, near Jenin and arrested 29-year-old Hilal Makhloof. Sources said the Israeli soldiers fired heavily into the air while they raided the town. In the town of Al-Yamun, south of Jenin, Israeli forces ransacked several houses including one belonging to Islamic Jihad fighter Bajis Hamdiyya. The soldiers told the family inside the house that Hamdiyya must surrender to the Israeli military or face assassination. more.. e-mail
Seventh Palestinian dies of wounds from recent Israeli attack
Ma’an News Agency 5/12/2008
Gaza - Ma’an Twenty-five-year-old Mu’ataz Abu ’Anza died on Monday morning of wounds he sustained during an Israeli incursion in the town of Khaza’a in the southern Gaza Strip last Wednesday, medic said. Mauawiya Hassanein, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian Health Ministry said that Abu ’Anza died on Sunday in Nasser hospital in the city of Khan Yunis. Hassanein added that Abu ’Anza’s death brings the number of victims of the last week’s incursion to seven. [end]
The Islamic Jihad fires two homemade shells onto southern Israel
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/12/2008
The Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, known as Saraya Alquds brigades, fired early on Monday two homemade shells onto the Israeli town of Ashkelon, about 12 kilometers away from the Gaza Strip. In a statement, faxed to press, the Saraya Alquds brigades said that the Monday shelling onto Asqalan ’Ashkelon’, came in response to the latest rounds of Israeli army attacks on the Gaza Strip, particularly the assassination attempts". The statement also read that the firing of shells was further commitment by the Islamic Jihad group to the path of resistance. Israeli media sources reported Monday that two homemade shells landed today morning in the city of Ashkelon, hitting the city’s park, causing slight damages to some buildings and wounding a woman with shock. In the meantime, Palestinian medical sources announced that Mo’taz Abu Anza, 25-year-old young man, died today of wounds he. . . more.. e-mail
Al-Quds Municipality approves controversial Jewish-only bridge across Muslim holy site
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center News 5/12/2008
On Sunday night, the Committee for Planning and Building of the Jerusalem Municipality approved a plan for constructing a new bridge, the al-Mugrabi bridge, across the ground of the Al-Aqsa mosque in Old Jerusalem. This approval despite objections by several members of the planning committee, including Ir Amim, Arab members of Knesset, and Al-Aqsa foundation archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov. The plan will be handed to the district committee, which in turn will re-discuss the proposed objections in a week’s time. Israeli reports show that the track of the approved bridge is relatively short, which is why there was a suggested plan to construct a bridge supported by columns. The plan is intended to enlarge the women’s section at the Jewish-only Western Wall plaza. The Head of the Committee, Yehoshua Pollak, and a council member of the Jerusalem Municipality referred to the suggested. . . -- See also: Jerusalem planners okay route of new bridge to Mugrabi Gate more.. e-mail
Hebron: one injured, two kidnapped during army attacks on several areas of the city
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/12/2008
The Israeli army injured one Palestinian civilian and kidnapped another two during several attacks targeting the southern West Bank district of Hebron on Monday at dawn. Shareif Al Tuorah, 15, was injured by a rubber-coated steal bullet during clashes that took place in thevillage of Tafouh, near Hebron city. Troops invaded the village and searched homes before the clashes took place. Meanwhile, Khamiss Hassan and Hassan Al Sharef were kidnapped by the army on Monday at dawn, when the Israeli army attacked the Al Arop refugee camp located near Hebron. Witnesses said that Israeli soldiers and army jeeps stormed the refugee camp, and clashes took place between local youth and attacking troops. During the clashes, soldiers kidnapped Hassan and Al Sharef and left the area. House to house searches were also reported on Monday in the old part of Hebron city and the nearby Sourif village. more.. e-mail
Deadly rocket attack ’shakes Gaza-Israel cease-fire plan’
Ezzedine Said, Daily Star 5/13/2008
Agence France Presse - OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip killed an Israeli woman on Monday, hours after Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert set conditions for a truce with Palestinian militants in the Hamas-ruled territory. The projectile slammed into a house in a small farming community near the Gaza border, killing one woman, an Israeli military spokeswoman said. The spokeswoman had earlier said that a second woman was wounded, but later corrected the statement and said no one else was hurt. The attack was claimed by Islamic Jihad, which has refused to sign an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire proposal but also vowed not to violate its terms. Islamic Jihad militants earlier fired two long-range rockets at the seaside Israeli town of Ashkelon. No casualties were reported from the attack. The attack came hours after Olmert asked Egypt’s intelligence chief to tell. . . more.. e-mail
Woman killed as rocket directly hits Negev home
Avi Issacharoff Mijal Grinberg, Ha’aretz 5/13/2008
A 70-year-old woman was killed Monday in a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip, the rescue service said. The victim was named as Shuli Katz, of Kibbutz Gvaram. The rocket hit a house in Moshav Yesha, where Katz was a guest, 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of Gaza. The rocket struck farther away than the usual targets of rockets fired by Gaza militants. No one else was hurt, the rescue service said. The attack came as the Egyptian chief of intelligence wrapped up talks with Israel about a truce with Hamas to end rocket attacks and Israeli reprisals. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the deadly rocket, apparently a Grad, after two similar rockets exploded in the southern city of Ashkelon in the morning. Islamic Jihad has fired most of the Grad rockets, while other Gaza militant groups aim crude homemade rockets at Israeli villages. more.. e-mail
Elderly Israeli woman killed by Gaza rocket
Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem, The Independent 5/12/2008
A 75 year old Israeli woman was killed yesterday by a rocket fired from Gaza as Israel suggested any truce in the Strip depended on the release of the Army corporal seized almost two years ago. The woman died after the rocket struck a house in Yesha, nine miles from Gaza’s eastern border and further than the usual targets of Qassam rockets. Islamic Jihad said it had fired rockets at the time of the fatal attack. The move came as Egypt’s intelligence chief Omar Suleiman spent the day in Israel seeking a ceasefire agreement following Egypt’s success in persuading the Palestinian armed factions to drop its earlier pre-condition that Israel halts military action in the West Bank. In meetings with Mr Suleiman yesterday, Israel’s leaders—including the Defence Minister Ehud Barak—reportedly linked the release of Cpl Gilad Shalit explicitly to any putative ceasefire. more.. e-mail
Three police officers injured in explosion near Gaza City
Ma’an News Agency 5/12/2008
Gaza Ma’an Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip said on Monday that three police officers affiliated to the de facto government have been injured in an ambiguous explosion in their jeep while traveling east of Gaza City. Mauawiya Hassanein, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian Health Ministry said the ploice officers were taken to Al-Wafa’ and Al-Amal Hospital for medical treatment. He affirmed they were alright. All three officers were affiliated to the Hamas-run de facto government in the Gaza Strip. [end]
Hamas: PA security forces detain two Hamas supporters
Ma’an News Agency 5/12/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - Hamas said that the Palestinian security forces arrested two of its members in the west Bank on Sunday evening. They said in a statement that the security forces arrested Ash-Sheikh Abdel Nasser Mona, from the city of Nablus, and Fawwaz At-Tubassi from the village of Tammun village in Tubas governorate. Hamas added that security forces also arrested three Palestinians ion Al-’Ein refugee camp, west of Nablus. [end]
Palestinian fighters claim projectile attack, clash with Israeli forces in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/12/2008
Gaza - Ma’an The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), claimed responsibility for launching one homemade projectile at the Israeli town of Sderot, which borders the Gaza Strip, on Monday morning. Separately, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility for a skirmish with Israeli forces near the Karni crossing point. [end]
Popular Resistance Committees shell Erez crossing
Ma’an News Agency 5/12/2008
Gaza - Ma’an The military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Brigades, claimed responsibility for launching four mortar shells at Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday evening. The brigades said in a statement that the attack was an act of retaliation for ongoing Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. [end]
Israeli army kidnaps a Palestinian civilian from Bethlehem area
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/12/2008
Palestinian sources reported that a Palestinian civilian was kidnapped by the Israeli army on Monday morning. The man is a resident of the village of Taqua, located to the south of Bethlehem city. Ahamd Al Badan was at his work place in Jerusalem city when troops arrived and kidnapped him. The troops took Al Badan to unknown location and gave no reason for the kidnapping. [end]
Jenin: Israeli troops attack the Burken village, kidnap one civilian
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/12/2008
A number of Israeli army jeeps invaded the village of Burken, located west of Jenin, and kidnapped one civilian on Monday at dawn. According to witnesses, soldiers searched and rasnaked a number of homes. The soldiers also reportedly forced men out of the homes and interrogated them on the spot. [end]
Palestine Today 051208
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/12/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB ||Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Monday May 12th 2008. A Palestinian dies in Gaza due to earlier wounds, and in the West Bank, the Israeli army injures one civilian. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News cast Early on Monday morning, the Al-quds brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, fired two homemade shells onto the Israeli town of Ashkelon, about 12 kilometers away from the Gaza Strip Israeli media sources reported on Monday that two homemade shells landed in Ashkelon, hitting the city’s park, causing slight damages to some buildings, and wounding one woman. In the meantime, Palestinian medical sources announced that 25-year old Mo’taz Abu Anza died today of wounds he had sustained earlier during an. . . more.. e-mail
The shrinking map of Palestine
Haitham Sabbah, Palestine Think Tank 5/12/2008
Maps - Source: Sabbah’s Blog [end]
One Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in southern Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/11/2008
Gaza Ma’an Undercover Israeli forces killed a Palestinian fighter in the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning, witnesses and medical sources said. The dead body of 23-year-old Usama Al-Astal, a fighter with Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, was taken to a hospital in the city of Khan Younis. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an’s reporter that Al-Astal was on lookout duty east of the town of Al-Qarara, when he noticed Israeli special forces entering the area. He immediately hurled a grenade towards the Israelis, who fired back, killing him and wounding three other fighters. Separately, local Palestinian sources said on Sunday morning that undercover Israeli forces infiltrated in the Nahda neighborhood of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, amid heavy gunfire. No casualties were reported. more.. e-mail
Despite construction freeze, winery rises near W. Bank outpost
Akiva Eldar, Ha’aretz 5/12/2008
A new winery is currently being set up in the West Bank, in an area three kilometers from Migron, an outpost that the state promised the Supreme Court would be removed by August. The establishment of the winery contravenes the promise made by the State of Israel to U. S. President George W. Bush, to freeze all construction outside recognized settlements. Bush is due to visit Israel this week, and in the past he declared that he intends to check whether Israel is meeting its commitments to him. The winery is being established by the Binyamin Regional Council Development company, with the backing of the regional council and permission from the Civil Administration. The area where the winery is being constructed is a mere two kilometers from the Binyamin Industrial Area, many of whose buildings have been vacant for years. more.. e-mail
Qassam lands near school bus in Sderot
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 5/11/2008
After several hours of relative calm, fire on western Negev renewed as one rocket hits southern college’s parking lot, another lands near bus carrying children in Sderot. Woman, three children treated for shock - Palestinian gunmen fired two Qassam rockets at the western Negev Sunday afternoon. One of the rockets landed at the parking lot of Sapir College, causing a woman to suffer shock and damaging some vehicles. The other rocket landed in Sderot near a bus carrying schoolchildren. Three children suffered shock and were treated by Magen David Adom paramedics. The bus’ windows were shattered and a fire broke out nearby. Islamic Jihad’s military wing, the al-Quds Brigades, claimed responsibility for the shooting. Meanwhile, Israeli security forces apprehended three Palestinians who infiltrated into Israel through the Gaza border fence on Sunday. The men crossed the fence south of a western Negev kibbutz and local residents had been asked to remain indoors until the three were captured. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers take over house in village near Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency 5/11/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an Israeli settlers seized control of a Palestinian house in the southern West Bank village of Artas, near Bethlehem, on Saturday evening. According to Khalid Al-Azza, the head of the Popular Committee against settlement construction and the separation wall in Bethlehem, large numbers of Israeli settlers took control of the 120 square meter house which belongs to the Christian monastery in Artas. They surrounded the house with barbed wire. [end]
Israeli settlers in Hebron protest roadblock removal
Ma’an News Agency 5/11/2008
Hebron Ma’an Dozens of Israeli settlers protested an Israeli government decision to remove a roadblock in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Sunday. Witnesses said that dozens of settlers gathered near the roadblock, in the southern part of the city, attempting to prevent its removal by the Israeli military. Israeli police then intervened, dispersing the settlers. The President of the regional council of south Hebron settlements had sent a message to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asking him to annul the decision to open the road, claiming that removal of the roadblock endangers settlers’ lives. The roadblock removal has been postponed for the second time within a weekThe Israeli government pledged to remove dozens of roadblocks and checkpoints in in the West Bank in late March. There are more than 500 such barriers to Palestinian movement. more.. e-mail
Three Qassams hit Negev, one explodes near schoolbus
News Agencies, Ha’aretz 5/12/2008
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired three rockets at the western Negev on Sunday, one of whiche exploded next to a schoolbus carrying children. Two of the rockets, fired Sunday afternoon, hit populated areas in Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council. There were no injuries in either of the strikes. The first rocket landed near Sapir College, damaging a local construction site. The second Qassam struck near a local gas station, causing damage to the school bus. There were no casualties reported, but several people were treated for shock. Earlier Sunday a Qassam rocket fired from Gaza hit an open area in the western Negev. On Friday, Israeli civilian Jimmy Kdoshim, 48, was killed by a mortar shell fired by Hamas militants. Kdoshim was struck while tending the garden of his home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. more.. e-mail
A Palestinian man killed as Israeli army sweeps into Rafah
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/11/2008
Palestinian medical sources in the Khan Younis city in southern Gaza Strip said that Osama Alastal, 23, was killed Sunday morning. Witnesses said that Alastal was among a group of resistance fighters of the Alqassam brigades, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas party, to the east of Qarrara town, on Israel-Gaza border lines. Meanwhile, local Palestinian sources said that an Israeli army undercover unit swept early on Sunday morning into the Alnahda neighborhood, to the east of Rafah city in southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses said that the Israeli force opened fire towards residential houses, with no injuries reported. [end]
Security source: Terrorists firing mortars to avoid retaliation
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 5/12/2008
Increased use of ’soft’ weapon such as mortars attempt by Gaza organizations to continue with terror-related activity without drawing Israeli response, security official says - The rise in the number of advanced mortars fired from Gaza has exposed a problem in the ability to warn Israeli residents of the incoming shells. The problem, according to a security source, stems from the short-range mortars’ very limited flight time." We must examine how to reduce the risk posed to the citizens of Israel in the face of the mortar threat," the official said. On Friday a 48-year-old Jimmy Kdoshim was killed by a mortar shell while working in his garden in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. IDF data reveal that the terrorists prefer the use of mortars over rockets and other missiles in their possession. more.. e-mail
Three homemade shells fired from Gaza into Negev
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/11/2008
According to Israeli sources, three shells fired from the Gaza Strip hit areas inside Israel on Sunday afternoon. Two of the shells allegedly hit near populated areas. The third hit in the western Negev desert, far from any populated area. The shells fired by Palestinian fighters are crude and lacking in any explosive capability. There is also no way for the fighters to aim the shells, which are fired blindly across the border with Israel into the one Israeli town built provocatively close to the sealed border with the imprisoned Gaza Strip. Israeli sources stated that one of the shells hit near a schoolbus. No injuries were reported in any of the strikes. [end]
’Suspected Executive Force members’ arrested in Hebron
Ma’an News Agency 5/11/2008
Hebron Ma’an The Palestinian Authority’s security forces have arrested two people who are charged with being members of Hamas’ Executive Force in the West Bank city of Hebron, security sources said on Saturday. The sources claimed the suspects were detained in the center of Hebron, and that they were in possession of "banned material." The suspects have been taken to interrogation centers. The Executive Force is an internal security force maintained by Hamas, predominantly in the Gaza Strip where the movement holds sway. [end]
Islamic Jihad’s military wing fires three projectiles at Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 5/11/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed responsibility on Sunday afternoon for firing three homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Sderot, which borders the Gaza Strip. The military group said in a statement that the shelling was an act of retaliation for Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They also said the shelling was to show that resistance is their strategy for opposing the Israeli occupation. [end]
Projectiles fired at Kerem Shalom crossing
Ma’an News Agency 5/11/2008
Gaza Ma’an Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Brigades and Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility on Sunday for launching three homemade projectiles at the Kerem Shalom crossing point in southern Gaza. They said in a statement that fighters from both groups cooperated to fire three projectiles in retaliation for ongoing Israeli attakcs against the Palestinian people. [end]
Israeli soldier shot in Khan Younis, Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades say
Ma’an News Agency 5/11/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, (PFLP) the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, said on Sunday that their fighters shot and injured an Israeli soldier near the Sufa landfill in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. They said the shooting was in retaliation for Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people[end]
Four Hamas members ’arrested’ in the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/11/2008
Nablus Ma’an The Hamas movement said on Sunday that Fatah-allied Palestinian security arrested four members of the movement in the West Bank on Sunday. Hamas said in a statement that wives of two arrestees have were also seized in Al-’Ein refugee camp in the city of Nablus. Two men have been were seized in the cities of Tulkarem and Jenin. [end]
Israeli air strikes kill five Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis
Ma’an News Agency 5/10/2008
Bethlehem/Gaza - Ma’an The Israeli air force bombed two police stations in the cities of Rafah and Kahn Younis, in the Gaza Strip, leaving five Palestinians dead late on Friday. Witnesses said that an Israeli F16 fighter jet fired a missile at a police station operated by Gaza’s de facto government in Rafah, killing two. Separately, an Israeli helicopter gunship attacked the police headquarters in Khan Younis, killing three. Medical sources at Abu Yousef An-Najjar hospital in Rafah identified the dead as 23-year-old Bassam Ahmad Abu Shbeikah, 25-year-old Mohammad Mazen Abu I’rmanah, Mohamamd Abu Odah (whose age was not reported), Omar al Ser and Samir Wafi (age also not reported). The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement, claimed responsibility for shelling an Israeli community bordering Gaza, killing one Israeli civilian and injured three Israeli soldiers. more.. e-mail
Kibbutz man killed in Hamas mortar attack
Yuval Azoulay and Or Kashti, Ha’aretz 5/11/2008
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired 21 Qassam rockets into the western Negev yesterday, causing a few minor injuries as well as some damage to buildings, including a Sderot synagogue and a structure near Sapir College. Other rockets landed in open areas, with one setting a Sderot field ablaze. Earlier on Friday, an Israeli was killed in a mortar attack. Yesterday morning an Israel Air Force missile hit gunmen as they were approaching the border fence in the southern Gaza Strip. On Friday night the IAF struck at two Hamas positions in the Rafah area, killing five Hamas men, in retaliation for a mortar attack earlier Friday by Hamas militants that killed Jimmy Kedoshim, 48, as he was tending the garden of his home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. An Israel Defense Forces source said that recently Islamic Jihad had begun taking part in firing Qassams and mortar shells at Israel, an activity that had previously been the province of Hamas only. more.. e-mail
Probe: Palestinian killed by settler gunfire near West Bank cave
Nadav Shragai and Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/11/2008
A Palestinian who was shot to death Friday afternoon near a cave north of Ramallah where Israelis were hiking, was killed by Israeli gunfire, according to the preliminary results of a joint Israel Defense Forces-police investigation. The Israelis, four soldiers and a minor, all from the northern West Bank settlement of Beit El, said the Palestinian, who was with several other Palestinians, had opened fire at them and they returned fire. The Palestinians told investigators they had been deer-hunting, and had not targeted the Israelis. The IDF said the trip, to a cave near Ein Yabrood, in Area B, under Israeli military control, had been coordinated with security authorities. Soldiers, called to the scene by the Beit El security officer after the Israeli hikers informed him of the incident, found the dead Palestinian, with two hunting rifles and a pistol next to the body. more.. e-mail
Medical sources: bodies arrive as charred remnants
Palestine News Network 5/10/2008
Gaza / PNN - Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians last week, as reported in two sets of findings. That was as of Friday. But last night in two separate air attacks, Israeli warplanes killed five more. The first bombing was of the southern Gaza Strip’s Rafah in which two Palestinians were killed and three injured. The second air attack hit Khan Younis, just a bit further north than Rafah, in which Israeli forces killed three Palestinians and injured four. Those hits took place in the early hours of Saturday, just after midnight. And also not among last week’s death toll was the death of Hamdi Shbeir, who died due to injuries sustained during the last Israeli invasion of Khan Younis, which was just days ago. It has become routine, more than ever in the past, for those F16s and Apaches, the sounds from which makes ones skin crawl with nerves, to hover over the Strip and drop bombs or launch missiles. more.. e-mail
Israeli aircraft strike on southern Gaza, five killed
Deutsche Presse Agentur - DPA, ReliefWeb 5/10/2008
Gaza_(dpa) Five Palestinians were killed before dawn on Saturday in two separate Israeli airstrikes on Hamas military posts in the two southern Gaza towns, medics and Hamas sources said. Israeli aircraft struck a post belonging to Hamas naval police west of Khan Younis, and then struck another post belonging to Hamas’ armed wing in the town of Rafah, Hamas sources said. Mo’aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance services in the Palestinian health ministry told reporters that three were killed in Khan Younis and two were killed in Rafah by Israeli air-to-ground missiles. The two Israeli air raids came shortly after Hamas armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for killing an Israeli in a mortar attack on southern Israel. A 48-year-old Israeli woman was killed and three wounded in the Friday afternoon attack on Kibbutz Kfar Azza near the border. . . more.. e-mail
Five Palestinians killed, Seven wounded in Gaza Air strikes
George Rishmawi, International Middle East Media Center News 5/10/2008
Five Palestinians have been killed and at least seven were wounded in two separate Israeli air strikes at residential areas in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Medical sources reported that three Palestinians were killed and three others were wounded in an air strike that targeted the southern Gaza Strip area of Khan Younis, Friday midnight. The sources reported that the bodies of the dead were charred and heavily mutilated as Israel war planes fired a number of missiles at the neighborhood. The dead were identified as, Mohammad Abu Odeh, Omar Al-Sirr and Samir Wafi. In a separate incident, eyewitnesses said that an Israeli drone fired one missile at Rafah"s city center, killing two Palestinians and wounding four, Friday night. Meanwhile, medical sources at Abu Yousef Annajjar hospital said the dead were Bassam Abu Shbeikeh, 23 and Mohammad Abu Irmana 25. more.. e-mail
Sderot synagogue hit as 7 Qassams strike Negev
Mijal Grinberg and Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/10/2008
Seven Qassams fired from the Gaza Strip struck the Western Negev on Saturday morning. One landed in Sderot and shattered the windows of a synagogue in the Negev town, while another directly hit a building near Sderot’s Sapir College. No injuries were reported in the incidents, but two people were treated for shock. Earlier, Hamas and Gaza health officials said five of the group’s members were killed and four others were wounded in two seperate Israel Air Force strikes on police stations in southern Gaza late Friday. The Israel Defense Forces spokesman said the strikes were in response to a mortar attack Friday by Hamas militants that killed Jimmy Kdoshim, a 48-year-old Israeli civilian, in the western Negev town of Kfar Aza. Hamas says the attack on the town of Rafah targeted a Hamas police station, killing two of its members and wounding four. more.. e-mail
Israeli army invades village near Jenin, injuring 13
Ma’an News Agency 5/10/2008
Jenin - Ma’an The Israeli army invaded the town of Jaba’, south of the West Bank city of Jenin, and forcibly entered a number of private homes and the offices of the Fatah movement in the town. Thirteen Palestinians, mostly teenagers, were injured in the incursion. Medical sources reported that six residents were treated at a hospital in Jenin after being hit by rubber-coated steel bullets and shrapnel. Others suffered from the inhalation of teargas Some of the injuries reportedly took resulted after stone-throwing youths confronted the invading soldiers. The clashes took place at the center of the town, near where the soldiers broke into the Fatah offices. Israeli soldiers positioned themselves on the roof of the office and on houses in the eastern neighborhood of the town. More Israeli forces arrived to support the initial invading force. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army attacks a village near Jenin and injures three civilians
Ali Samoudi, International Middle East Media Center News 5/10/2008
Three Palestinian youth were injured on Saturday midday when Israeli troops invaded the village of Jaba located near the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Local sources said that at least 15 Israeli army vehicles stormed the village, troops then conducted a wide scale house to house search campaign targeting resident homes. During the attack clashes erupted between the attacking soldiers and local youth from the village, three youth were injured, witnesses said. Medical sources said that among those injured were; Khaled Ragheb, was hit with a live round in his hand, and Walid Al Ali. As of the time of this report the army attack on the village of Jaba is on going. Translated by Ghassan Bannoura " IMEMC News Room. more.. e-mail
A Palestinian man dies of earlier wounds and the Israeli army pulls out of southern Gaza
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/10/2008
Palestinian medical sources reported that a Palestinian man died due to wounds he sustained erilier in the week during an Israeli air-strike targeting the northern Gaza strip town of Beit Hanon. Doctors said that Hamdi Shiber, from the Al Shat’e refugee camp near Beit Hanon sustained critical wounds during an Israeli air strike four days ago and died on Saturday morning. Meanwhile in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli army tanks and bulldozers left Al Faraheen village near Khan Younis on Saturday morning. A number of Israeli tanks and bulldozers invaded Al Faraheen on Friday midnight; residents reported that during the several hours invasion Israeli bulldozers destroyed farm land and a number of Chicken Farms more.. e-mail
PA security forces arrest three Hamas members, one Islamic Jihad leader, Hamas says
Ma’an News Agency 5/10/2008
Nablus - Ma’an Fatah-allied Palestinian security forces detained three members of Hamas, and one member of the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, in the West Bank Hamas reported on Saturday. In its statement the movement claimed that the Palestinian security forces seized Nimer Al-Hindi, a journalist, Mohammad A’thabah and Mahmoud Je’edi, from the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia. The Palestinian security forces also reportedly arrested Saleh Abu Zeid, a leader ofthe Al-Quds Brigades in the town of Qabatiya, near Jenin. The Palestinian Authority’s security forces recently moved into the Jenin area as a part of a US-backed security clampdown. On Wednesday, three people, including two Islamic Jihad fighters, were wounded in clashes involving the security forces in Qabatiya. more.. e-mail
P.A security arrests 4 Hamas members, releases a Palestinian reporter
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 5/11/2008
Palestinian security forces in the West Bank arrested on Friday four members and supporters of Hamas movement, including two reporters. On Saturday, the security forces released one reporters after detaining him for three days. Local sources in Qalqilia, in the northern part of the West Bank, reported that security forces arrested one reporter identified as Nimir Hindi after breaking into his home, and arrested cameraman Mohammad Anba. Also in Qalqilia, security forces arrested sheikh Mohammad Joeydy in front of a local mosque. In Jenin, security forces arrested Saleh Abu Zeid, one of the leaders of the Al Quds Brigades. On Saturday, Palestinian security forces released reporter Ali Sammoudi, from Qalqilia, after detaining him for three day. more.. e-mail
Molotov cocktails, rocks hurled at IDF patrol stranded near Nablus
Jerusalem Post 5/10/2008
Molotov cocktails and rocks were hurled at an IDF patrol near Nablus Saturday night, after the soldiers’ vehicle became stranded there. The soldiers were eventually evacuated by a second force which used non-lethal means to disperse the crowd. There were no casualties among the soldiers. more.. e-mail
Unknown gunmen attack a coffee shop in central Gaza
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/10/2008
Palestinian security sources reported that a group of unknown gunmen attacked a coffee shop located in the town of Dier Al Balah, in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday. The sources said that the gunmen placed a home-made bomb in the shop and remotely detonated it. Damage was reported by no injures. Th4e Palestinian police arrived at the scene and started an investigation on the attacks. more.. e-mail
Blast destroys cafι in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/10/2008
Gaza - Ma’an An explosion destroyed the Green Cafι in the Gaza Strip town of Deir Al-Balah early on Saturday morning. The explosion also damaged nearby houses, but injuries were reported. Palestinian sources said that the blast appeared to have been caused by a remotely controlled explosive device. The cafι used to contain a large television. Police said they were opening an investigation. more.. e-mail
Three Palestinians wounded in IOF incursion
Palestinian Information Center 5/10/2008
JENIN, (PIC)-- Three Palestinian citizens were wounded on Saturday during an Israeli occupation forces’ incursion into the village of Jaba’ southwest of Jenin city in the West Bank, locals reported. They said that the IOF troops stormed their town amidst indiscriminate firing of live bullets. Witnesses said that the IOF soldiers in 15 armored vehicles broke into many village homes and violently searched them. They said that young men in the village threw stones at the invading soldiers who retaliated by firing live ammunition at them. more.. e-mail
Kfar Aza residents ’startled by any door slamming’
Yonat Atlas, YNetNews 5/10/2008
Kibbutz members find it difficult to come to terms with their friend’s death by Palestinian mortar shell. ’We cannot continue living under fire without proper fortification,’ one resident says - Residents of Kibbutz Kfar Aza are finding it difficult to come to terms with the death of their friend, 48-year-old Jimmy Kdoshim, who was killed by a mortar shell Friday evening while working in his garden." We can’t continue living without fortification. Every door slamming makes people sweat," one of the residents said Saturday, noting once again that the kibbutz members live under ongoing fire without fortification or an alert system, not far from the Palestinian rocket cells. Friends and family members flocked to Jimmy Kdoshim’s home Saturday morning to comfort his wife Anna and their three children following the dreadful disaster. Defense Minister Ehud Barak also visited Kdoshim’s home on Saturday. Earlier, he met with local council heads, who complained to him about the lack of fortification and alert systems in the area. more.. e-mail
Palestinian fighters launch barrage of projectiles at areas bordering Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/10/2008
Gaza - Ma’an Palestinian military factions fired numerous homemade projectiles at Israeli towns and military bases bordering the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning. Israeli media reported that seven projectiles landed in the western Negev desert. One rocket shattered the windows of a Synagogue in the town of Sderot. Another struck a house. Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for firing 15 projectiles at Sderot in response to Israeli air strikes that killed five Palestinians overnight. The Al-Qassam Brigades also claimed to have fired projectiles at the Zikim military base, Nahal Oz, and the town of Kfar Sa’ad. They also claimed to have fired on Israeli tanks near the Gaza airport. The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), also claimed responsibility for launching three homemade projectiles from the area near the Gaza airport in Rafah. more.. e-mail
Qassam fire continues; 2 Israelis hurt
Ynet reporters, YNetNews 5/10/2008
More than 20 rockets fired from Gaza since morning hours, one causes heavy damage to building. Another rocket starts fire outside Sderot; two other Qassams land near synagogue, educational institution. Earlier, IDF kills five Hamas gunmen in southern Strip town of Rafah following mortar attack which left member of Kibbutz Kfar Aza dead - Saturday under fire: Two Israelis sustained light shrapnel wounds and two more suffered from anxiety Saturday afternoon after a Qassam rocket landed near a Sderot building. The scent of gas could be felt in the area, and later it turned out that a gas pipe was damaged in the attack. Firefighters were called to the scene in order to repair the leak. Overall, at least 22 Qassam rockets and five mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday. more.. e-mail
Two wounded in ground incursion in southern Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/10/2008
Gaza Ma’an Two Palestinian fighters were injured on Saturday while attempting to confront an Israeli incursion in the Al-Faraheen area east of Khan Younis, medical sources said. The affiliation and identity of the wounded fighters were not given. Thirteen Israeli armored vehicles invaded Al-Faraheen at dawn on Saturday, firing heavily at both fighters and civilians, witnesses in the area said. During the incursion, Israeli forces bulldozed swaths of agricultural land, destroying a chicken farm. The farm was one of the last remaining in the area, as the Israeli military has devastated much of the farmland in Al-Faraheen. more.. e-mail
PFLP fighters claim projectile attack
Ma’an News Agency 5/10/2008
Gaza Ma’an The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for shelling the Israeli town of Sderot, which borders the Gaza Strip, on Saturday morning. In a statement the group said, "This attack is a response to the ongoing Israeli attacks, killings and violent escalation against the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip." The group warned that it would carry out more attacks. more.. e-mail
Al-Quds Brigades claim projectile attack
Ma’an News Agency 5/10/2008
Gaza Ma’an - The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile on the Israeli kibbutz of Meftaheem, near the Gaza Strip, on Saturday afternoon. In a statement the Brigades said that "this attack comes in response to the ongoing Israeli attacks in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, affirming the option of resistance." more.. e-mail
IOF troops wound Islamic Jihad fighter during aggression on Khuza’a town
Palestinian Information Center 5/10/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- An Islamic Jihad fighter was wounded at dawn Thursday when IOF sodliers advancing into eastern Khuza’a town in southern Gaza fired a projectile at a gorup of resistance fighters. Palestinian local sources said that during the IOF incursion, Israeli bulldozers destroyed agricultural lands, adding that the invading troops withdrew from the town in the morning after they were met with fierce resistance on the part of Palestinian fighters. In different communiquΓ©s received by the PIC, the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that its fighters managed at dawn Saturday to fire nine mortar shells on Israeli military posts, including the Zikim military base south of Ashkelon, and the Kfar Saad settlement east of Gaza city. The communiquΓ©s stressed that these counterattacks were carried out in retaliation to the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Palestinian. . . more.. e-mail
Gaza raids follow Israeli death
Al Jazeera 5/9/2008
Israeli air raids on the Palestinian territory have killed three people after an Israeli farm worker died in a Palestinian rocket attack. The first Israeli air raid on Friday killed two Hamas security men in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, according to a police spokesman and ambulance workers. A second Israeli air attack targeted a Hamas police base in the town of Khan Younis in the centre of the strip and killed one Palestinian, a source said, without specifying if the victim had been a Hamas members. Hamas claimed responsibility for the earlier rocket attack on Israel, which struck the Kfar Aza collective farm in the southern part of the country. Israeli ambulance workers said the civilian killed in the rocket attack was a middle-aged man. Three other people were wounded. Men belonging to the armed wing of Hamas regularly fire rockets and mortars into more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers shot Palestinian in Ramallah, bled to death as ambluances not allowed access
Palestine News Network 5/8/2008
Ramallah / PNN -- Israeli settlers shot and killed a Palestinian man on Friday late afternoon. He was in northeastern Ramallah playing squash. As reported by Palestinian security sources, the young man, 20 year old Rashad Khater from the village of Ain Sinia, died at the hands of Israeli settlers who shot him while he was on one of the fields. Sources reported that the Israeli forces rushed to the scene and would not allow Palestinian ambulances to reach Khater, who bled to death on the ground. The Israelis contravened international law in this far too common an act of not allowing ambulances access to the dead and dying or injured. When Israeli forces left, the young man’s corpse was taken to the Ramallah Government Hospital. Israeli forces also arrested Palestinian citizen Khaled Fathi Annan, when he was near the area. more.. e-mail
1 killed by mortar shell in western Negev kibbutz
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 5/10/2008
Two mortar shells fired by Palestinians from northern Gaza Strip land in Kibbutz Kfar Aza Friday evening, killing one man, 48, and injuring three others. Hamas claims responsibility for attack. Several hours later, IDF strikes in Gaza, reportedly killing two Hamas operatives - Jimmy Kdoshim, a 48-year-old father of three was killed in Kibbutz Kfar Aaza Friday evening after a mortar shell fired from Gaza hit his house in the kibbutz. Two mortars fired by Palestinian gunmen landed in the kibbutz, one fell close to the local community hall and the other landed on a house. Three people were injured in the attack. A soldier was moderately injured by shrapnel and evacuated by helicopter to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. Two other people sustained light injuries and several others suffered shock. House hit by mortar in Kfar Aza (Photo: Amir Cohen). . . more.. e-mail
Israeli gunfire kills Palestinian teenager
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 5/10/2008
RAMALLAH: A Palestinian teenager was killed on Friday by Israeli gunfire near the Jewish settlement of Beit El in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian ambulance driver who found the body told AFP. But Palestinian sources were unable to say under what circumstances Rashat Ali was killed. Israeli military radio reported that trekkers accompanied by Israeli soldiers in the area opened fire at two Palestinians who had shot at them. One of the Palestinians was killed and the other arrested, it said. Since Israel and the Palestinians relaunched peace talks in November at least 454 people have been killed, according to an AFP count. [end]
Sderot resident killed by a homemade shell
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/9/2008
Israeli sources reported that one residents of the Israeli Negev town of Sderot was killed on Friday evening by a homemade shell fired by Palestinian gunmen. The Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the attack. Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that the Israeli resident lived in Aza town. Another Israeli was moderately wounded and two other suffered mild injuries. It its report, Haaretz said that a radio controlled by Hamas movement in Gaza said that the movement was responsible for the attack but the Al Quds Brigades of the Islamic Jihad issued a press released claiming responsibility. Israeli government spokesperson, David Baker, said that Hamas movement is responsible for any attack from the Gaza Strip "as the movement is clearly in control of the area and is responsible for all hostile fire into Israel", Haaretz quoted Baker stating. more.. e-mail
Settlers say killed Palestinian near Ramallah
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 5/9/2008
Israeli hikers claimed two Palestinians opened fire at them north of Ramallah, say they fired back, killing one of the shooters. IDF investigating incident. Palestinians: Man was a hunter - One Palestinian was killed and another was arrested following a gunfight with two settlers north of Ramallah Friday afternoon. The settlers claimed that the two Palestinians opened fire at them while they were hiking in the area, and that they fired back in response. According to the settlers, the Palestinians were found to be in the possession of a shotgun. There were no injuries among the settlers. The IDF is investigating the incident. At about 4:00 pm, a group of Israelis who went for a hike north of Ramallah reported being shot at by Palestinians. They also said they killed one of the shooters. more.. e-mail
Dozens of settlers return to evacuated settlement in northern West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/9/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an - Israeli sources said that dozens of settlers returned to the evacuated Israeli settlement of Sanur, in the northern West Bank on Friday morning, saying they were determined to rebuild the settlement. The Israeli sources added that half of the Israeli settlers who attended were former residents of the evacuated settlement. [end]
Police evacuate rightists trying to rebuild W. Bank settlement
Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 5/9/2008
Some 100 settlers on late Thursday infiltrated the ruins of the evacuated West Bank settlement of Sa-Nur, in a stated attempt to rebuild it. Protesters were evacuated by security forces shortly after they entered. This was the first time that settlers have staged such a move at Sa-Nur since Israel’s 2005 pullout from the Gaza Strip and part of the northern West Bank, in which the settlement was evacuated. The Israel Defense Forces was preparing to evacuate the group, who belonged to an organization called "Homesh - the beginning." Over the past year, Homesh - the beginning activists have mounted repeated bids to resettle Homesh, another settlement also evacuated in the 2005 pullout, which was titled the "Disengagement." A large event was held at the site on Independence Day within the framework of these attempts, in which some 10,000 people took part. more.. e-mail
Palestinian dies of wounds sustained in Israeli attack on Wednesday
Ma’an News Agency 5/9/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - A Palestinian man died on Friday morning after being injured in an Israeli attack in Khaza’a, east of Khan Yunis, on Wednesday. Palestinian sources told Maan that 19-year-old Jamil Abu ’Anza died from the serious injuries he sustained in the attack. Ambulances found the body of 33-year-old Wafa’ Shaker Ad-Doghma inside her house in ’Abasan, east of Khan Yunis, immediately after Israeli forces withdrew from the area late on Wednesday. This brings the total number of dead in the Israeli incursion into ’Abasan to three. [end]
Seven Palestinians killed in Gaza and the West Bank in 24 hours
Palestinian Information Center 5/9/2008
KHAN YOUNIS, RAFAH, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation airforce escalated its bombing of Palestinian police stations in the southern Gaza Strip Friday night killing five policemen, raising the number of casualties to seven over the past 24 hours. Three Palestinian policemen were killed in when their station Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, was bombed. Palestinian security and medical sources said that Apache helicopters fired two rockets at a police station to the west of Khan Younis and fired a third at policemen running out of the station. Shortly before that, two Palestinian security personnel were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their headquarters in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Three others were wounded in the attack. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli war planes fired two rockets at the Security headquarters. more.. e-mail
IDF kills three Palestinians, injures 20 others in fighting in the Gaza Strip
Avi Issacharoff and Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/9/2008
Three Palestinians were killed and more than 20 wounded in clashes with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, Israel Defense Forces soldiers and Palestinian gunmen clashed in Abassan, along the Gaza-Israel border, and Israeli aircraft carried out at least four missile strikes. One missile struck Palestinians who were using abandoned houses as cover, killing a gunman from Islamic Jihad and wounding 14 people, Palestinian sources said. Palestinians identified the dead man as Mahmoud Abu Muslam, 21. An earlier strike wounded six members of Hamas, and three of them were in critical condition, according to Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry. Palestinian witnesses said a total of 25 tanks and armored bulldozers entered Abassan, an area east of Khan Yunis, setting off battles with local militants. more.. e-mail
Car of Bedouin woman who lit Independence Day torch set on fire
Yonat Atlas, YNetNews 5/9/2008
Bedouin lighter of 60th anniversary torch suffers ironic twist of fate as her car is torched by unknown persons. Celebratory torch and car torching connected, husband says - Sana Elbaz, the daughter of a Bedouin family from Tel Sheva who lit a celebratory torch at Israel’s 60th anniversary ceremony in Jerusalem, saw her car set ablaze by unknown persons outside of her house on Thursday night. A molotov cocktail was also thrown at her door, but her house remained undamaged. Elbaz was watching TV late on Thursday when she heard the sound of glass breaking outside of her home. She alerted her neighbors, who helped to put out her blazing car, and called the police and her husband." The first thing that had crossed my mind when I heard my car being torched was that someone was taking revenge on me for participating in the ceremony," Elbaz told Ynet. more.. e-mail
Hamas: PA security forces arrest three Hamas affiliates
Ma’an News Agency 5/9/2008
Tulkarem - Ma’an - Hamas said that the Palestinian security forces arrested three of its affiliates in the West Bank on Thursday. They said in a statement that the security forces arrested Tayssir Mohammad Farah from Tulkarem after calling him in for interview for the third time. Cameraman Ossayd Al-’Amarnah from Hebron was arrested while he was covering the Nakba demonstration in Bethlehem. In Qalqilia, security services detained journalist Mustafa Sabri after storming his house in the city for the second time. [end]
Al-Quds brigades target Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 5/9/2008
Gaza Ma’an - The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for launching a rocket against the Israeli town of Sderot, north east of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday. The brigades confirmed that their operation comes in the framework of responding to the continuing aggression against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. [end]
Al-Nasser brigades shell Al-Majdal
Ma’an News Agency 5/9/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Al-Nasser brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at Al-Majdal, on Thursday evening. The brigades said in a statement, that such actions came in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli aggression towards Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. [end]
Al-Quds brigades launch four mortar shells at Nahal Oz
Ma’an News Agency 5/9/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Al-Quds brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for launching four mortar shells on Friday morning at the Nahal Oz’ military site, in the eastern Gaza Strip. The brigades said in a statement that this came in the retaliation for the ongoing Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. [end]
Sderot celebrates with a split personality
Moti Katz, Ha’aretz 5/9/2008
A long line of cars made its way slowly out of Sderot about an hour before the beginning of the Independence Day events. Only a few vehicles were heading the other way, into the city. On the stage set up in the town center the last rehearsals for the main ceremony were taking place, as hundreds of security guards milled on the surrounding lawn, receiving last briefings. Sderot’s chief security officer, Yehuda Benmaman, and the ceremony’s director, Shimon Cohen, were scrambling onto the stage." I wouldn’t say I am calm," said Cohen." The event’s success depends on the people who arrive and, of course, on the absence of Qassam rockets. I pray it will pass in peace. We built the central stage in an open area, like we do every year, near the fortified sports building, so if rockets do fall, people can take shelter quickly. more.. e-mail
This Week In Palestine - Week 19 2008
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/9/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| File 12. 8 MB || Time 14m 0s || This Week In Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. IMEMC. org, for May 3rd, to through to May 9th 2008. The Palestinian leadership this week denied any progress in ongoing peace negotiation, meanwhile army attacks and the Israeli siege on Gaza continued this week. These stories and more, coming up, stay tuned. Nonviolent Resistance Let’s begin our weekly report with the nonviolent actions in the West Bank, IMEMC’s Conscience Londres with the details: Bil’in On Friday, villagers from Bil’in near Ramallah were joined by international and Israeli peace activists for the weekly nonviolent protest against the wall occupying Bilin land. Protesters carried banners demanding the wall and settlements be removed. more.. e-mail
Israeli air strike kills one, wounds 20 in Gaza Strip
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 5/8/2008
GAZA CITY: A Palestinian militant was killed and nearly 20 people were wounded on Wednesday during an Israeli attack on the southern Gaza Strip, medics and witnesses said. Israeli armored vehicles and bulldozers backed by aerial drones entered the region east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, they said. The fighter from the Islamic Jihad movement was killed and five others were wounded in an air strike. An earlier air strike targeted a house where armed men were meeting, and two Palestinians were hit by Israeli gunfire. The Hamas movement, which seized control of Gaza nearly a year ago after reports of an impending Fatah offenseive surfaced, confirmed that 10 of the wounded were fighters from its armed wing, and that they had fired mortars and rocket-propelled grenades at the Israeli forces. more.. e-mail
Resident dies of wounds sustained on Monday
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/7/2008
Palestinian medical at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City reported that one resident died of wounds sustained on Tuesday at dawn when the Israeli army shelled Sheikh Zayid city, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Three residents were wounded on Wednesday at dawn in an Israeli shelling east of Khan Younis. The sources stated that resident Hisham Najeeb Shomar, 22, died of his wounds at local hospital. Shomar lost his arms and legs when the army shelled homes in Sheikh Zayid city and sustained severe burns. In a separate incident, three residents were wounded, one moderately,in Abasan Al Jadeeda town, east of Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, after the army invaded the area, on Wednesday at dawn, and an Israeli fighter-jet fired one missile at a group of residents. Eyewitnesses reported that several armored vehicles and jeeps invaded the area while military. . . more.. e-mail
Security forces on alert for holiday
Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 5/7/2008
Security has been stepped up in recent days following an increase in intelligence warnings of terrorist plans to carry out attacks during the Independence Day holiday. Security sources that in recent days the number of specific warnings has risen to 11, from seven two weeks ago. These warnings have led the Shin Bet security service and the Israel Defense Forces to raise their levels of preparedness. In parallel to the specific threats, there are till dozens of warnings that intelligence assessments term "general." A security source said yesterday that each year at this time the militant organizations are especially motivated to carry out an attack, but, as it does every year, the IDF imposed a full curfew on the territories, which began on Monday night. The curfew is expected to be lifted, depending on intelligence assessments, during the weekend. more.. e-mail
Nablus court sentences man to life in prison for collaborating with Israel
Ma’an News Agency 5/7/2008
Nablus Ma an A Palestinian court in the West Bank city of Nablus sentenced a Palestinian man to life in prison for collaborating with the Israeli occupation on Tuesday. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an that a three-judge panel handed down the sentence to the 28-year-old defendant, who is from the West Bank town of Tulkarem. Another Palestinian man, from the city of Hebron, was sentenced to death by firing squad last week for giving information to the Israelis. [end]
PRC fighters confront Israeli forces in southern Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/7/2008
Gaza Ma’an The An-Nasser Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), claimed responsibility for launching two mortar shells at a Israeli military vehicles east of the town of Abasan, in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday at noon. [end]
Clashes in West Bank, borders closed until Thursday
Missionary International Service News Agency - MISNA, ReliefWeb 5/6/2008
Clashes in the village of Qabatya, in the West Bank, left three wounded – one is in very critical condition, while ANP officers tried to impose order through road blocks. The rioting erupted after the arrival of about 100 Palestinian security officers arrived in Jenin and Qabatya as part of an ANP deployment in the West Bank in accordance with an agreement taken with Israeli authorities. Meanwhile, the Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, announced a complete blockade of the West Bank this evening, as a precaution for the Israeli day of independence. The borders shall reopen on Thursday night; until such then Palestinians shall not be allowed to enter Israel, barring some serious humanitarian reasons. The celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the foundation of Israel, on May 14, shall begin this week. [AB] more.. e-mail
One dead in new Israeli air strike in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/7/2008
Gaza Ma’an One Palestinian was killed on Wednesday afternoon in an Israeli air strike on the town of Abasan, east of the city of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Sources in Gaza said the victims of the strike were fighters affiliated to an armed group called the Abu Ar-Rish Brigades. Medical sources announced that fighter Mahmoud Abu Maslama was killed. Muawiya Hassanain, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian Health Ministry affirmed that six injured people were hospitalized in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. One of the men was critically injured. Medical sources later said that 18 people had been injured in the fighting. Hassanain identified five of the victims as Salim Arafat, Fatima Shahin, Muntasir Abu ’Anza, Walid Abu Duqqa, and Hamada Abu Duqqa. The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed their. . . more.. e-mail
An Israeli army attack on southern Gaza leaves five residents wounded
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/7/2008
Five Palestinians have been reportedly wounded on Wednesday morning after the Israeli army shelled a house to the east of Khan Younis city in southern Gaza Strip. Medics confirmed that five residents were admitted to the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis and that one of them was critically wounded. Witnesses said that three of those wounded were Hamas fighters, as the Israeli army shelled the abandoned house of Jamil Abu Anza, who is based in the Abbassan Assaghiera village in the eastern parts of Khan Younis city. Witnesses added that an Israeli army contingent, made up of tanks, incurred earlier on Wednesday into Khan Younis. Israeli army bulldozers began razing vast areas of Palestinian-owned farm lands in the area, as the Israeli tanks were firing heavily, apparently as a cover for the bullzoers. The eastern parts of Khan Younis, which are located at the Gaza-Israel. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli forces injure 4 armed resistance members in S Gaza Strip, overtake homes, bulldoze land
Palestine News Network 5/7/2008
Gaza / PNN - Three Palestinian armed resistance members from the Al Aqsa were injured along with another from the Al Qassam Brigades on Wednesday morning after killing one citizen in the north and injuring another. Israeli forces launched bombs in the southern Gaza Strip’s Khan Younis at homes in its eastern town of Absan. The resistance had been fighting Israeli forces since early in the morning. Israeli soldiers overtook dozens of homes, imposing ’sniper towers’ atop roofs. A medical source at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis reported that an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft bombed a group Al Qassam, striking them. Three are critically injured. Local sources indicate that the Al Qassam Brigades were engaged in fighting off the Israeli forces in the small town where Israeli tanks were shelling. They fired five mortar shells at homes and people. more.. e-mail
Palestinians: IAF strikes in Gaza kill 1 militant, wound 13 others
News Agencies, Ha’aretz 5/7/2008
Israel Defense Forces tanks and bulldozers rumbled into the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, and Israeli aircraft struck a series of targets. One militant was killed and at least 14 Palestinians, including one civilian, were wounded in the fighting, according to witnesses and medical officials. Palestinian witnesses said a total of 25 tanks and armored bulldozers entered Abassan, an area east of Khan Yunis, setting off battles with local militants. Israel Air Force aircraft carried out at least four airstrikes, including one that struck a group of Palestinians who were using abandoned houses as cover, witnesses said. A gunman of the Islamic Jihad group was killed and another group member was wounded, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry. more.. e-mail
Al-Aqsa Brigades ’ambush Israeli forces’
Ma’an News Agency 5/7/2008
Gaza Ma’an - The Al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility for ambushing Israeli forces that had attempted to invade the Gaza Strip City of Khan Younis on Wednesday. The group said they attacked the invading forces at 7:25am on Wednesday, provoking a skirmish. The Al-Aqsa Brigades also claimed responsibility for launching three homemade projectiles at Israeli military vehicles, as an act of retaliation for the Israeli attack on the town of Abasan this morning. [end]
Fatah, DFLP fighters shell Sufa crossing
Ma’an News Agency 5/7/2008
Gaza Ma’an The Al-Aqsa brigades, the military wing of Fatah, and the National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the left-wing Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at Gaza’s Sufa crossing point on Tuesday evening. A statement added that this attack came in the retaliation for the ongoing ’Israeli aggression’ in the Gaza strip and in the West Bank. [end]
Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in Hebron
Ma’an News Agency 5/7/2008
Hebron Ma’an Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian houses in the West Bank city of Hebron on Wednesday morning, witnesses said. Israelis from the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba threw stones and other objects at Palestinians near the settlement. Israeli soldiers also severely beat 18-year-old Mahdi Maher Abu Hetta before arresting him. [end]
Hamas calls on resistance factions to retaliate to Israeli aggression on Gaza
Palestinian Information Center 7/5/2008
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement called on all Palestinian resistance factions spearheaded by the Qassam Brigades to defend the Palestinian people by all possible means and wage painful counterattacks against the IOF troops in retaliation to their incursions and crimes. Hammad Al-Raqub, a Hamas spokesman, stated that Israel escalated its assaults recently especially in the eastern areas adjacent to the Gaza borderline during which its troops bulldozed agricultural lands and property and targeted citizens with aerial and artillery attacks which resulted in high number of casualties. Raqub added that the latest Israeli assaults which had been committed on the Abasan town since the early morning hours on Wednesday resulted in dozens of casualties among citizens and the destruction of property. The spokesman underlined that one of the objectives of that Israeli military operation. . . more.. e-mail
High tension in Qabatiya after PA security kills child, wounds others
Palestinian Information Center 7/5/2008
JENIN, (PIC)-- High tension still prevails throughout the Qabatiya town in Jenin district after PA security elements under the command of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas killed Tuesday a Palestinian child and seriously wounded a young man who is now in a state of clinical death. Qabatiya citizens reported that the PA security campaign started in the morning with deliberate provocations against citizens at the entrances and alleys of the town. According to the citizens, it seemed obvious that the PA security elements, through their arbitrary acts, wanted to humiliate and suppress the people of this town at any price. The citizens elaborated that the PA security dealt brutally with Palestinian workers as they were going to their jobs and prevented students from going to their schools, which created friction and clashes between students and security elements that continued during daylight. . . more.. e-mail
Undercover Israeli forces seize Palestinian fighter near Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 5/7/2008
Nablus Ma’an Israeli special forces disguised as civilians seized a Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighter near the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday night. Eyewitnesses and Palestinian security sources said that that the Israeli operatives commandeered a Palestinian car, belonging to Nablus resident Usama Sanakra, who is from Balata refugee camp. Witnesses said the soldiers stopped the car on Al-Quds street in southern Nablus, pulled Sanakra from the vehicle, and drove away. The soldiers, traveling in the Palestinian-plated car, headed to the village of Kafr Qallil, south of Nablus. The Israeli forces approached 27-year-old Younis Al-Qinni in the street and seized him. Israeli military forces then invaded the village to ferry Al-Qinni and his captors to the nearby Huwwara military base. Israeli sources said Al-Qinni has been pursued by the military for several months,. . . more.. e-mail
The Israeli army kidnaps three civilians from Hebron and nearby Sourif village
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/7/2008
The Israeli army kidnapped on Wednesday three Palestinian civilians from the northern West Bank city of Hebron and the nearby Sourif village. In Hebron troops searched and ransacked homes in the old part of Hebron city, during the search troops kidnapped Bassam Al Tamimi, 16, local sources reported. Meanwhile another force attacked and searched homes in the nearby Sourif village and kidnapped Mohamed Al Huwr, 34, and Mahmoud Al Huor, 26. The Palestinian Soucity for Prisoners Affiers in Hebron reported on Wednesday that since he beginning of may the number of Palestinian kidnapped by the Israeli army from the city of Hebron and nearby villages have now reached 23. [end]
PFLP fighters shell Sufa crossing in two separate attacks
Ma’an News Agency 5/7/2008
Gaza Ma’an The Abu Ali Mustafa brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles on Wednesday at Gaza’s Sufa crossing point. The group had claimed responsibility for firing a projectile at the same crossing on Tuesday night. The group said the attack was an act of retaliation for Israel’s incursions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. [end]
Palestinian security forces arrest 19 in Azzun
Ma’an News Agency 5/7/2008
Qalqilia Ma’an Palestinian security forces in the Qalqilia area of the West Bank arrested 19 people who security sources say are "fugitives" on Tuesday. Palestinian forces under the command of police chief police Ra’id Al-Bzur entered the village of Azzun, east of Qalqilia, and made the arrests, security sources said. [end]
Two Hamas members ’arrested’ in the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/7/2008
Hebron Ma’an Fatah-allied Palestinian security forces arrested two members of Hamas in the West Bank on Tuesday night, the movement claimed on Wednesday. Hamas said Hussam Al Ja’bari, from the city of Hebron, and Yasser Sadeq Assi, from the town of Salfit, were both arrested. [end]
7 Palestinians kidnapped in the West Bank
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center News 5/7/2008
Israeli soldiers attacked several civilian’s homes in the southern and northern parts of West Bank and kidnapped seven Palestinians, including a father and his four sons, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. In the southern part of the West Bank, troops attacked several areas in Hebron, named as Yatta and Dora and kidnapped five Palestinians. Those Palestinians, a father and his four sons, have been kidnapped from Yatta town after army attacked their home in the area. All have been moved to an undisclosed detention center. Elsewhere, local sources reported two Palestinians were kidnapped from the northern West Bank city of Nablus, particularly in the Balata refugee camp and Kufe Qaleel village, south of Nablus city. The sources identified the men as Hammouda Hashash,20 and Younis al-Qany, 27. Translated by Nisreen Qumsieh - IMEMC News. more.. e-mail
One woman lightly injured after car struck by stone near Jaljulya
Jerusalem Post 5/8/2008
A woman was lightly injured Wednesday night after a stone was hurled at her car near Jaljulya. She was taken to Sharon Hospital in Petah Tikva for treatment. Four Palestinian youths aged 15 and 16 were arrested on suspicion of throwing the rocks. Police are investigating the incident. [end]
Astal: Israel tends to escalate its aggression against Gaza
Palestinian Information Center 7/5/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Younis Al-Astal, a prominent Hamas leader, stated that the Israeli occupation tends to escalate its military operations against the Gaza Strip and has no intention to accept the truce unless it was according to its own conditions, highlighting that the strongest option is the resistance by all possible means against the occupation. Dr. Astal added that Israel’s confidence that its troops would definitely sustain great losses made it decline to carry out its plan to embark on a large-scale incursion into Gaza to eliminate the resistance and release its soldier Gilad Shalit. In another context, the agriculture ministry reported in a press statement received by the PIC that an Israeli special force kidnapped Tuesday a Palestinian civil servant called Nidal Al-Dahnoun, 32, from his work place in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, and took him to an unknown destination. more.. e-mail
Sderot will celebrate, in spite of everything
Fadi Eyadat, Ha’aretz 5/7/2008
The Independence Day celebrations in Sderot will be carried out in spite of the security threats. A stage will be set up for performances, and the celebrations will also include a fireworks display. " Sderot needs to celebrate," said Mayor Eli Moyal last night. " This is our answer to terrorism. We will not hold back the celebrations in the city; it is important that they be held. " However, Moyal said, "In case there are rockets, we will make our decisions with the IDF. For now I hope that it will be quiet. " Last week, Batya Keter, a resident of Sderot, called on Israelis not to celebrate Independence Day because rockets from the Gaza Strip continued to strike Sderot and the surrounding areas. " It is hard to live in Sderot, but when I look at the overall picture, we deserve to celebrate 60 years of independence," Moyal said. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 050708
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/7/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Wednesday May 7th 2008. Two Palestinians die in Gaza due to Israeli army fire while in the West Bank and Israeli troops kidnap 7 Palestinian civilians, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The News Cast Palestinian sources reported that one Palestinian was killed and seven injured as the Israeli army attacked a group of residents in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon. Witnesses said that an Israeli unmanned airplane fired a missile at a group of residents killing Mohamed Abu Musalam, 22, and injuring seven others, three critically. Five Palestinians were reportedly wounded on Wednesday morning after the Israeli army shelled a house to the east of Khan Younis city. more.. e-mail
Palestinian man killed in West Bank
Al Jazeera 5/6/2008
A Palestinian civilian has been killed after Palestinan president Mahmoud Abbas’s security forces clashed with armed men for the first time since the launch of a US-backed security drive in the northern West Bank. Mo’men Fawwaz Kmeil, 20, was shot on Tuesday as he tried to escape a standoff between Palestinian forces and local armed men in a cafe in the town of Qabatya near Jenin, residents said. Palestinian forces said in a statement that the man was killed when an "outlawed group" opened fire on the security men. The killing came after hundreds of Palestinian national security troops and presidential guards were deployed in the West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday. The deployment is part of an operation backed by Washington. to show the Palestinian Authority (PA) can curb the activities of Palestinian armed groups - a key Israeli condition for Palestinian statehood. It is the second-biggest Palestinian security campaign in a major West Bank city following a similar mission in Nablus late last year. more.. e-mail
Soldiers break into the house of a detained legislator, kidnap his son, son-in-law
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/6/2008
The Ahrar Center For Detainees’ Studies stated that Israeli soldiers broke on Tuesday at dawn into the house of the detained legislator Dr. Azzam Salhab in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, searched the property and kidnapped his son and his son-in-law. The Center stated that at least three military vehicles surrounded the house before the soldiers broke into it and searched it causing damage to the property. Legislator Salhab was kidnapped by the army more than three years ago. The wife of Salhab stated that soldiers hurled stones at the doors and windows of the house before breaking into it, and that when her son, No’man, stepped out to see what going on; soldiers handcuffed and blindfolded him before taking him to an unknown destination. Soldiers also kidnapped the legislators’ son-in-law. The Ahrar Center reported that the ongoing attacks against the houses of the. . . more.. e-mail
IOF troops blow up two Palestinian homes in Nablus, kidnap youth
Palestinian Information Center 5/6/2008
NABLUS, (PIC)-- IOF troops blew up two Palestinian homes in the Old city of Nablus during a brief incursion on Monday night that witnessed intensive firing of live bullets and sonic bombs, local reported. They said that an IOF unit in more than 20 army vehicles stormed the city and encircled one of its suburbs. The sources noted that a special force had blasted the two homes before arrival of the military jeeps. Locals believe that the raid targeted arresting or assassinating a Palestinian wanted activist. On Tuesday, however, IOF soldiers kidnapped Saleh Samara, 19, from his family home in Azmut village, east of Nablus. [end]
An Israeli air strike kills a fighter in northern Gaza as tanks roll into Jabalya
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/6/2008
An Israeli air strike killed early on Tuesday a Qassam fighter and wounded another, when the car they were driving was hit with a missile. Medical sources in northern Gaza Strip confirmed that Hesham Shomar, 23 was killed and Omar Hammad 25, was wounded after sustaining critical injuries. Hammad has his limbs amputated, medics added. Palestinian security sources said that an Israeli drone fired at least one missile towards a car near the Abraj Al-Nada residential houses in the northern parts of Gaza Strip. The Alqassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement that Shomar belonged to its ranks. Meanwhile the Israeli tanks rolled earlier in the morning near the eastern cemetery of the Jabalya refugee camp, amidst heavy gunfire towards the nearby residents as bulldozers began razing farm lands in the area. more.. e-mail
Al-Qassam Brigades activist killed; one injured in Israeli airstrike on Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/6/2008
Gaza Ma’an - An Al-Qassam Brigades activist was killed and another critically injured on Tuesday when an Israeli warplane launched a missile at a civilian car in the northern Gaza Strip. Muawiya Hasanain, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian health ministry said that 23-year-old Hisham Shumar was killed and 25-year-old ’Umar Hammad was critically injured. He explained that Hammad has lost some of his limbs. The incident came in tandem with an Israeli incursion into Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip at dawn. The invading forces opened heavy fire on Palestinian houses while bulldozers dug up fields in the area. [end]
Israeli forces raid Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 5/6/2008
Nablus Ma’an Israeli forces raided the northern West Bank city of Nablus amid heavy gunfire on Monday evening. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an’s reporter that ten Israeli military jeeps stormed the city from the south in a sudden raid. Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources mentioned that the incursion was preceded by the infiltration of an undercover Israeli force in the old city of Nablus. They said they believed the undercover force was attempting to assassinate or apprehend ’wanted’ Palestinian activists. [end]
Eight fundamental Jewish youth arrested for stabbing to Arab residents of Israel
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/6/2008
The Israeli army radio reported on Monday that eight Israeli youth from Jerusalem were arrested for stabbing and attacking two Arab residents of Israel, residents of Shu’fat refugee camp in the city. The radio said that the attack took place as Israel was celebrating its memorial day, a special day for "remembering fallen soldiers". The incident took place as the two Arab residents were near the entrance of a shopping mall ins Pisgat Ze’ev. Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that one of the victims suffered moderate wounds while his friend did not need medical intervention. The Army radio reported that the assailants said during a police probe that they carried their attack in order to "rid Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood of Arabs". more.. e-mail
IAF airstrike kills Hamas gunman in northern Gaza mortar squad
News Agencies, Ha’aretz 5/7/2008
An Israel Air Force strike early Tuesday on a mortar launching squad killed one Hamas gunman and wounded three others in northern Gaza, according Palestinian officials. Gaza’s ruling Hamas group confirmed that the men were members of the organization. The IAF strike on the squad was near the town of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, Gaza medics said. The Israel Defense Forces said one of its aircraft targeted and hit a group of armed men near the Gaza-Israel border. Gaza hospital officials said four gunmen arrived for treatment in the early hours of Tuesday and one died of his wounds. Israel regularly carries out raids and airstrikes aimed at halting ongoing rocket fire from Gaza at Israeli towns. Egypt has been trying to broker a cease-firebetween Israel and Hamas, but the efforts have not yielded results so far. more.. e-mail
Three injured in shootings involving Palestinian security forces near Jenin
Ma’an News Agency 5/6/2008
Ma’an Palestinian security forces shot and injured two Islamic Jihad fighters in the West Bank town of Qabatiya, near Jenin, on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, security forces came under fire in Qabatia during an ordinary patrol, and a bystander was critically injured in an exchange of fire that followed. The Islamic Jihad movement accused the Palestinian security forces of shooting and injuring two of the group’s activists as when they approached a Palestinian security checkpoint. The security forces they did not deliberately shoot the activists, and that the fighters had attempted to interfere in operation of the security forces. Jenin district security commander Sulaiman Umran told Ma’an that the shooting took place when two gunmen arrived at a police station and tried to secure the release of a detainee. more.. e-mail
Palestinian forces kill bystander in clash with Jenin gunmen
Reuters, Ha’aretz 5/6/2008
A Palestinian civilian was killed on Tuesday when President Mahmoud Abbas’s security forces clashed with gunmen for the first time since launching a law-and-order push in the northern West Bank. Hundreds of Abbas’s forces deployed to the city of Jenin on Saturday in a U. S. -backed security push Washington hopes will show the Palestinians can rein in militants - Israel’s main condition for Palestinian statehood. Residents in the town of Qabatya near Jenin said civilian Ahmed Fawwaz Kmeil, 20, was shot as he tried to escape a standoff between Abbas’s forces and local gunmen who were sitting in a cafe. Palestinian forces said in a statement the man was killed when an "outlawed group" opened fire on the security men, adding they would investigate the incident and keep up their crime-fighting push. more.. e-mail
Israel seals West Bank for Israeli Independence Day
Ma’an News Agency 5/6/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak imposed a blanket security closure on the West Bank that will begin on Tuesday night and extend until Friday. The closure reflects Israeli fears that a Palestinian group could attack during celebrations marking the sixtieth anniversary of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. So-called "humanitarian cases" will be allowed to enter Israel if they receive a special permit from one of the Coordination and Liaison offices in the West Bank. The closure applies mainly to the West Bank, as the Gaza Strip has been locked down, with virtually no one allowed to leave, since last June. [end]
Israeli forces seize one Palestinian near Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency 5/6/2008
Tulkarem Ma’an An Israeliforce raided the northern West Bank district of Tulkarem on Tuesday morning and stopped Palestinian cars for inspection, according to a Ma’an reporter. No arrests have been reported. Meanwhile, Israeli forces stormed the northern West Bank town of Qafin in the Tulkarem district and apprehended one man after ransacking and inspecting several houses in the neighborhood. Resident Ahmad Az-Zibin was attacked and beaten by soldiers as his home was inspected, say eyewitnesses. [end]
Palestinian fighters ’shell Sufa crossing’
Ma’an News Agency 5/6/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility for launching homemade projectiles at Gaza’s Sufa crossing point on Tuesday. In a joint statement the fighters said "this shelling came in response to the Israeli attacks and affirmed the continuation of resistance." [end]
Palestinian youth injured during clashes between PA forces and local gunmen near Jenin
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/6/2008
Palestinian sources reported on Tuesday that one Palestinian youth was injured during clashes that took place in Qabatia town, near the northern West Bank city of Jenin. The clashes took place bwteen gunmen and Palesinian security forces. Security sources in Qabatia stated that as the Palestinian Authority forces were carrying a campaign targeting criminals and stolen cars, armed clashes took place between the forces and unknown gunmen. Ahmed Ikmeil, 20, was hit with a stray round. Medical sources told IMEMC that Ikmeil underwent a surgery and now lies in the IC room in a critical condition. On Sunday 600 security officers were deployed in the district of Jenin as part of a US supervised deal between the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel. The those forces were deployed to restore law and order in the city, Palestinian Authority sources told media. more.. e-mail
Qabatiya residents wounded in Palestinian infighting
Ali Waked, YNetNews 5/6/2008
Exchanges of fire between PA security forcers, armed residents of West Bank town near Jenin leaves seven people injured - Seven Palestinian men were wounded Tuesday afternoon in exchanges of fire between Palestinian Authority security forces and residents of the West Bank town of Qabatiya, near Jenin. The officers arrived in the city as part of a new PA security plan in the Jenin area. A group of local residents, some of them armed and some affiliated with the Islamic Jihad, did not approve of the PA’s activity in the area and began hurling stones at the security officials, who fired back. One of the residents who sustained critical wounds is reportedly in a state of brain death. PA officials accused Islamic Jihad members of firing at the Palestinian security officers, but the organizations denied the claims. more.. e-mail
Dead teacher was a Gaza bomb-maker
Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem, The Independent 5/6/2008
The UN refugee organisation in Gaza reaffirmed yesterday its "zero tolerance policy" towards political and militant activities by staff after reports that a Palestinian teacher assassinated in an Israeli air attack was a rocket-maker. Reuters quoted unnamed Palestinian militants and Israeli intelligence sources as saying that Awad al-Qiq, 33, acting headmaster at the UNRWA-run Rafah Boys’ Preparatory School was by night secretly a rocket builder for Islamic Jihad. A handwritten note outside the school posted on the metal gate at the entrance to the school declared that the teacher, killed in an air strike last week, was "the chief leader of the engineering unit", who would now find "paradise". Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which employs more than 9,000 local staff in Gaza, said that the agency was regularly instructed not to engage in political or militant activities of any kind. more.. e-mail
Al-Aqsa brigades claim clashes with Israeli forces east of Jabalia
Ma’an News Agency 5/6/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, claimed its members clashed with undercover Israeli units that invaded east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday night. The Brigades issued a statement saying "our fighters succeeded in countering the occupation army east of Jabalia where we engaged in heavy clashes between our fighters and an undercover Israeli unit in the area of the eastern cemetery." The Al-Aqsa Brigades affirmed that "this Israeli escalation in incursions, assassinations and arrests will not go without punishment." [end]
Israeli army detains a Palestinian Police official, kidnap a civilian near Nablus
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/6/2008
The Israeli troops manning the Beit Iba checkpoint, located west of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, detained a Palestinian Police official and assaulted another one on Tuesday. Majid Abed Al Lateef Al Qaddomi, a Palestinian policeman in Nablus, was going to his work when troops stopped him at the checkpoint and detained him from several hours, lieutenant Nidal Al Jarumy was with Al Qadomi, and troops beat him up before releasing them. Moreover, the Israeli attacked the village of Kufer Qalil located near Nablus, searched homes there and kidnapped one civilians. [end]
Israeli forces seize Palestinian teenager from his home near Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 5/6/2008
Nablus - Ma’an Israeli forces seized a Palestinian youth from the West Bank village of Azmut, east of the city of Nablus, after breaking into his house before dawn on Tuesday. Palestinian security sources reported that the Israeli forces carried out an incursion in Azmut eastern of the city of Nablus at 3am local time Tuesday and arrested 19-year-old Saleh Ibrahim Samara. [end]
Palestinian security forces ’arrest two Hamas members’
Ma’an News Agency 5/6/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an Palestinian security affiliated to the West Bank-based caretaker government seized two Hamas members on Monday night, Hamas claimed. Hamas said in a statement that the arrestees were from Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. [end]
Palestine Today 050608
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/6/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Tuesday May 6th 2008. One Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, while in the West Bank Israeli soldiers detained a Palestinian official. These stories, and more, coming up. So stay tuned. News Cast Early on Tuesday, an Israeli air strike killed a Palestinian resistance fighter from Hamas and wounded another, when the car they were driving in northern Gaza Strip was hit with an Israeli missile. Medical sources in the northern Gaza Strip confirmed that Hesham Shomar, 23, was killed and Omar Hammad, 25, was wounded after sustaining critical injuries. Hammad’s limbs were amputated, medics added. Earlier this morning, Israeli tanks rolled near the eastern cemetery of Jabalya refugee camp, firing. . . more.. e-mail
One killed, five injured in collapse of tunnel under Rafah border
Ma’an News Agency 5/5/2008
Gaza Ma’an A Palestinian man called Rami Ash-Sha’r, who was in his twenties, was killed on Monday afternoon and five others were injured when an underground tunnel collapsed in Brazil neighborhood, near the border with Egypt in the Gaza Strip. A sixth man was missing. Witnesses said the tunnel was near area of the so-called Salah Addin Gate, a gap that was opened in the border wall by Palestinian fighters in late January. The director of Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, Dr Ahmad Abu Naqira, said that five people arrived at the hospital suffering from suffocation. He affirmed that the injured were released from the hospital after they were treated. [end]
Two people hurt as 7 rockets slam into western Negev
Mijal Grinberg, Ha’aretz 5/5/2008
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least seven Qassam rockets into the western Negev Monday morning. One person suffered from shock as a rocket struck the Sha’ar Hanegev industrial zone, and later sustained minor injuries as he fled the scene. Another man suffered light shrapnel wounds in a separate strike. Several more people were treated for shock following the barrage. Two rockets in all hit the industrial zone causing damage to a water pipe. Three additional rockets hit open areas in the Sha’ar Hanegev regional council and one struck near the western Negev town of Sderot. No injuries or damage were reported. Several people were treated for shock Sunday after a salvo of Qassam rockets hit Sderot. more.. e-mail
Palestinian factions continue shelling Israeli areas near the Gaza strip
Ma’an News Agency 5/5/2008
Gaza Ma’an- Palestinian military groups continued to attack Israeli military and civilian targets near the Gaza Strip with homemade projectiles on Sunday night and Monday in what they say is a response to ongoing Israeli aggression. The Abu Ali Mustafa brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), claimed responsibility for firing two homemade projectiles at the city of Ashkelon at midnight. The Abu Ar-Reesh brigades claimed responsibility for firing one projectile at Nahal Oz at 10:30pm on Sunday. The united military wings of Fatah claimed responsibility for firing one projectile at Kfar Aza, east of Gaza City, at 9:40pm Sunday night. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces seize 25 Palestinian in West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/5/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an - Israeli forces seized 25 Palestinian on Monday morning across the West Bank, claiming they are "wanted," Israeli sources said. Witnesses said that a large number of Israeli military vehicles entered the village of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, and seized three Palestinians: 33-year-old Salti Ahmad Murshed Thawabta, 23-year-old Ibrahim Majed Thawabta, and 20-year-ol Ali Hamdi Takatka. Moreover, the Israeli forces claimed that they found weapons in a house in the town of Soreef, north of Hebron. [end]
Two Palestinian military groups fire mortars at Erez crossing
Ma’an News Agency 5/5/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees, An-Nasser Saha Addin Brigades, and the military wing of Fatah, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, claimed responsibility on Monday morning for firing seven mortar shells at the Erez border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. They said in a joint statement that the shelling was in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Separately, Islamic Jihad’s military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, said its fighters fired on two homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Miftahim. They also said in a statement that their military action came in retaliation for the "ongoing Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people," and as act of renege for the assassination of the group’s senior leader Awad Al-Qiq last Wednesday. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces raid town near Hebron
Ma’an News Agency 5/5/2008
Hebron Ma’an- Israeli forces raided a number of houses in the Kreissa neighborhood of the West Bank town of Dura, near the city of Hebron on Sunday night. Nemer Arjoub, the owner of one of the houses, said that the Israeli soldiers searched houses for more than two hours, breaking windows and rousing people from their beds, including children who he said were frightened by the raid. [end]
Two Hamas members ’arrested’ in the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 5/5/2008
Ramallah Ma’an The Hamas movement said on Monday that Fatah-allied Palestinian seized on two members of Hamas in the West Bank on Sunday evening. The security sources arrested a student at Birzeit University from a village near Ramallah for the second time, Hamas said. The other arrestee was the Imam of a mosque in the Tulkarem district of the northern West Bank. [end]
Israel closes Gaza’s only fuel-import terminal
Ma’an News Agency 5/5/2008
Gaza Ma’an Palestinian sources said on Monday morning that the Israeli authorities have closed the Nahal Oz terminal east of Gaza City, the Gaza Strip’s only crossing point for liquid fuels. The sources told Ma’an that the Israelis claimed the crossing was closed after a number of mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip landed near the terminal. [end]
Al-Qassam Brigades ’launch nine projectiles’ in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/5/2008
Gaza Ma’an The Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for firing nine homemade projectiles at Israeli military vehicles near the Erez crossing and in the town of Abasan at noon on Monday. An Al-Qassam Brigades statement added that the attacks were retaliation for Israeli incursions in the Gaza Strip. [end]
Al-Quds Brigades fire four more projectiles at Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 5/5/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed responsibility on Monday for launching four homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Sderot, which borders the Gaza Strip. The attack brings the number of reported projectiles launched by the group at Israeli targets to six on Monday morning. [end]
Al-Nasser Brigades launch two projectiles at Sufa
Ma’an News Agency 5/5/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - The Al-Nasser Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) launched two projectiles at Sufa, east of Rafah in the Gaza Strip on Monday. They said in a statement that the action came in retaliation for the "Israeli atrocities" in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. [end]
Panel: Modi’in Illit should be City, Despite Illegal Construction
Akiva Eldar, MIFTAH 5/5/2008
The ultra-Orthodox settlement of Modi’in Illit in the West Bank should be granted city status despite suspicions that its council members were involved in authorizing illegal construction, an ad hoc committee set up by the Interior Ministry has recommended. The committee’s decision contradicts expert opinions that severely criticized Modi’in Illit’s council for its involvement in approving the construction of Matityahu East, a new neighborhood that borders the Palestinian town of Bil’in. Construction of Matityahu East was brought to a halt about two years ago after a petition filed by Peace Now and Bil’in residents to the High Court of Justice, claiming that the project lacked proper permits." [The petition] has exposed a serious phenomenon of building without plans or permits, or with permits issued devoid of a complete plan," the High Court justices wrote. more.. e-mail
Gaza: Palestinian smuggler dies in tunnel collapse
Associated Press, YNetNews 5/5/2008
One killed, five wounded as cross-border tunnel under construction caves in. Officials say one man yet to be accounted for -Palestinian officials say a Gaza man has been killed after a cross-border smuggling tunnel collapsed on him. The Gaza Health Ministry says five more people were wounded in Monday’s collapse and one is still missing. Security officials say the tunnel was under construction at the time. Such collapses are common along the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt. Smuggling tunnels in the area have become an important route for goods and a lucrative business. Palestinian smugglers use the tunnels to move weapons and contraband into Gaza, Israel and Egypt are blockading the territory in an attempt to weaken the Hamas government and end ongoing rocket fire at Israeli towns. The blockade has increased demand for smuggled goods. more.. e-mail
Rocket salvo hits western Negev
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 5/5/2008
Color Red alerts mark beginning of yet another day under fire in western Negev; 10 Qassam rockets land in Eshkol and Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Councils, Sderot. One person lightly injured in attack -Residents of the western Negev communities awoke, yet again, to the sound of the Color Red alert on Sunday, as 10 Qassam rockets fired from northern Gaza landed throughout the area. One person was lightly wounded and treated by Magen David Adom paramedics on the scene. Two teenaged girls suffered shock. Two rockets landed in open areas in the Eshkol Regional Council around 9:00 am. No injuries or damage were reported. Several minutes after that, consecutive Color Red alerts began sounding in Sderot, as five rockets made their way to Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council limits. Three of them landed in the council’s industrial area; security forces are still trying to locate the landing site of the other two. more.. e-mail
Militants: Gaza headmaster killed in IAF strike was Jihad rocket-maker
Reuters, Ha’aretz 5/5/2008
By day, Awad al-Qiq was a respected science teacher and headmaster at a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip. By night, Palestinian militants say, he built rockets for Islamic Jihad. The Israel Air Force strike that killed the 33-year-old last week also laid bare his apparent double life and embarrassed a UN agency which has long had to rebuff Israeli accusations that it has aided and abetted Palestinian militants. In interviews with , students and colleagues, as well as UN officials, denied any knowledge of Qiq’s work with explosives. And his family denied he had any militant links at all, despite a profusion of Islamic Jihad posters at his home. But militant leaders allied to the coastal strip’s ruling Hamas group hailed him as a martyr who led Islamic Jihad’s "engineering unit" - its bomb makers. more.. e-mail
Palestinian Resistance factions continue to shell Israeli posts near the Gaza Strip
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/5/2008
On Monday morning, several Palestinian armed resistance groups from Gaza continued firing home-made Qassam shells at nearby Israeli targets. The Popular resistance committees and the Al Aqsa Brigades of Fatah issued a joined press statement on Monday stating that they fired seven home made shells targeting military sites at the Beit Hannon crossing, located between the northern part of the Gaza Strip and Israel. Meanwhile the Al Aqsa Brigades of Fatah issued another statement on Monday staing that its fighters fired two home-made shells at a military site near the eastern Gaza-Israeli border. Bother statements said that the attacks come as a natural response to Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Palestinians in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. more.. e-mail
Senior officers slam IDF’s lack of resolve in Gaza
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 5/5/2008
Officers serving in Gaza say limitations placed on army by political echelon prevent Israel from effectively fighting terror in Strip. ’Our activity carries no deterrence,’ one officer warns -Senior IDF officers serving in Gaza are frustrated over what they describe as the army’s lack of resolve and limited action against terror emanating from the Strip." This week I returned from another standby shift at the combat helicopter base where I do my reserve duty," lit. -Col. N told Ynet." Again we did nothing, despite a Qassam and mortar barrage fired by terrorists at the entire sector." N says that he feels obligated to warn that the IDF is not doing enough to counter terrorism from Gaza." The Gaza Strip is a narrow area, almost entirely closed off, the terrorist forces are relatively small and their weapons - although they are improving every day as a result. . . more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 050508
Ghassan Bannoura -Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/5/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB ||Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Thursday May 5th 2008. Four Palestinians killed in Gaza, while in the West Bank, the Israeli army kidnaps at least 6 civilians. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned. News Cast Three Palestinian patients were reported killed on Monday after being prevented by the Israeli army to leave the Gaza Strip to receive life-saving medical care. The victims were identified as 13 year-old Ismahan Al Jamal, a brain cancer patient from Gaza City, 59 year-old heart condition patient Zakyiah Sa’dah, and 55-year old cancer patient Nathmiah Abdah, both from the Al Maghazi refugee camp. With those three dead on Monday, the number of Palestinians patients who died as a result of the Israeli siege on Gaza has now reached 145. more.. e-mail
16 Israeli civilians killed this year in terror acts, 1,634 since May, ’48
Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 5/5/2008
Sixteen Israeli civilians were killed in terrorist attacks in the first four months of the year, bringing the total of civilian terror-related deaths to 1,634 since the creation of the state 60 years ago, National Insurance Institute Director-General Esther Dominissini said Monday. An official ceremony to commemorate victims of terrorism will be held on Wednesday, Memorial Day, at the Mt. Herzl national cemetery at 1:00 P. M. Eight Israeli civilians were killed in 2007, and 133 wounded in 87 terror-related incidents last year. Most of the injuries were incurred in Qassam rocket attacks, Dominissini said in a statement released by the NII. A total of 14,000 have been wounded in terrorist attacks over the past 60 years. more.. e-mail
Timeline: War and peace
The Guardian, The Guardian 5/6/2008
1897 First Zionist Congress convenes / 1917 Balfour Declaration promises a "national home" for the Jews in Palestine. Britain seizes the territory from the Ottoman Turks / 1939-1945 Six million Jews are killed in the Holocaust by the Nazis / 1948 Israel’s war of independence, also known as the Palestinian "nakba" (cataclysm) / 1956 Suez war. Israel attacks Egypt with Britain and France, but the allies pull out after the US forces a ceasefire / 1967 Six-day war. Israel conquers West Bank, east Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, Sinai and Golan Heights / 1973 Egypt and Syria launch October (Yom Kippur) war against Israel. Right, a Syrian soldier surrenders on the Golan Heights. / 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty / 1982 Israel invades Lebanon to destroy the Palestine Liberation Organisation / 1987 First Palestinian intifada. . . more.. e-mail
An Israel army tank shells a house in southern Gaza, kills a civilian man
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 5/4/2008
An Israeli army tank shelled on Sunday morning a Palestinian-owned house in the southern Gaza Strip town of Kheza’a, killing a civilian man and wounding two other inhabitants. Palestinian medical sources said that Hussam aL-Najjar, 42 year-old-man, was killed and at least two other Palestinians were wounded, with tank shells shrapnel. Witnesses said that an Israeli tank shell landed on a house , just close to the Israel-Gaza border line in the southern Gaza Strip town of Kheza’a and that the Israeli fire caused the death of Najjar and the injury of another inhabitant of the house. Conflicting reports said that four other Palestinians were wounded in the Israeli attack on Kheza’a, including three fighters of the ruling Hamas party in Gaza, after they had clashed with the invading forces. The Israeli incursion into this Palestinian town came under the cover of warplanes as. . . more.. e-mail
Housing Ministry plans 700 apartments in Betar Illit settlement
Dalia Tal, Globes Online 5/4/2008
In 2006, the government suspended construction in the town. The Ministry of Housing and Construction is promoting a 700-unit residential project in Betar Illit, after a two-year hiatus. Betar Illit, located in Gush Etzion south of Jerusalem in the West Bank, is a haredi (ultra-orthodox) town founded in 1988 that currently has 30,000 residents. In 2006, the government suspended construction in the town causing an uproar among haredi sects. The last project built in the town was by now bankrupt Heftsiba Ltd. In recent weeks, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced the construction of scores of housing units in Ariel, Elkana, and Givat Zeev. The building plan has aroused the ire of the Palestinians and openly challenged the Bush administration. more.. e-mail
Israeli army exonerated in Gaza family deaths
Middle East Online 5/2/2008
JERUSALEM - A military inquiry into the deaths of a Gaza woman and her four children claimed on Friday they were killed by the explosion of ammunition carried by militants targeted by an Israeli missile." The family was hit during the explosion of the second missile that ignited secondary explosions or from objects that flew towards them because of the force of the blast," the army said in a statement on the conclusions of the full investigation. The military also released aerial footage of Monday’s incident in the town of Beit Hanun in the north of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, which showed several large explosions which the army said were secondary detonations. According to the statement, an Israeli aircraft fired a first missile at four militants it identified as "carrying backpacks loaded with ammunition." One gunman was hit in the strike, which was followed by a strong secondary explosion. more.. e-mail
Panel: Modi’in Illit should be city, despite illegal construction
Akiva Eldar, Ha’aretz 5/5/2008
The ultra-Orthodox settlement of Modi’in Illit in the West Bank should be granted city status despite suspicions that its council members were involved in authorizing illegal construction, an ad hoc committee set up by the Interior Ministry has recommended. The committee’s decision contradicts expert opinions that severely criticized Modi’in Illit’s council for its involvement in approving the construction of Matityahu East, a new neighborhood that borders the Palestinian town of Bil’in. Construction of Matityahu East was brought to a halt about two years ago after a petition filed by Peace Now and Bil’in residents to the High Court of Justice, claiming that the project lacked proper permits." [The petition] has exposed a serious phenomenon of building without plans or permits, or with permits issued devoid of a complete plan," the High Court justices wrote. more.. e-mail
VIDEO - News / IDF kills two Palestinians in separate incidents in Gaza Strip
Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 5/4/2008
Haaretz. com/Channel 10 news roundup for May 1, 2008. The IDF kills two Palestinians in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip. Police summon Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for urgent questioning under caution. Avram Grant travels to Auschwitz after clinching Chelsea’s spot in the Champions League final. [end]
IOF troops bulldoze 220 dunums of lands, demolish 9 Palestinian homes
Palestinian Information Center 5/4/2008
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces demolished nine Palestinian civilian homes and bulldozed 220 dunums of cultivated lands during their incursion into Abbassan east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Legal sources told PIC reporter that the IOF wreaked such vast destruction in less than 12 hours on Thursday. They said that the IOF soldiers uprooted hundreds of olive and palm trees other than destroying glasshouses and water wells. The sources noted that the IOF destruction bared the Zionist security fence separating the area from 1948 occupied lands, which made movement in the area hazardous due to the daily firing by IOF tanks and soldiers. They said that owners of the destroyed buildings could not repair or re-build them due to the lack of construction material as a result of the IOF siege. The legal sources revealed that the soldiers used a big number of citizens. . . more.. e-mail
Settlers attack villagers in Nablus
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 5/4/2008
Palestinian sources reported on Saturday that an extremist settler group attacked several Palestinian villagers of Aseera Al Shimaliyys village, south of the northern West Bank City of Nablus. The settlers burnt fields planted with wheat and attacked several villagers injuring Humam Moneer, 16. Israeli soldiers arrived at the scene and dispersed the crowd but tension is still ongoing in the area and the armed settlers remained there and continued utter threats against the villagers. [end]
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian farmer near Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency 5/4/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian farmer tending his fields in the West Bank village of Husan, near Bethlehem, on Sunday, a witness said. Ghazi Shawasha told Ma’an that Israelis from the settlement of Betar Illit crowded around him and began throwing rocks in his direction. He said he fled as quickly as possible, but was unable to save his car, which was damaged by the stones. [end]
P.A security forces arrest 12 Hamas members
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 5/5/2008
Sources close to the Hamas movement reported that Palestinian security forces arrested twelve Hamas members and supporters in several West Bank districts on Saturday. In Hebron district, in the southern part of the West Bank, Palestinian security forces arrested Samer Obeido after he was order to head to a security center for questioning. In Nablus district, in the northern part of the West Bank, security forces arrested Ayman Al Madbooh, zaher Al Kousa, Mohammad Al Jeetan, Ala’ Al Jeetan, Mo’een Olewy, Amer Jodallah, Raed Olewy and Mousa Al Tanbour. Security forces also broke into the home of Khloud Al Masry, member of the Nablus City Council and searched the home before arresting her husband Ammar Al Masry. In Qalqilia district, in the northern part of the West Bank, security forces arrested Abdullah Joeidy and Mohammad Al Qafooni. more.. e-mail
Palestinian security forces seize 12 Hamas supporters
Ma’an News Agency 5/4/2008
Nablus Ma’an The Hamas movement said on Sunday that the Fatah-allied Palestinian security forces seized 12 Hamas members on Saturday evening. In a statement released by Hamas, the movement said that eight of the arrestees were from the Dahiya neighborhood of eastern Nablus. The statement explained that Palestinian security stormed home of Hamas-affiliated lawmaker Khulud Al-Masri and arrested her husband Ammar Al-Masri. Another Hamas loyalist was seized in Hebron in the southern West Bank and two in Qalqilia in the northern West Bank, the statement added. [end]
Palestinian shot dead by unknown gunmen in Rafah
Ma’an News Agency 5/2/2008
Gaza Ma’an - A Palestinian citizen was shot by unknown gunmen in the An-Nasser neighbourhood of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, medical sources announced on Friday. Medical sources told Ma’an that 45-year-old Abdel-Ra’ouf Abu Thabet was dead on arrival at hospital. He had sustained four bullet wounds to the stomach. Eyewitnesses reported the shooting occurred just after midnight on Thursday. [end]
National Resistance Brigades claim attack on Nahal ’Oz
Ma’an News Agency 5/2/2008
Gaza Ma’an The National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at the Israeli kibbutz of Nahel ’Oz east the Gaza Strip, on Friday at dawn. The group said the attack was "an act of resistance against the ongoing occupation." [end]
PRC’s armed wing claim attack on Nahal ’Oz
Ma’an News Agency 5/2/2008
Gaza Ma’an The An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), claimed responsibility on Thursday evening for shelling the Israeli military post of Nahal ’Oz. The Brigades announced in a statement that "the shelling comes in response to the crimes that the occupation commits against the Palestinians." [end]
Report: IDF arrested 363 Palestinians in West Bank in April
DPA, Ha’aretz 5/5/2008
The Israel Defense Forces arrested 363 Palestinians in the West Bank during April, a Palestinian report revealed Saturday. Most of the arrests were in the city of Nablus, where the army arrested 128 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Defense. The IDF declined to confirm or deny the report. Israeli forces regularly raid West Bank cities and villages, searching for wanted Palestinian militants. The report said the latest arrests did not appear to target a specific age or category and "had included all Palestinian citizens." It added that the IDF soldiers used police dogs and beat the prisoners during the raids. The West Bank is governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and run by security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. more.. e-mail
Key Hamas operative killed in IAF missile strike in Rafah
Amos Harel Avi Issacharoff and Fadi Eyadat, Ha’aretz 5/4/2008
Two Palestinians were killed yesterday in Israel Defense Forces operations in the southern Gaza Strip. One of the dead is a senior figure in Hamas believed to have been involved in the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit and the other was a civilian resident of Khan Yunis. Also yesterday, at least 12 Qassam rockets were fired against Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. A number of civilians were treated for panic. At approximately 10 A. M. an air force aircraft fired a number of missiles at a group of Hamas militants near the Shabura refugee camp in Rafah. The target of the attack was Nafez Mansour, 40, described by the Shin Bet as a key figure in the Hamas military wing, Izz al-Din al-Qassam. According to the Shin Bet, Mansour played an important role in the Hamas attack that led to Shalit’s abduction in June 2006. more.. e-mail
Islamic Jihad’s military wing fires four projectiles at Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 5/4/2008
Gaza Ma’an The military wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed responsibility on Sunday for launching four homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Sderot, which borders the Gaza Strip. The military group said in a statement that the shelling came in retaliation for the ongoing "Israeli atrocities" against the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The shelling was also the first act of retaliation for the assassination of one of one of the group’s leaders, Awad Al-Qiq, last Wednesday, the statement added. [end]
The Israeli army invades Beit Sahour and searches cars
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/3/2008
Around eight Israeli soldiers barged into the town of Beit Sahour, located near Bethlehem, in the southern part of the West Bank on Saturday afternoon. The soldiers marched into the town and positioned themselves near the Greek Orthodox Church of Shepherd’s Field in the northern side of town. Troops stopped and searched a number of local Palestinian cars and pedestrians. As soon as IMEMC Ghassan Bannoura arrived at the scene soldiers ordered him to stop taking photos, when he did not comply with the Israeli army, soldiers detained Bannoura for 15 minutes, they ordered Bannoura to leave the area, or face abduction. The town of Beit Sahour is under jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, according to the 1995 Oslo Peace Accords between the Palestinians and Israelis. Beit Sahour is also famous for being the place of the Shepherd’s Field, where the holy host announced the birth of Christ. more.. e-mail
Israeli killings of Palestinians and land destruction continue unabated in Gaza Strip
Palestine News Network 5/2/2008
Gaza / PNN - Palestinian medical sources and eyewitnesses reported on Sunday that Israeli forces have not stopped killings in the Gaza Strip. Today one Palestinian was killed and five others injured in the latest Israeli attack on the besieged Gaza Strip, beggin the cry from most residents, ’when will it end? ’ Hamas has pledged its support to the Egyptian sponsored ’cease-fire,’ however the occupiers have yet to heed the call. Three of those injured were members of the armed resistance wing, Al Qassam Brigades. They are affiliated with the Hamas party. Israeli forces invaded the southeastern Strip in Khan Younis. The medical sources reported that 40 year old Husam Al Najjar was killed during the Israeli incursion when the forces "fired a tank shell into his home." Another family member was injured. more.. e-mail
Palestinians: IDF kills civilian in Gaza; three rockets hit Sderot
Mijal Grinberg and Reuters, Ha’aretz 5/5/2008
GAZA - Israel Defense Forces troops killed a Palestinian civilian in the southern part of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian medical workers said. They said the 41-year-old man, Hussam a-Najah, was hit by an IDF tank shell outside his home near the town of Khan Yunis. The medical officials added that the shell had also wounded a-Najah’s brother and wife. An IDF spokeswoman said Israeli forces were operating in the area but she had no immediate details about the incident. Also on Sunday, four Israelis were treated for shock when a barrage of three Qassam rockets struck the western Negev city of Sderot. One of the rockets hit a cemetery in the city, causing damage to some headstones. The second rocket destroyed the roof of a shop in the city’s commercial district and the third damaged a residential building. more.. e-mail
Lebanese army: IAF planes violate air space over south Lebanon
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 5/4/2008
The Lebanese army said Sunday that Israel Air Force warplanes have violated Lebanese airspace by flying reconnaissance missions over southern Lebanon. The army said four Israeli warplanes flew over southern towns and villages before noon Sunday, then headed back. The Israeli overflights lasted about an hour, the army statement said. There was no immediate statement from the Israeli army, which usually does not comment on its flights over Lebanon. Israeli overflights have been a constant source of tension between the two countries. Before the 2006 war, Hezbollah used to open fire on Israeli planes, with shrapnel from the anti-aircraft fire falling on Israeli communities across the border, causing some casualties. In January, Lebanese troops opened fire on IAF warplanes flying reconnaissance missions over southern Lebanon, but no hits were reported, the Lebanese army said. more.. e-mail
IOF troops withdraw from Khuza’a leaving behind trail of destruction
Palestinian Information Center 5/4/2008
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- The IOF troops have withdrawn at noon Sunday from the Khuza’a town, east of Khan Younis, after an incursion that lasted for ten hours during which they shot dead a Palestinian citizen, wounded five others and destroyed three houses, two poultry farms and 100 dunums of agricultural lands. During the Israeli rampage in the town, Israeli snipers shot dead in cold blood a Palestinian citizen called Hossam Al-Najjar as he was feeding chicken on the roof of his house, while his brother was injured when he tried to rescue him. Sources in the Khuza’a municipality told the PIC reporter, that the Israeli military bulldozers demolished the house of a Palestinian citizen called Azmi Qudeih before he was kidnapped along with another citizen, partially destroyed two houses and uprooted 100 dunums of agricultural lands planted with olive and palm trees. more.. e-mail
One killed, six injured by Israeli forces near Khan Younis
Ma’an News Agency 5/4/2008
Gaza Ma’an An unarmed 41-year-old Palestinian man was killed and his wife and brother were injured when an Israeli tank shell struck their house in the town of Khuza’a, near the city of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, witnesses said. The Israeli forces withdrew at 10am local time after an eight-hour incursion. Eyewitnesses said that Husam Najjar was killed when shrapnel from the shell penetrated his stomach. Najjar’s nephew, 24-year-old Muhammad Samir Najjar, was critically injured earlier on Sunday by Israeli forces who opened fire at the family house in Khuza’a. Palestinian medical sources said Muhammad was shot twice in the head and doctors were operating on him in an attempt to save his life. Eyewitnesses also said that invading Israeli bulldozers destroyed large swaths of agricultural land. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces detain two Palestinians in Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency 5/4/2008
Tulkarem Ma’an Israeli forces seized two Palestinians on Sunday morning from the city of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. Israeli forces raided the western neighborhood of the city and seized two Palestinians, taking them to unknown destination. Witnesses said the Israeli soldiers destroyed the interior of the house of one of the arrestees. [end]
Palestinian fighters shell Israeli targets near Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 5/3/2008
Gaza Ma’an Palestinian military groups continued to shell Israeli towns and military positions bordering the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Palestinian fighters said. The An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed responsibility for firing two homemade projectiles at the town of Nativ Ha’asera. They said that the projectiles were of the "Nasser 2" type. The National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the left-wing Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), claimed to have launched two projectiles at the Kisufim military base early on Saturday. The Al-Buraq Army, which is linked to the Fatah-allied Al-Aqsa Brigades, claimed responsibility for launching one projectile at the Israeli town of Sderot. more.. e-mail
Palestinian Police arrest Hebron man in possession of large quantity of weapons
Ma’an News Agency 5/2/2008
Hebron Ma’an - Palestinian police arrested a Hebron man in possession of a large quantity of weapons and prohibited documents on Thursday evening. An unnamed security source told Ma’an that the weapons and ammunition were discovered in his house. Brigadier Adnan Ad-Damiri, media spokesman for the Palestinian police, said "the issue is related to politics, and there is nothing more to say at the moment." [end]
VIDEO - Soldiers share moral dilemmas they face at checkpoints
Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 5/5/2008
Haaretz. com/Channel 10 daily feature for May 1, 2008. Some of the soldiers who staff the Eliyahu Checkpoint in the northern Western Bank are highly sensitive to the moral dilemmas accompanying their job description. The soldiers in the Taoz Battallion of the Military Police are on their on their feet, often in the sun, 12 hours a day. But that isn’t the hardest part. [end]
Israeli forces demolish illegally-built settler synagogue in Hebron
Ma’an News Agency 5/4/2008
Hebron Ma’an Israeli military forces demolished a synagogue illegally set up by Jewish settlers in the old city of Hebron, Israeli media reported. The Hazon David synagogue was first built seven years ago by right-wing Israeli settlers, and has been demolished by the Israeli military numerous times. The structure was made of stones, tree branches, and plywood. Separately, Israeli settlers demolished two trailers of Beit Yatir Farm outpost, south of Hebron. The removal of the outpost was part of a deal struck between the Yesha settlers’ council and the Israeli Defense Ministry, in which some outposts will be evacuated voluntarily, and permits granted for further construction in other outposts, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. The evacuated settlers are to be moved to other, more established settlements. more.. e-mail
’We are living in a combat zone’
Kim Sengupta, The Independent 5/2/2008
The Qassam rocket had destroyed the bathroom and blown down part of the wall to the kitchen. Smoke and dust swirled in the shaft of sunlight coming through the 4ft wide gash in the ceiling as Oshri and Karmit Malka sat huddled contemplating what was left of their home. The Israeli town of Sderot, a mile from the Gaza strip, has been in the receiving end of 7,000 missiles and mortars in the past seven years, the most frequently attacked places in the country and held up as an example of Palestinian aggression. Apart from those killed and injured, hundreds more have been traumatised by the relentless routine of sirens blaring followed by explosions. The population, 24,000 seven years ago, is now 3,000 fewer, those who can get away have done so. Residents have started to stop celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel next week in protest against a government who they say have failed to protect them. more.. e-mail
PFLP’s military wing announce projectile tally for April
Ma’an News Agency 5/2/2008
Gaza Ma’an - The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, claimed on Friday that they launched 122 projectiles and 76 mortar shells at Israeli sites in April. The Abu Ali Mustafa brigades claimed they were able to hit three Israeli soldiers, nine Israeli military tanks and detonate six explosive devices, as well as clashing numerous times with Israeli Forces during the month of April. [end]
This Week In Palestine - Week 18 2008
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 5/2/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || File 17. 3 MB || Time 19m 0s ||This Week In Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. IMEMC. org, for April 26th through to May 2nd, 2008. U. S Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, stated this week that both Palestinians and Israelis should now set the borders of the Palestinian state, while Israeli army attacks in the Strip this week left 10 Palestinians killed. These stories and more, coming up, stay tuned. Nonviolent Resistance Let’s begin our weekly report with the nonviolent actions in the West Bank, IMEMC’s John Orwell with the details: Bil’in On Friday, dozens of villagers from Bil’in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, conducted their weekly nonviolent protest against the illegal Israeli wall built on the village’s land. more.. e-mail
Agha: IOF planning security belt on Gaza borders
Palestinian Information Center 5/4/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Mohammed Al-Agha, the minister of agriculture in the PA caretaker government, on Sunday charged the Israeli occupation forces with establishing a security belt on the eastern borders of Gaza with lands occupied in 1948. He said during a field visit to Abassan east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, that the IOF scheme started with an isolation belt on the northern borders of the Strip and now was establishing a similar one two kilometers deep into Gazan lands on the eastern borders. The minister said that the IOF troops had already covered major strides in this plan, noting that the area east of Abassan had turned into a desert area while it was known for its greenery scenes. He charged the occupation forces with bulldozing the infrastructure in those areas and with uprooting thousands of fruitful trees in addition to destroying vast areas of cultivated lands and hothouses. more.. e-mail
12-year-old boy shot in head as Israeli forces invade Khan Younis
Ma’an News Agency 5/1/2008
Gaza Ma’an A 12-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and seriously injured when several Israeli military vehicles entered the Al-Faraheen neighborhood of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning. Palestinian medical sources said that Imad Qdaih was shot in the head and was evacuated to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Eyewitnesses said that eight military vehicles and three bulldozers invaded the area at 4am and began digging up agricultural lands, demolishing houses and apprehending Palestinians. Clashes erupted between the invading forces and Palestinian gunmen. No casualties have been reported. The military wing affiliated to Islamic Jihad said their fighters fired several mortar shells towards at the invading Israeli forces. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces kill twice in S Gaza Strip, bulldoze agricultural lands
Palestine News Network 5/1/2008
Rafah / PNN -- After Wednesday’s killing in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli forces killed again. Early Thursday in Rafah Israeli forces targeted the Shaboura area, hitting a member of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed resistance wing of Hamas. Later in the afternoon Israeli forces attacked Khan Younis, killing a 55 year old man and injuring three more Palestinians. Early this morning Israeli forces stormed eastern Khan Younis, also in the southern Strip. Yesterday, Wednesday, Israeli forces killed a worker in the area, who was also a resistance member, at a car painting factory and injured six people, including a child. Official Palestinian sources reported that large numbers of Israeli forces carried out extensive raids throughout the Strip, pointing out that at dawn Israeli special forces infiltrated eastern Khan Younis. more.. e-mail
Hamas military leader killed in Gaza air raid
Middle East Online 5/1/2008
GAZA CITY - An air strike on Thursday killed a Hamas military leader in Gaza who took part in the 2006 capture of an Israeli soldier, the Israeli military said. The Israelis "targeted and identified hitting Nafiz Mansur, a Hamas terror operative who was involved in terror attacks against Israel," it said in a statement." Mansur was involved, among other attacks, in the capture of Gilad Shalit," it said in reference to the Israeli seized by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid from Gaza claimed by Hamas and two other armed groups. The statement said the militant also bore responsibility for the killing of two Israeli soldiers in a July 2006 attack, and took part in setting up a suicide assault on a border post on April 19 this year. The Islamist Hamas movement confirmed Mansur’s death and said it would "respond to this crime at the adequate time and place. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces apprehend 10 West Bankers
Ma’an News Agency 5/1/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an Israeli forces raided several West Bank districts in the early hours of Thursday morning, arresting ten ’wanted’ Palestinian activists. Israeli sources said on Thursday that ten "wanted Palestinians" were seized in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron. All the arrestees have been transferred to interrogation centres. Palestinian security sources in Bethl