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Israeli troops storm several areas of the West Bank, clash with Palestinian resistance and abduct citizens
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2007
Jenin Bethlehem A member of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, was injured on Tuesday in the village of Kafr Dan, to the west of Jenin, during an armed clash with the Israeli forces. Israeli soldiers entered the village and occupied several houses. The soldiers detained three Palestinian citizens, one of whom was injured by shrapnel. All three were taken to an unknown destination. Eyewitnesses said that undercover Israeli forces entered Kafr Dan and began shooting at the houses, before an armed confrontation erupted with the Palestinian resistance. The local fighters were subsequently detained and transported to an undisclosed location. Left to bleed - Israeli soldiers denied Palestinian ambulances access to the scene. A wounded man was left bleeding in the streets for more than two hours... more..
Israeli radio alleges that arms-smuggling in Gaza has severely decreased since Hamas takeover
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2007
Bethlehem Israeli radio stations reported on Tuesday morning that the number of tunnels used for the smuggling of arms and goods into the Gaza Strip from Egypt has decreased dramatically. Radio sources said that only 25% of the tunnels used before Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip are still in use. The reports were based on statements made by a high-ranking Egyptian officer in the Egyptian border guards. Just under two weeks ago, an Israeli military source told Haaretz, the Israeli daily newspaper, that Hamas was now in possession of "high-tech" weaponry, such as sophisticated anti-tank missiles. According to the Israeli source, Hamas was able to accomplish this due to the smuggling of weaponry into Gaza taking on "import dimensions". [end]
National Resistance Brigades and Al Aqsa Brigades team up, fire homemade projectile at Sufa Crossing
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2007
Khan Younis A joint group from the National Resistance Brigades, the armed resistance wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades, on Tuesday claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at the Israeli-controlled Sufa Crossing, in southern Gaza. The brigades said the shelling took place on Monday evening. In a shared statement, the two groups said the operation came "as part of the retaliation for the Israeli assassinations, arrests and to confirm that we will stick to the option of resistance." The brigades also said that "the Israeli escalation will be confronted with escalation. [end]
Three resistance brigades claim joint responsibility for firing mortars at Israeli intelligence building
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2007
Gaza The An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, the Hamas-affiliated Qassam Brigades, and the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades, on Monday evening jointly attacked an Israeli intelligence building on the northern Gaza border. In a joint strike, the brigades fired two homemade projectiles at the building. The report added that a supporting crew fired at the Israeli soldiers at the site, while under their cover of fire, one of the brigades’ fighters launched two mortars at the military post. This attack and others come as a response for all the Israeli assaults on the Palestinian public and its leaders, said the brigades in a joint statement. [end]
United brigades attack Huwwara checkpoint
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2007
Nablus - Palestinian military groups attacked Huwwara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on Monday evening. The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Al Aqsa Brigades of Fatah and the Qassam Brigades of Hamas stated that they opened fire at the checkpoint. A spokesperson for the united brigades telephoned Ma’an and claimed that there were several injuries to Israeli soldiers as a result of the attack. [end]
500 Israeli soldiers pursue their search of alleged Hamas-affiliated cell
Palestinian Information Center 7/31/2007
QALQILIA, (PIC)-- 500 Israeli soldiers are still combing Qalqilia district for two days now searching for an alleged cell belonging to the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. The IOF command received confirmed intelligence information from PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s security apparatuses about the cell as part of the joint intelligence cooperation with the Israeli occupation, according to Hebrew press sources. Based on the information, the IOF troops reinforced by special units and sophisticated equipment have expanded their search campaign, which started on Sunday, where they deployed in all agricultural areas of Qalqilia and erected a 3 meter fence around them. According to eyewitness, the IOF troops are conducting a thorough search in the occupied area amid intensive gunfire, using very sophisticated electronic equipment, bulldozers... more..
Israeli soldiers arrest two Palestinians at Huwwara checkpoint
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2007
Bethlehem - Israeli border guards arrested two Palestinians at Huwwara checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Nablus Monday. The soldiers claimed to have found a gun in their car. The Israeli military detained the two men for questioning. [end]
Hamas fighters fire an RPG at Israeli infantry
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2007
Gaza The Hamas-affiliated Qassam Brigades on Tuesday claimed they fired a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at an Israeli patrol east of Al-Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip. In a statement issued by the brigades, they stated the operation "came as part of the retaliation against the Israeli occupation", warning the Israelis they will continue the resistance. [end]
Security forces remove 30 right-wing activists from Homesh
Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 7/31/2007
Police and Border Police troops forcibly removed around 30 right-wing activists from the ruins of the former West Bank settlement of Homesh early Tuesday morning. The incident was the fourth time in the past week that security personnel have had to remove right-wing activists from the former settlement, evacuated as part of the disengagement in August 2005. Last week security forces removed a few hundred demonstrators who were attempting to construct a building on the site of the ruins. Police and soldiers destroyed the structure and then removed several activists who had taken to nearby hills. Also last week, police removed a group of youths who had squatted in the area for two days, where they read the Book of Lamentations for Tisha B’Av and listened to lectures by prominent West Bank rabbis. more..
Five Palestinians wounded in IAF strike in central Gaza Strip
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 7/30/2007
Israel Air Force craft struck a car in the central Gaza Strip on Monday, wounding five people, including three militants. Among the wounded were three militants - two from Islamic Jihad and a third from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction. Two passers-by were also hurt in the strike, which ambulance staff said occurred about 10 kilometers south of Gaza City. Islamic Jihad said that the Al-Aqsa member wounded in the attack was the group’s commander in Gaza. Two other militants in the vehicle, one from Islamic Jihad and the other from Al-Aqsa, escaped unscathed. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed carrying out a strike but did not give details of the target, other than to say the attack was part of operations against terrorist activity. more..
Palestinian intelligence officer ’tortured and killed’
Ma’an News Agency 7/30/2007
Rafah - Ma’an An officer in the Palestinian intelligence services was killed Monday in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Eyewitnesses and medical sources said Ismail Mashoukhi, 35, appeared to have been tortured. Mashoukhi’s family, who live in Tal As Sultan, to the west of Rafah, said that he left home Sunday afternoon, to visit a relative, but he disappeared before he arrived. His body was found Monday. Hamas’ Executive Forces arrested three people who they suspect were involved in the killing. An Executive Force spokesperson declined to give more information about the investigation but he assured that the organization is working to find the perpetrators. [end]
Israeli army invades Beit Omer town near Hebron and kidnaps three civilians
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 7/30/2007
A massive Israeli force invaded the town of Beit Omer located north of Hebron city in the southern part of the West Bank and kidnapped three civilians form the twon on Monday. Troops searched homes and ransacked them then took Mohamed Bahar, 25, Izaldeen Mikbel, 16, and Mohamed Salaebi, to unknown locations. [end]
Israeli army storm Qalndyia refugee camp near Jerusalem and search homes there
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 7/30/2007
Palestinian sources reported that Israeli forces stormed Qalndyia refugee to the north of Jerusalem city in the West Bank searched homes there on mondya morning. Troops opened fire randomly at residents homes causing damage but no injures, the army left the camp after some time, no kidnappings were reported. [end]
Israeli forces detain five Palestinians from the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 7/30/2007
Bethlehem Ma’an The Israeli forces detained four Palestinian citizens from the West Bank on Monday morning. Israeli sources said that "three of them [the Palestinians] are from villages around Bethlehem and the fourth is from the Al Ram district to the north of Jerusalem." According to the Israeli forces, the men were ’wanted. ’Israeli forces also arrested another Palestinian citizen at the Huwwara checkpoint, to the south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on Sunday night. According to Israeli officials, the arrestee was carrying a gun. [end]
Al Aqsa Brigades launch projectile at Sufa crossing
Ma’an News Agency 7/30/2007
Gaza - Ma’an The Al Aqsa Brigades, Fatah’s main military wing, claimed responsibility Monday for launching a homemade projectile at Sufa border crossing on the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel. The Brigades said that the bombing was a response for the Israeli assassination of Yahya Barakat and Tamer Al-Khatib. The group caked for a preliminary response to another assassination attempt against the Al Aqsa leaders in the Gaza Strip Monday. [end]
Israeli soldiers arrest two Palestinians at Huwwara checkpoint
Ma’an News Agency 7/30/2007
Bethlehem - Ma’an Israeli border guards arrested two Palestinians at Huwwara checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Nablus Monday. The soldiers claimed to have found a gun in their car. The Israeli military detained the two men for questioning. [end]
144 Settlements in the West Bank are housing 476,000 Israel settlers
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 7/30/2007
The Palestinian Census Bureau issued a report stating that there are 144 Israeli settlements, housing 476,000 Israeli settlers, spread all over the West Bank, including the occupied city of Jerusalem. The report, which is for the year 2006, states that 26 of those settlements are in the occupied city of Jerusalem, 16 of them already annexed to Jerusalem. 259,000 settlers live in settlements in and around the occupied city of Jerusalem, while 77,000 settlers live in settlements around the central West Bank city of Ramallah. In addition, 46,000 live in settlements around the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29,000 located near Salfit City in the northern part of the West Bank, and 1,300 settlers live in settlements near the northern West Bank city of Tubas. more..
An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades fire projectiles at Israeli military post
Ma’an News Agency 7/30/2007
Gaza Ma’an The An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the armed wing of Popular Resistance Committees, on Monday claimed responsibility for firing three homemade projectiles at an Israeli military post to the east of Juhor Ad Dik, in the central Gaza Strip. The brigades said in a statement that the operation "is a response to Israeli crimes against Palestinians." The brigades vowed to undertake more military operations against Israel. [end]
Remembering Qana
The Daily Star, Daily Star 7/31/2007
Dignitaries attend a ceremony to commemorate the 27 civilians killed by an Israeli air strike on the southern city in last summer’s war - Former Prime Minister Salim Hoss and an array of political as well as religious figures attended a ceremony on Monday at the UNESCO Palace to commemorate the 2006 Qana bombing, under the auspices of President Emile Lahoud. On July 30 last year the Israeli Army targeted the southern village with an air strike that left 27 people dead, including 13 children. In commemoration of the attack, Lahoud on Monday saluted the martyrs of the summer 2006 war and hailed the perseverance of the South’s residents, saying it was the motivation and solidarity of southerners "that contributed to the downfall of Israel during last summer’s war. more..
IDF preparing to evacuate protesting settlers from West Bank market
Yuval Azoulay and Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 7/31/2007
The Israel Defense Forces is preparing to evacuate next week settlers who have broken into the wholesale market in the West Bank city of Hebron. The IDF recently sent a letter to the settlers’ attorney, Haim Cohen, saying it would charge settlers the cost of evacuating them if they did not leave of their own accord. The letter, sent by the legal advisor of the Judea and Samaria Division, said that the settlers’ window of opportunity to leave freely has closed, and that the IDF will forcibly evacuate them at a time it deems appropriate. The army said in the letter to Cohen that it would use "reasonable force" during the evacuation, and raised the possibility of placing the entire cost of the exercise the shoulders of Cohen’s clients, the settlers. more..
Several injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a Palestinian car in Gaza City
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 7/30/2007
An Israeli spy plane fired several missiles at a Palestinian car driving on the main highway in Gaza City on Monday in mid-day. Medical sources reported a number of injuries. Sources close to Islamic Jihad said that the car belongs to resistance fighters from the movement. Witnesses said that three young Palestinian men were driving their car on the highway when an unmanned Israeli plane fired several missiles at the car, totally destroying the car and injuring the passengers. The three fighters managed to escape the attack from the missile because it hit the front of the car, allowing a window of a few seconds that permitted the fighters to escape. [end]
Corpse of Qassam fighter discovered after twelve-year inquiry
Ma’an News Agency 7/30/2007
Khan Younis Ma’an The military wing of the Hamas movement, the Qassam Brigades, on Monday announced the death of one of its members, Nidal Dabbash, who had been missing for twelve years. Dabbash was from the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza City. Spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeideh, told Ma’an, "We have found, through numerous investigations, the body of Dabbash in the same area as where a former leader, Kahil, was found in 1995." Abu Obeideh said that the Palestinian security services declared that they arrested Dabbash and handed him over to the Israelis. However, the Qassam Brigades claim that this was not entirely true. Following investigations, the Qassam Brigades found that Dabbash had never been detained or held by Israel and his corpse has now finally been discovered. more..
Army warns Hebron settlers to evacuate market willingly
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/30/2007
Military Advocate General’s office says Jewish families residing in West Bank city’s market will be held financially responsible should IDF be instructed to forcefully evacuate them from the site - The Military Advocate General’s office on Monday warned Jewish families residing in Hebron’s old market that should the IDF be instructed to forcefully evacuate them from the site, they would be held financially responsible. "The deadline for a voluntary evacuation (from the market) has passed, and the authorities in the area plan to work toward removing you from the property with the use of reasonable force," the office said in a letter addressed to the families. The council of the Jewish settlement in Hebron said, "The chutzpah and obstinacy have reached a new high. more..
Amana investigated for illegal construction in West Bank
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/30/2007
Judea and Samaria district police investigate settler movement for illegal construction of outposts following request by Peace Now - The Amana movement, headed by Ze’ev Haver, has been under investigation by the Judea and Samaria district police under suspicion of illegal construction of outposts. In November 2005, the Peace Now movement sent a letter to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, asking him to investigate the actions of Amana regarding the continued building and marketing of homes in illegal outposts throughout the West Bank. The letter claimed that Amana’s website was advertising a lot of information indicating intensive activity in illegal outposts. According to a report by Attorney Talia Sason, Amana continues to market permanent homes and temporary dwellings to a large number of illegal outposts. more..
Palestine Today 073007
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC - Audio dept, International Middle East Media Center 7/30/2007
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file - || File 3. 32 MB || Time 3m38s|| - Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Monday July, 30th, 2007. Israeli army plane attacks a car in Gaza and Palestinian employees take the government to court, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The Gaza strip - An Israeli spy plane fired several missiles at a Palestinian car driving on the main highway in Gaza City on Monday in mid-day. Medical sources reported a number of injuries. Sources close to Islamic Jihad said that the car belongs to resistance fighters from the movement. Witnesses said that three young Palestinian men were driving their car on the highway when an unmanned Israeli plane fired several missiles at the car, totally destroying the car and injuring the passengers. more..
Five detained by Israeli forces in Bethlehem and Ramallah
Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2007
Bethlehem - Ma’an Four Palestinians from Ramallah and Bethlehem, considered "wanted" by Israel, were arrested Sunday morning by Israeli forces. Separately, a Palestinian teenager was detained after being stopped at a checkpoint in Ramallah. Israeli authorities said the four "wanted" men were taken in for interrogation. Eyewitnesses said the fifth person, Majid Nizar, 17, was questioned for hours at Atarot checkpoint, north of the West Bank city of Ramallah, before being taken to "an unknown location." [end]
Brigades launch series of attacks on Israeli positions from Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2007
Gaza - Ma’an The Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades and the Fatah-affiliated Abu Ar Rish Brigades have announced responsibility for the launching of several attacks at Israeli positions on Sunday morning. A statement issued by the brigades stated that they have launched one homemade projectile and four mortars at the military post near Kerem Shalom crossing on the Israeli-Gazan-Egyptian border. In a separate operation, the brigades also launched a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli military jeep, east of Juhor ad Dik in the central Gaza Strip. The brigades also announced that two homemade projectiles were shot at the Israeli town of Sderot, just north east of the Gaza Strip. The brigades pledged "to continue resistance against the Israeli occupation". more..
Settler population in West Bank tops 475,000
Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2007
Bethlehem Ma’an The number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank grew reached 475,760 in 2006. According to a new report by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, the settlers live in 144 individual colonies, totaling 16. 1% of the total population of the West Bank. The majority live in Jerusalem Governate, host to 259,712 settlers. Ramallah and Al Bireh Governate, with 77,120, and Bethlehem Governate, with 46,783, have the second and third most settlers. Jenin is the governate with the fewest settlers. The report looks at settlement patterns throughout the entire West Bank, including all of the territory bounded by the 1967 Green Line, the Jordanian border, and the Dead Sea. The settlements are illegal under international law. [end]
Armed factions attack Israeli forces in Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2007
Bethlehem - Ma’an Armed groups affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Fatah claimed responsibility Sunday for launching three mortars at an Israeli outpost in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip. In a joint statement, the PFLP’s Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades and Fatah’s Al Aqsa Brigades said that the operation came "as part of the retaliation for the Israeli crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza strip and the West Bank." [end]
J’lem police hunting 3 men suspected of trying to abduct Haredi teen
Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz 7/30/2007
Jerusalem police launched a manhunt Sunday for three men, apparently of Arab nationality, traveling in a Volkswagen car whom a 14-year-old ultra-Orthodox youth said had tried to abduct him earlier in the day. The teen said he had been walking along the street in Jerusalem’s northern Sanhedria neighborhood, when the men grabbed him and forced him into the car. Police understood from his testimony that the men were Palestinians. He added that the men attempted to leave the city but had to stop at a red light, at which point he managed to escape from the vehicle. After jumping from the car, the teen said he called his mother who notified the police of his location. He was transferred to the Minorities Unit of the Jerusalem Police, where his statement was taken. more..
Wounded victims of war with Israel face long, lonely road to recovery
Rym Ghazal, Daily Star 7/30/2007
Rehabilitation centers rely mostly on private funds to treat patients - SOUTH LEBANON: Even though 17-year-old Rasha Mohammad Zayoun lost her left leg this winter when she reached into a patch of fresh zaatar and found a cluster bomb, she considers herself lucky. "I don’t have to wait for a leg as people heard of me and came to help me," said Zayoun, who became the poster child for many international and local outlets raising awareness about the plight of the southern Lebanese who have been wounded by Israeli cluster bombs since the summer 2006 war with Israel. UN officials have said that Israel fired as many as 4 million cluster bombs into South Lebanon during the war last summer, mostly in the final days of the conflict. Cluster munitions spread bomblets over a wide area. more..
Qana ’stronger’ on anniversary of Israeli attack
Hani M. Bathish, Daily Star 7/30/2007
Irish citizens attend commemoration to denounce what they say was Lebanon’s bloody Sunday - QANA, SOUTH LEBANON: Along the road of remembered indignities, Qana is a somber milestone, but one that nonetheless fuels the resolve and drive of the people of the South to hold on to their lands, despite repeated Israeli attacks. The Israelis "don’t know us yet," said Mohammad Chalhoub. "Death does not make us retreat - it only adds to our resolve. Our will today is stronger." Chalhoub, who lost his sister, brother and daughter on July 30 last year in what is often referred to as the second Qana massacre, has been confined to a wheelchair since then. Clad in black, Chalhoub’s eyes watered slightly when he spoke of his family. "It was a day like today: we went to sleep, we were all together. more..
Al Quds Brigades launch home-made projectile at Al Majdal
Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2007
Gaza Ma’an The Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at the Israeli town of Al Majdal at dawn. The brigades said that the operation came in response to "Israeli crimes, invasions, arrests and assassinations of Palestinians." [end]
IDF soldier left behind in Gaza after falling asleep following raid
Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz 7/30/2007
An Israel Defense Forces soldier was left behind by his comrades after an incursion in the Gaza Strip last week, and was located only after they had returned to Israel, it emerged Sunday. The incident is likely to result in severe disciplinary measures for a number of IDF officers. According to a preliminary investigation, soldiers from the Golani infantry Brigade’s Battalion 51 were operating southeast of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. On their way back to Israel, the force stopped some 700 meters from the border fence, and the soldier fell asleep. IDF troops regularly count off in order to prevent soldiers from separating from the force, but it appears that during the count-off, one of the soldier’s friends answered for him, and his absence was not noted. more..
’Something rotten in 51st battalion’
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 7/29/2007
Following incident in which IDF soldier was forgotten behind Gaza border after operation, senior military source laments lack of discipline in Golani brigade"An entire year of intensive combat operations and an extensive series of actions taken to prevent kidnappings - all that could go to waste because of faulty behavioral norms," said a senior IDF official on Sunday following the worrisome incident this weekend in which an Israeli soldier was left behind in Gaza after his unit completed an operation in the Strip. An initial inquiry into the incident determined that the soldier had fallen asleep on the mission, and the headcount, which was carried out a few times was faulty, since other soldiers eager to return to the base answered in the name of the missing soldier, leading the troops to believe all were present. more..
Israel kills Palestinians in Gaza
Al Jazeera 7/28/2007
Israeli soldiers have shot and killed two Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip as they approached the border fence, a Palestinian group has said. - An Israeli army spokeswoman said soldiers had opened fire on two men near the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya on Saturday. "They were planting an explosive device near the fence," she said. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an arm of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, confirmed two of its fighters were killed while trying to fire mortars into Israel. A spokesman for the group said the thwarted attack was meant to send a signal that the group had no intention of abiding by the platform of Abbas’s new government in the occupied West Bank. Spokesman Abu Thaer said: "Our message is that the Zionist occupation is continuing its aggression and therefore the resistance will continue. more..
Israeli army jeep strikes and injures Palestinian child
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC staff, International Middle East Media Center 7/28/2007
A Palestinian child from the village of Yabud, located near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, was struck by an Israeli military jeep late on Friday night. Local sources indicated that a number of military vehicles stormed the village shortly after midnight. Ala Abu Bakr, 13, was standing in front of his home when he was run over by an Israeli jeep. After soldiers hit the boy, they fled the scene and did not provide any medical assistance for the injured child. Medical sources stated that the boy sustained moderate to serious wounds and was transported to the public hospital in the city of Jenin for treatment. A similar incident of Israeli army violence against minors was witnessed in the village of Taqua, located near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem when an invading army patrol attacked a local youth from the village. more..
IDF inquiry: Soldiers lied about Dahariya rampage, wounding of innocent Palestinian
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 7/28/2007
Israel Defense Forces soldiers who apparently shot and wounded a Palestinian without justification in the West Bank on Thursday, lied in the initial investigation of the incident, IDF sources reported Friday. The army’s investigation into the actions of the six suspects, a lieutenant and five of his soldiers, revealed that they had hijacked a Palestinian taxi cab in the village of Dahariya near Hebron, shooting at an innocent passerby and leaving him severely wounded in the neck. On Friday a military court extended the remand of the lieutenant and the soldier suspected of pulling the trigger, while the military police continued its investigation, ordered by GOC Central Command, Major General Gadi Shamni. A central command inquiry is being conducted concurrently. more..
Israeli forces arrest a man in possession of explosives at Huwwara checkpoint
Ma’an News Agency 7/28/2007
Nablus Ma’an The Israeli forces on Saturday evening arrested a Palestinian youth at Huwwara military checkpoint, south of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. The detainee was accused of being in possession of two explosive devices. Ma’an’s correspondent reported that the Israeli troops stopped the man whilst he was attempting to cross the checkpoint. The checkpoint was then closed for one hour to Palestinian citizens travelling in both directions. The explosive devices were discovered and the man was taken to an undisclosed destination. [end]
IDF to provide aid to injured Palestinian
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 7/29/2007
Major-General instructs soldiers to aid family of Dahariya man critically wounded Thursday in an unauthorized shooting by group of soldiers - IDF soldiers were instructed Saturday to aid a Palestinian man critically injured in an unauthorized shooting by IDF soldiers that occurred Thursday. The IDF’s Central Command Chief, Major-General Gadi Shamni, ordered the head of the military’s civilian authority to give the man’s family entrance permits into Israel and additional aid. Meanwhile, a major from the coordination division was sent to the Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, where the man is hospitalized, in order to apprise his family of the ongoing military investigation of the incident. The shooting incident, which took place in Kfar Dahariya south of Mount Hebron in the West Bank, at first appeared to be a common security incident. -- See also: Palestinian cab driver relates incident more..
Palestinian military factions strike Israeli targets in and near Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency 7/28/2007
Gaza - Ma’an The armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) says it clashed with Israeli forces at dawn Saturday near the abandoned Shokat as Sufi airport east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. The PRC’s An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades issued a statement Saturday saying, "The group members attacked the Israeli force by using machine guns and hand grenades." Meanwhile, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Al Aqsa Brigades, the main military wing of Fatah, said Saturday that they fired mortars at an Israeli military outpost north of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. The Sami Al Ghoul Brigades, a minor military wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility for launching a homemade "Qassam" projectile late Friday at the Israeli town of Sderot, in the Western Negev. more..
Anonymous caller tells PBC that a booby-trapped car will explode in Ramallah
Ma’an News Agency 7/28/2007
Ramallah Ma’an An anonymous caller on Saturday told the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) that a booby-trapped car will detonate in front of the PBC building, south of Ramallah, in the central West Bank, giving just half an hour’s warning. The chairman of the PBC, Basim Abu Sumayya confirmed to our Ramallah correspondent that an employee in the PBC received a telephone telling them of a booby-trapped car. Palestinian security forces arrived on the scene and combed the area along with a staff of bomb disposal engineer, who found nothing. Officials in the PBC accused the Hamas movement some weeks ago of threatening to cause an explosion in the PBC building, yet no perpetrator has yet been identified. [end]
Gaza: IDF kills 2 Palestinians
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 7/28/2007
Golani Brigade soldiers spot two Palestinians attempting to plant explosive device near border fence, open fire, killing both suspects - Two Palestinians were shot and killed Saturday afternoon, by Golani Brigade soldiers who spotted them throwing grenades towards the border fence in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources said the two were members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s military wing. According to the IDF, the soldiers opened fire against the two Palestinians, who were trying to plant an explosive device near the border fence. None of the soldiers were injured in the incident. The al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades have been working in cooperation with the Islamic Jihad in recent months. Several senior members in the organization have recently been killed in IDF attacks. more..
Hezbollah marks Lebanon war
Al Jazeera 7/28/2007
Thousands of Hezbollah supporters have rallied in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil to mark what they say was a "divine victory" over Israel last year. The town, along with much of the country’s south, was devastated during Israel’s 34-day war against Hezbollah in Lebanon last summer that ended on August 14 with a UN-brokered cease-fire. Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hezbollah, addressed a crowd of more than 5,000 late on Saturday via video link, saying the US vision of a "new Middle East" had been left in shambles, and that his group was ready to strike Israel at any time. He said: "We will not wait for anyone to defend us. We will defend ourselves and our country. "We possess and we will continue to possess rockets that can hit any area in occupied Palestine if Israel attacks Lebanon. more..
IOF troops beat up Palestinian youth to death in Bethlehem
Palestinian Information Center 7/26/2007
BETHLEHEM, (PIC)-- Palestinian youth Jihad Khalil Al-Shaar, 20, died after IOF troops mercilessly beat him with batons in Bethlehem city, south of the West Bank, Thursday morning. Military sources in the IOF alleged that the victim attempted to stab an Israeli soldier near Takoo village near Bethlehem city but failed in the attempt, prompting other IOF soldiers to beat him up with batons and rifles butts till he died. IOF troops have a past record of beating to death a number of Palestinian citizens, especially at roadblocks, and always justified their heinous crimes by alleging that the Palestinians attempted to stab IOF servicemen. In the same context, a Palestinian youth was seriously wounded when an IOF special unit disguised in Palestinian attire assaulted him at his work site in Thahereyya town, south of Al-Khalil city. more..
Israeli forces seize ten Palestinian citizens
Ma’an News Agency 7/27/2007
Bethlehem Ma’an The Israeli forces took ten Palestinian citizens from different regions of the occupied Palestinian territories into custody on Friday morning, claiming that they are on the ’wanted’ list. An Israeli media source said that the military ’arrested’ six Palestinians near the West Bank city of Ramallah, three near Bethlehem and one in Nablus. In Jenin, an invading Israeli military jeep was struck by a bomb. No casualties were reported. [end]
Detaining 50 Palestinians, Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 7/27/2007
Gaza Ma’an The Israeli forces began withdrawing from Al Fukhkhari, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday night; their full exit was completed by Friday morning. The invasion of Al Fukhkhari, east of Khan Younis, was launched on Thursday morning and resulted in mass destruction to Palestinian land and property. Eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli forces conducted house-to-house searches and detained more than 50 Palestinian citizens. The detainees were transported in army trucks to the Israeli military post of Kisufim, east of the Gaza Strip. Devastation - On Friday morning the leadership of Fatah in the Gaza Strip visited the area of Al ’Amor, in the south, following the devastation created by the Israeli invasion. Fatah leader, Ibrahim Abu Naja, said that Israeli bulldozers razed Palestinian agricultural land, homes and roads. more..
Four injured, ten arrested after fight outside Rafah mosque
Ma’an News Agency 7/27/2007
Gaza - Ma’an Four Fatah members were treated for injuries after the Executive Forces intervened in a fight outside a mosque in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Eyewitnesses said that a heated argument began inside the mosque after Friday prayers. The Hamas-affiliated Executive Forces deployed on the scene after the fight spilled outside the building. Fatah member Mohammed Zanun was treated for a bullet in the leg. Another Fatah member Samir Al Maghribi was also taken to the hospital after being severely beaten. Palestinian Wafa television news reported that the Executive Forces arrested 10 Fatah men, including Ahmed Ahad, a Fatah leader in the area. [end]
Zionist settlers establish new settlement outpost on lands of Artas village
Palestinian Information Center 7/27/2007
BETHLEHEM, (PIC)-- Dozens of Zionist settlers carried out on Wednesday morning a new attack on the lands of the Artas village to the south of Bethlehem, one day after the IOA sent evacuation notices to the citizens of the village. 350 settlers invaded the "Khallat al-Cotton", a hill overlooking the village, and embarked on leveling the ground in order to establish a new settlement outpost on it to the east of the separation wall, which is still being expanded by the IOA to the detriment of the Palestinian villagers’ lands. The settlers brutally attacked the Palestinian landowners who tried to defend their lands, and caused injuries to a number of them. This area has been exposed to the Zionist settlers’ attacks many times during the recent months, who resided in it provocatively during the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba... more..
IDF: Soldiers lied during questioning over wrongful shooting of Palestinian
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 7/28/2007
An Israel Defense Forces platoon who shot and wounded a Palestinian without any apparent justification in the West Bank on Thursday, apparently lied in the initial investigation of the incident, IDF sources reported Friday. A military court on Friday extended the remand of the six suspects involved in the shooting, which occurred in the village of Dahariya near Hebron. An internal military police investigation, ordered by GOC Central Command Major General Gadi Shamni on Thursday, has not yet been completed. A central command inquiry is being conducted concurrently and the platoon commander has been suspended. The suspects had originally claimed that during a morning patrol in the village, one of the platoon’s soldiers sprained his ankle and couldn’t walk. more..
Israeli Army Company suspended after unprovoked attack
John Smith - IMEMC, International Middle East Media Center 7/27/2007
An Israeli Army company has been suspended after members shot and seriously wounded an innocent Palestinian in the south Hebron hills on Thursday. The head of Israeli central command, Major General Gadi Shamni, ordered the suspension of the company after a military probe revealed numerous procedural failings in the relevant battalion and a failure on the part of the forces involved to report the attack. The man, as yet unidentified, was seriously wounded at the Eshkolot checkpoint, located to the south of Hebron, when army forces apparently mistook him for a wanted Palestinian and opened fire. The victim was evacuated to an Israeli hospital for medical treatment. An investigation into the attack has been launched by Israeli military police. [end]
Two Qassam rockets fired from Gaza, one lands in Ashkelon
Mijal Grinberg, Ha’aretz 7/27/2007
Palestinian militants fired a Qassam rocket into the western Negev Friday evening, several hours after an earlier Qassam landed in Ashkelon. The first rocket landed in an open field in the Ashkelon’s southern industrial zone. The city is not often pelted with rockets, as Palestinian militants in Gaza tend to target western Negev towns east of the Strip, rather than Ashkelon which lies north of Gaza. The rocket sparked a fire in the field, but no one was injured and no damage was caused. The second rocket landed in a western Negev community, damaging several homes. As in the previous attack, no one was injured. At least 7 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel since Thursday. One of them struck a home in the western Negev city of Sderot. more..
Allied brigades target Israeli military post with homemade projectiles
Ma’an News Agency 7/27/2007
Gaza Ma’an A united group of combatants affiliated to the Al Aqsa Brigades of Fatah and the National Resistance Brigades of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine launched two projectiles at the Israeli military post of Kisufim late on Thursday evening. The brigades declared that the action is a reprisal for the assassination of Palestinian leaders in Gaza and to mark the continuation of resistance. [end]
Two armed groups launch projectiles at Israeli targets near Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 7/27/2007
Gaza - Ma’an The military wing of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claims to have fired two rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot, in the western Negev. In a statement, the PFLP’s Abu Ali Mustafa said the attack was in reaction to Israeli "aggression" in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Separately, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation ofPalestine (DFLP) claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at the Israeli village of Yad Mordechai, south of Ashkelon. [end]
QB fighters engage invading IOF troops in fierce clashes, lose one martyr
Palestinian Information Center 7/27/2007
GAZA, (PIC)-- One fighter from the Qassam Brigades (QB), the armed wing of Hamas Movement, was martyred by Israeli tank shell while blocking an IOF incursion into the Fakhary area, east of Gaza Strip, at dawn Thursday. The QB fighter was identified as Sharif Hussein Burais, 35. Sources in Hamas Movement revealed to the PIC that its armed wing along with armed wings of other Palestinian resistance factions were heroically engaging the invaders in fierce battles, and that they attacked and damaged a number of IOF armored vehicles. PIC correspondent in the area affirmed that at least 10 IOF armored vehicles accompanied by big military bulldozers have invaded the area under intensive air cover from the Israeli Apache choppers before starting uprooting vast planted areas. more..
’Abbas’s militia’ kill university student, Islamic student bloc calls for inquiry
Palestinian Information Center 7/27/2007
NABLUS, (PIC)-- A Najah university student who was beaten and shot in the head on Tuesday in skirmishes that took place between Hamas supporters and Fatah militias died today at hospital. Muhammad Abdelrahim Raddad (21 years), a third year student at Najah University died this morning of his wounds. Eyewitnesses said that Radad was drag by a group of Fatah supporters who ganged on him, thrown to the ground and one student pulled a pistol and shot him in the head. Medical reports confirm that Radad was hit in the head from a close range. The student’s family stated that they were holding the university administrators responsible for the death of their son. The Islamic bloc at the university is calling for a full inquiry into the events of Tuesday, during which teargas was fired by the PA police at university students... more..
Israeli warplanes violate airspace
Agence France Presse, Daily Star 7/28/2007
Israeli warplanes swooped low over South Lebanon and the Bekaa on Friday in defiance of UN resolutions, causing sonic booms over the coastal city of Tyre, police said. Israeli reconnaissance aircraft passed over Bint Jbeil at 8 a. m. and stayed in Lebanese airspace for three hours, conducting concentrated flights over Khiam, Jezzine and Iqlim al-Tuffah, the National News Agency (NNA) reported Friday. The warplanes also passed over the town of Nabatieh, a Hizbullah stronghold some 65 kilometers south of Beirut. An AFP report said at least three Israeli aircraft entered Lebanese airspace at about 10:30 a. m. over Tyre. The aircraft also flew over the western Bekaa twice Friday morning, the NNA said. Simulated air raids were performed over the outskirts of Rashaya and Bekaa’s western sector. more..
Survivors of the Summer War
Al Jazeera 7/27/2007
Sana Chalhoub and her brother Mohamed lost 27 members of their family. - Beirut Southern Suburbs - In August 2006, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra reported from Lebanon on the aftermath of the 34 day war with Israel which left 1,191 civilians dead and 30,000 homes destroyed. He found a country devastated by war but also one which took pride in the resistance Hezbollah had shown to the power of the Israeli military. For some the war took their houses, for others their families. Retracing his journey of a year ago, Hashem investigates how the people he met in 2006 have put their lives back together and what steps the government and Hezbollah have taken to rebuild peoples homes and Lebanon’s shattered infrastructure. In Dahiya, in the Southern suburbs of Beirut, he catches up with Nassry Hijazi, a year on still... more..
This Week in Palestine Week 302007
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC- Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center 7/27/2007
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file - | File 12. 8 MB || Time 13m59s|| - This Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. IMEMC. org, for July 14th through July 20th, 2007. This week the Israeli army killed 9 Palestinians during attacks in Gaza and in the West Bank while Palestinian Authority published its new platform in which, for the first time, no reference to armed struggle is made. These stories and more coming up. Stay tuned. Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine - Let’s begin our weekly report with the nonviolent action in Bil’in Pagainst the wall and settlements. IMEMC’s Rena Sahouri with details: On Friday, the village of Bil’in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah protested against the illegal Israeli wall that separates the village from its agricultural land. more..
Lebanese beaches ’still very toxic’ after oil spill
Nafez Zouk, Daily Star 7/28/2007
Environmental groups challenge previous claims of progress - BEIRUT: The Lebanese coastline remains heavily polluted from last year’s Jiyyeh oil spill and cleaning efforts have not achieved the desired result, said two environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on Friday. Their conclusions contrast sharply with reports by other NGOs and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) claiming beaches were safe and the bulk of the spill had been contained. The ominous new information was issued by the NGOs Green Line and Byblos Ecologia on the first anniversary of Israel’s bombing of the Jiyyeh power plant, which dumped about 15,000 tons of crude oil into the Mediterranean. "The beaches are still very toxic," said Richard Steiner, a conservation specialist from the University of Alaska. more..
IDF kills 5 in Gaza including senior member of Jihad
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 7/26/2007
IDF troops killed five Palestinians yesterday in three separate incidents, killing three Islamic Jihad militants when the air force hit their vehicle in the Gaza Strip. According to Islamic Jihad, one of those killed is Omar al-Khatib, a senior member in the military wing of the organization. On Tuesday he had managed to survive an attack against him. The two other dead are Halil Daifi and Ahmed al-Al. In another incident near the town of al-Fahari, east of Khan Yunis in Gaza, the air force killed a Hamas militant. According to army sources, the man was attempting to attack an IDF ground force with an anti-tank missile, when he was hit from the air. Palestinian eyewitnesses said the IDF infantry was supported by tanks and bulldozers, and had entered an area in the southern Gaza Strip used for launching Qassam rockets. more..
Settlers attack Palestinian children near Nablus city in the West Bank
Ameen Abu Wardeh, International Middle East Media Center 7/26/2007
A group of Israeli settlers attacked and beat up three Palestinian children while they were playing on their family land in the village of Al Qassira located near the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday midday. The setters, using mountain motorbikes, chased the three children and then beat them up. Two of the three kids managed to escape while the third was detained by the setters, who tied him to one of their bikes and pulled him to a place near the village and dumped him there. The three kids sustained light wounds, according to medical personnel in the area. The families of the three kids said that the Israeli army told them that an investigation will be held. The Israeli army most of the time witnesses the attacks committed by Israeli illegal settlers and do not intervene, or they may join the setters in their attacks against Palestinian civilians. more..
Israeli troops arrest 10 Palestinians across the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Bethlehem Ma’an At dawn on Thursday, Israeli troops arrested ten Palestinian citizens from several areas across the West Bank, stating that the detained Palestinians were "wanted". Israeli sources confirmed that the arrested Palestinians were transferred to interrogation centres close to the cities where they had been arrested. [end]
One killed as army invades village near Bethlehem
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 7/26/2007
A Palestinian civilian was killed and his father was kidnapped by the Israeli army on Thursday at midday during an invasion of the village of Taqua, southeast of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank. The father was later released. Local sources reported that a massive Israeli force invaded the village and searched homes. The Israeli army said that a number of invading soldiers opened fire on Palestinian youth standing in front of the local high school in the village center, killing Jihad Al Sha’er, 20, after he attacked the soldiers. Palestinian medics working with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulance said that the army abducted the dead youth’s body. When the body was later recovered by the Palestinian ambulance, the medics discovered that the soldiers had badly beaten the boy on his head, and that the severe head injuries had killed him. more..
Under cover forces invades Jenin refugee camp and kidnapped a resistance fighter
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 7/26/2007
An under cover Israeli army force invaded Jenin refugee camp located in the city of Jenin in the northern part of the West Bank and kidnapped one Palestinian resistance fighter there on Thursday midday. Local sources identified the man as; Raed Al Ateli the leader of Al Qudes brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad in Jenin refugee camp. [end]
Al Aqsa Brigades shoot Israeli soldier during invasion of southern Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Khan Younis - Ma’an The Ayman Judah unit of the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades have claimed responsibility for shooting an Israeli soldier in Al Fukhkhari area, south-east of Khan Younis. The soldier, part of a large invading Israeli military force, was shot after appearing from a tank. The Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades have also stated that they have been involved in clashes with invading Israeli forces in the area. A statement from the Brigades assured, "this operation comes in response to the Israeli crimes; missile attacks, demolishing houses, arrests and assassinations - and as a stand against Israeli attacks on the area." [end]
New Israeli invasion of Gaza Strip leaves one Qassam Brigade member dead, several citizens injured, farmland destroyed
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Khan Younis - Ma’an A member of the Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades has been killed, and a further five citizens have so far been injured in a new Israeli invasion in both the north and south of the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Medical sources in the European hospital said that Sharif Brais, 33, from the Al Qassam Brigades was killed in the Al Fukhkhari area. The sources declared that the man was dead on arrival to the hospital, with his corpse in two pieces. The same sources said that four other citizens arrived to the hospital, having sustained moderate and light wounds. In the north of the strip, another Palestinian was injured when he was shot by Israeli troops, east of Beit Hanoun. Medical sources in the area said that Mohammad Ibrahim, 28, was transported to Kamal Adwan hospital. more..
Israeli airstrike kills three Islamic Jihad leaders in Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Gaza - Three senior leaders of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, were killed in an Israeli airstrike Thursday in the Gaza Strip. The three leaders were in a Toyota on Salah Addin street near Wadi Gaza, south of Gaza City when, witnesses said, an unmanned aerial drone launched two rockets at the car, exploding it and burning the men inside. The Al Quds Brigades identified the men as Khalil Daifi, and Ahmed Abd Al-el, and Omar Al Khatib, one of the group’s most prominent leaders. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Hamas Executive Force members caused a firefight after preventing members of Islamic Jihad from retrieving items the car. The paper reported that four Islamic Jihad members were treated for gunshot wounds. more..
Popular Resistance Committes’ armed wing attacks Israeli tank
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Gaza - The military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for launching a projectile against an Israeli tank southeast of the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. A statement issued by the An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades said that the attack was a "natural reply" to arrests and raids committed by occupying Israeli forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. [end]
Al Qassam Brigades shell Israeli military vehicles near Sufa crossing
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Gaza - The Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades have claimed responsibility for the shelling of a gathering of military vehicles in the vicinity of the Sufa crossing in the southern Gaza Strip. The Al Qassam Brigades stated that this attack "comes in response to the Israeli crimes against Palestinians." [end]
Al Quds Brigades clash with Israeli forces in southern Gaza Strip; launch homemade projectiles at Israeli towns
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Gaza - The Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades announced on Thursday that its groups had launched several attacks, targeting occupying Israeli military forces, which invaded the Gaza Strip again today. The militant group also announced the launching of many projectiles at Israeli towns bordering the Strip. In one of several statements, the brigades declared that their members had launched three homemade projectiles at Sderot. Israeli sources stated that the two projectiles which landed in the town did not cause any losses or casualties. The Brigades also announced that three Rocket-Propelled Grenades were launched at an Israeli military vehicle, near the European hospital, east of Khan Younis, and that the group targeted Israeli soldiers establishing another position near the same hospital. more..
Jenin leader of Al Quds Brigades abducted by Israeli undercover agents
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Jenin Israeli undercover forces are said to have abducted the leader of the Jenin chapter of the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades, Adham Younis Al ’Azza (25), when he was visiting the city of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank on Thursday afternoon. A Ma’an correspondent reported that shots were fired at Al-’Azza’s car from a white Volkswagen with Palestinian number plates. Then, the men in the Volkswagen abducted Al-’Azza, taking him to an unknown destination. Eyewitnesses declared that dozens of Israeli soldiers could be seen standing on the rooftops of nearby houses. Al-’Azza has previously escaped many Israeli assassination attempts. [end]
Israeli forces arrest four Palestinians from their homes in Hebron
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Hebron - Occupying Israeli military forces arrested four Palestinians citizens in Hebron at dawn today. One of those arrested is a prominent local Fatah member, while another works in the National Security service. Local sources told Ma’an’s correspondent that the Israeli force invaded the Wadi Asseman area, south of Hebron at dawn. They arrested three citizens after forcibly entering and ransacking their homes; Issa Jamal Abu Turke, 34, Abed Ashafe Taha Abu Turke, 24, and Sa’ed Ahmad Abu Rmouz, 27, all affiliated with the Fatah movement. In the Abu Sneinah area, central Hebron, Israeli authorities arrested a member in the National Security service, Yahia Mahmoud ’Ashour, after breaking into his house and destroying much of the furniture. [end]
Popular Resistance Committes’ armed wing attacks Israeli tank
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Gaza - Ma’an - The military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for launching a projectile against an Israeli tank southeast of the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. A statement issued by the An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades said that the attack was a "natural reply" to arrests and raids committed by occupying Israeli forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. [end]
Gush Katif evacuees march toward Gaza
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 7/26/2007
In march marking two years since disengagement, evacuees break through police barrier, leading to a few arrests; four evacuees entering Palestinian territory are rescued by IDF. ’Eventually, we will return home’, says Elei Sinai evacuee - Hundreds of Gush Katif evacuees, mostly youths, marched toward the evacuated settlements Nisanit and Elei Sinai in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, marking two years since the disengagement. Upon arriving at the Nativ Ha’asara community, some of the marchers broke through the police barrier in the area and managed to reach the fence which separates between the community and the remains of Elei Sinai and Nisanit. Hundreds of police officers were sent to the area and clashes broke out between officers and marchers, a few of which were apprehended for investigation. more..
IDF rescues five activists who infiltrated Gaza during protest
Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 7/26/2007
The Israel Defense Forces rescued five young right-wing activists who had entered the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday during a protest march to the former settlement of Nissanit. A force of Golani soldiers, an IDF infantry brigade, entered the Palestinian territory in search of the youths, fearing Palestinian snipers would shoot them. Some 500 right-wing activists seeking to resettle the evacuated Gaza settlements marched toward Nissanit on Thursday to mark the second anniversary of the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip during the 2005 disengagement. The protesters were barred by the police forces from entering Gaza, and a clash erupted just outside the Gaza border in the south of Israel. 15 protesters were arrested during the scuffle with the police, including rabbi Abraham Shriber. more..
Woman lightly injured in Qassam attack on Sderot
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 7/27/2007
Two Qassam rockets fired by Palestinians in Gaza hit deserted home, warehouse; resident sustains shrapnel injuries, few others suffer from shockTwo Qassam rockets fired by Palestinians in Gaza slammed into a home and a warehouse in Sderot Thursday evening. A woman sustained light shrapnel injuries, while a number of other residents suffered from shock. The home, which was deserted, was severely damaged. A total of six rockets landed in Israeli territory throughout the day, as did a few mortar shells, which landed near the border fence with Gaza and near the community of Native Ha’asara, located just north of the Strip. Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal said he had anticipated the attacks following Wednesday’s targeted killings of senior terror group members by the IDF in Gaza. more..
General calls for probe into wrongful shooting of Palestinian
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 7/27/2007
Israel Defense Forces GOC Central Command Major General Gadi Shamni instructed Thursday that a military police investigation be carried out against a platoon commander and his soldiers, who earlier in the day shot and wounded a Palestinian civilian without any apparent justification in the village of Dahariya near Hebron. Following an initial investigation of the incident, Shamni found the platoon commander’s actions had been "normatively wrong" and decided to suspend him and his platoon from further operational activity in the West Bank. During a morning patrol in the village, one of the platoon’s soldiers sprained his ankle. The commander decided to stop and apprehend a Palestinian taxi. After the soldiers had tied up the driver and took control of the vehicle, another Palestinian neared the car. more..
Art of war: Open-air exhibition in Dahiyeh takes visitors on a tour of conflict
Nafez Zouk, Daily Star 7/27/2007
BEIRUT: An empty lot in Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs and a Hizbullah stronghold, has been converted into an open-air exhibition in remembrance of last summer’s war with Israel. Spider Web, as the exhibit is titled, serves as a stark reminder of the scale of death, destruction and the breadth of military engagement of the conflict. "The idea behind this project was conceived by a group of artists and media people in commemoration of the war last summer. The exhibition embodies a panoramic story of the war told in an artistic way," says Ali Daher, who supervised the project. The exhibit, produced by Hizbullah’s Department of Media Events, is open daily from 10 a. m. to 10 p. m. and runs until September 10. The 5,000-square-meter lot has been transformed into a military landscape, with high walls and barbed... more..
Al Qassam Brigades shell Israeli military vehicles near Sufa crossing
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2007
Gaza - Ma’an - The Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades have claimed responsibility for the shelling of a gathering of military vehicles in the vicinity of the Sufa crossing in the southern Gaza Strip. The Al Qassam Brigades stated that this attack "comes in response to the Israeli crimes against Palestinians." [end]
Palestine Today 072607
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center 7/26/2007
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file - || File 4 MB || Time 4m22s|| - Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Thursday July, 26th, 2007. Two Palestinian killed by the Israeli army in two separate invasions, one in the West Bank while the other in the Gaza strip. These stories and more coming up stay tuned. The Gaza strip - Palestinian medical sources reported that one Palestinian was killed and another three were injured during the ongoing Israeli military offensive that began on Thursday at dawn. The attack targeted the village of Al Fukhari, near Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza strip. The sources added that another four injured civilians were admitted with moderate wounds to hospitals in the nearby city of Khan Younis during extensive army fire on residents’ homes. more..
Border Guard arrests suicide bomber’s driver
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/26/2007
Disguised officers operating in Jenin apprehend man who transported terrorist who carried out 2005 attack in Netanya, which left six Israelis dead - Adham Yunis, the driver who transported the suicide bomber who carried out an attack at the Sharon Mall in Netanya in 2005, was arrested by Border Guard officers in Jenin, it was cleared for publication on Thursday. Six Israelis were killed and dozens more were injured in the attack. Disguised Border Guard officers operating in a refugee camp in the West Bank city spotted Yunis sitting in a car. As the officers burst the car door open they noticed he was holding a gun between his legs and immediately detained him. Yunis, who was active in the Islamic Jihad organization, was involved in several shooting attacks. more..
Israeli forces bulldoze olive farms, raid houses in Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2007
Gaza Ma’an Israeli tanks and other military vehicles entered the Gaza Strip in the village of Juhor ad Dik at dawn Wednesday. Palestinians in the area said Israeli forces have been bulldozing farmland and raiding houses. A number of Palestinian men were arrested after they were made to gather in the Qisaria school building. The head of Johur ad Dik’s municipal council said in a phone interview that "the Israeli forces are still in the area and have bulldozed the lands and the olive farms and arrested all the males they may find in their way." [end]
Israeli troops storm Qalqilia, arrest five citizens
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2007
Qalqilia - Ma’an On Wednesday at dawn, Israeli troops arrested five people after storming the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, taking them to unknown locations. Eyewitnesses reported that troops stormed the area and surrounded several houses before forcibly entering some and ransacking them, arresting some men. The detainees are Osama Ateyeh, ’Ala’ Shtawi, Muhammad Hassan Salameh, Muyasara ’Anan and Hisham Khadraj. Local sources report that ’Ala’ Shtawi was recently a detainee, released just a month ago. [end]
Rightists attempt to establish outpost
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/25/2007
Several dozen settlers march to Eitam Hill in Gush Etzion with intention of establishing illegal outpost there. Police struggle to stop march - Hundreds of settlers and right-wing activists, mostly teenagers, gathered on Olive Hill in the Efrat settlement at Gush Etzion Wednesday afternoon. Several dozen settlers began marching to the nearby Eitam Hill in order to establish an outpost there. Police and IDF forces, who were in the area in order to prevent the activists from carrying out their plan, were struggling to stop the march as activists approached the hill from several directions. According to right-wing activists, Eitam Hill is within the planning boundries of Efrat. However, the hill will become Palestinian property upon completion of the separation fence in the area, which will exclude it from Efrat. more..
Israeli forces arrest two Palestinians and raid Al Aqsa Brigades leader’s house south of Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2007
Nablus Ma’an Israeli forces arrested two Palestinians and broke into the house of members of Fatah’s Al Aqsa Brigades, destroying furniture on Wednesday morning. The raid took place in Kafr Qallil, south of the West Bank city of Nablus. The leader of the Bigades in Nablus, Shahir Qanni, told Ma’an via telephone that "Israeli forces stormed my house and shot many bullets through the windows in addition to throwing sound bombs inside the house." Qanni added that "the solders stole my wife’s gold and about 4000 Jordanian Dinar (app. 6000 USD) and seven NIS, before they called me and ordered me to turn myself in or they would blow up the house." Palestinian security sources said that the Israeli forces stormed many houses in Kafr Qallil before arresting Mohammad Qassam, 19, and Jihad Amur, 25. more..
Palestinian girl injured after settlers throw rocks in Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2007
Bethlehem Ma’an Hebrew language sources said that a Palestinian girl was injured on Wednesday after Israeli settlers threw rocks at a passing car. The incident occurred in the village of Kherbet Addeir, east of the West Bank city of Bethlehem. The sources said that Israeli soldiers offered her first aid and that the girl was moved to a Palestinian hospital in Bethlehem. [end]
Army invades village east of Bethlehem, sets up checkpoint
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center 7/25/2007
A massive Israeli force invaded the village of Obaiyiat east of Bethlehem city in the southern West Bank on Wednesday late morning. Troops searched homes then set up a checkpoint at the village entrance, stopping and searching cars. [end]
UN: Peacekeeper killed in south Lebanon cluster bomb explosion
Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent, the Associated Perss and Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 7/26/2007
A United Nations peacekeeper from France was killed Wednesday in an explosion of ordnance leftover from last summer’s Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas, a UN official said. The incident occurred at 12:40 P. M. as a demining team from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was clearing unexploded shells between the villages of Shama and Tayrharfa, near the town of Naqoura close to the Lebanese border with Israel. One UN peacekeeper died when the leftover ordnance exploded, said Yasmina Bouziane, a UNIFIL spokeswoman. She added that a medical team was sent to the explosion site and that UNIFIL had launched an investigation into the incident. Earlier, the state-run National News Agency reported that the blast was caused by a cluster bomb explosion. more..
Al Qassam Brigades claim they launched 12 mortars at the Kisofim crossing
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2007
Khan Yunis Ma’an The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed on Wednesday responsibility for launching 12 mortars at the Israeli military post atthe Kisofim crossing north-east of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. The Brigades also said that several of its cells are sniping the Israeli soldiers at the crossing’s gate. In two separate statements, the Brigades said that the operations "came as part of the response to the Israeli aggression and crimes against the Palestinian people." [end]
Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades fire rocket at Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2007
Gaza Ma’an The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at the Israeli western Negev town of Sderot on Tuesday evening. Brigades said in statement received by Ma’an that this operation is in response to Israeli attacks on Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza Strip. [end]
Al Aqsa Brigades launch projectile at Sderot
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2007
Gaza Ma’an The Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, announced they have fired an "advanced" projectile at the Israeli Western Negev town of Sderot on Wednesday morning. The strike came in a response to the Israeli assassinations attempts directed at Palestinian fighters, claimed the brigades. [end]
Fatah blames Hamas for riots at An Najah University in Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2007
Nablus Ma’an The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) on Wednesday condemned yesterday’s riots between Hamas and Fatah students at Al Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus. In a statement to Ma’an, a Fatah spokesman claimed that "the Islamic front of Hamas started the actions intentionally to spread the fear amongst students and the student’s parties on campus to split the up." Fatah urged the formation of acommittee to look into the clashes, so that those responsible can be punished. [end]
Palestine Today 072507
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center 7/25/2007
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file - || File 3. 66MB || Time 4m0s|| - Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Wednesday July, 25th, 2007. The Israeli army invades Gaza while in the West Bank there are attacks against civilians, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The Gaza strip - Israeli tanks and other military vehicles entered the Gaza Strip in the village of Juhor Al Deik at dawn Wednesday. Palestinians in the area said Israeli forces have been bulldozing farmland and raiding houses. A number of Palestinian men were arrested after they were made to gather in the Qisaria school building. The head of Johur Al Dik’s municipal council said in a phone interview that "the Israeli forces are still in the area and have bulldozed... more..
Israeli court issues four lifetime sentences to Anas ’Allan from Hinsafot town, east of Qalqilia
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2007
Qalqilia - Ma’an An Israeli military court has judged Palestinian Anas ’Allan, 23, condemning him to four lifetime sentences imprisonment. The court charged him with belonging to the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades, and participating and assisting in the bombing operation carried out on 29th March 2006, near the settlement of Qadummim, east of Qalqilia, which resulted in the deaths of four Israeli settlers. Israeli troops arrested the young man on the 30th March 2006, one day after the bombing. [end]
Gush Katif evacuees: Return is a matter of time
Anat Bereshkovsky, YNetNews 7/25/2007
Former residents of Jewish settlement bloc mark two-year anniversary of Gaza pullout with rallies in Kisufim, Netivot, Sderot. Many still feel abandoned by government - Some 1000 of Gush Katif’s former residents marked the two-year anniversary of the Gaza pullout - Wednesday in a series of events, beginning at the Kisufim checkpoint and ending at Sderot. In a rally held in Netivot, many of them said they feel abandoned by the government, which even after two years had failed to find them permanent residence. Most still share one dream: to go back Gaza. "Sure, a part of me wants to say ’the hell with everything’, but at the end of the day, this is my country - not the politicians’. It important to me to change this country’s values," Smadar Golan told Ynet. more..
Israeli forces botch assassination attempt in Gaza and injure five civilians
Ma’an News Agency 7/24/2007
Gaza Ma’an Five Palestinian citizens were injured on Tuesday when an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at a civilian car on the An Nasser crossroad in the centre of Gaza City. Eyewitnesses said that the missile missed the car and hit the upper story of an empty house, damaging the house irreparably. Neighbouring houses were also damaged, including an orphanage. Director of the ambulance and emergency department in the Palestinian ministry of health, Dr Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, said that medical staff treated eleven patients who had gone into shock following the attack. Four citizens, who had sustained serious injuries, were transferred to Ash Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Survivor - The military wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al Quds Brigades, said that the attack targeted one of their prominent leaders. more..
Israeli army attacks Palestinian homes in Hebron a nearby Al Thahriya town
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 7/24/2007
Israeli troops attacked and searched scores of Palestinian homes in the southern West Bank city of Hebron and the nearby Al Thahriya town on Tuesday. Troops searched homes and ransacked them b9t made no kidnappings, local sources reported. [end]
Fatah, Hamas clash at Nablus University
Ali Waked, YNetNews 7/24/2007
Hamas-affiliated students put up anti-Fatah fliers in an-Najah University causing campus riot. Clashes leave 10 injured, one in critical condition - Palestinian sources in Nablus reported Tuesday that one Hamas operative was critically injured, and nine others were lightly to moderately wounded, by Fatah gunfire near an-Najah University in Nablus. The clashes began after Hamas-affiliated students put up anti-Fatah fliers slamming the recent arrests of Hamas operatives in the city. In response, dozens of Shabiba members - the Fatah youth movement on campus - started rioting. University security personnel quickly arrived on the scene, firing warning shots in the air. At that time, dozens of al-Aqsa gunmen (Fatah’s military wing) stormed the campus and opened fire on Hamas members. more..
Hamas learns of Israeli plans to assassinate movement leaders in Gaza
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center 7/24/2007
Palestinian sources told the London-based newspaper Al Haiyah that Israel is planning to conduct a wide-scale military offensive in the Gaza strip in the near future. This military offensive is said to include plans for the assassination of four senior Hamas leaders, among them deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Official and unofficial Palestinian sources in Al Haiyah stated that Arab and European countries informed Hamas of Israel’s plan to strike the movement after its takeover of the Gaza strip last month. Hamas said that seizing control of the Gaza strip was necessary to "crush" the Mohammad Dahlan security forces. The sources added that the planned military offensive would involve the assassination of four senior Hamas leaders in addition to Haniyeh: fired Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad... more..
Israeli army kidnaps six Palestinians from Nablus
Ameen Abu Warda, International Middle East Media Center 7/24/2007
The Israeli army kidnapped six Palestinians early Tuesday morning during an invasion of the city of Nablus in the northern West