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| Conflict |
Second Palestinian teenager shot by Israeli army within hours
Toni O'Loughlin in Jerusalem and Jonathan Steele, The Guardian 7/31/2008
· 18-year-old boy brain dead after being shot in head - Israel’s army shot an 18-year-old Palestinian in the head in the West Bank town of Ni’ilin, just hours after the village buried a 10-year-old who had also been shot in the head by a soldier. Eyewitnesses said the 18-year-old, Ahmed Yousef Amirah, was shot at close range when a military jeep drove past and an officer fired three rubber bullets at him from within the vehicle. It is the third incident this month in which Israel’s military appears to have deliberately targeted a resident of Ni’ilin, where protests against Israel’s West Bank barrier and violent clashes occur almost daily. Amirah was shot around 7. 30pm, around four hours after 10-year-old Ahmed Moussa was buried in the village cemetery next to his parent’s house. Fighting erupted soon after the funeral when teenage boys used sling shots to fire stones at border police who had blocked one of two entrances to Ni’ilin during the burial. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian houses and cars in Hebron city
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/31/2008
A group of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian residents and vandalized 15 cars in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday morning. Locals reported that a group of 20 Israeli settlers attacked Hebron city from the nearby Kiryat Are’ settlement. The settlers violently attacked Palestinian cars passing by the road between Wad Al Nasara village and the Israeli settlement. Israeli settlers attacked and damaged 15 cars, hitting them with iron bars and stones and shot gunfire at random. Moreover settlers attacked civilian houses in the village, settlers broke doors and windows in an attempt to break in. Eye witnesses reported that a number of Israeli troops were in the area but they did not intervene and watched while the settlers attacked the Palestinians. more.. e-mail
11 arrested in Israeli raids across West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an - Israeli forces detained 11 Palestinians in raids across the West Bank early on Thursday morning. Israeli sources said that eight "wanted fighters" have been arrested in and around Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Jenin and Ramallah, confirming that detainees were transferred to interrogation centers for questioning. Included in those arrested was Rami Ismael Dahoud, a 22 year-old from Jenin, after sources say Israeli forces broke into his house, throwing sound bombs and firing freely causing Dahoud’s father to collapse and be rushed to hospital. Also Thursday morning Israeli forces detained 14-year-old Khalil Mohamed Musleh ’Awad and his 20-year-old brother Mahmoud Mohamed Musleh ’Awad from Beit Ummar, after breaking into their home. The two are accused of resisting Israeli forces. The older of the two boys, Mahmoud, a youth club football player, was shot in the right foot one week ago by Israeli forces. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army kidnaps 16 civilians from West Bank cities
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/31/2008
The Israeli army kidnaps 16 civilians on Thursday dawn from the West Bank cities of Jenin , Hebron and Salfit Local sources reported that a number of Israeli vehicles invaded Jenin and started shooting sound bombs and gunfire at random. Israeli troops walked the city;s streets and searched several homes including the residence of Rami Dawahde, 23, kidnapping him and taking him to unknown destination. His family reported that Israeli troops left damages at the house and they caused panic among kids in the family as they shot gunfire and sound bombs. Moreover the father of the kidnapped civilian suffered from a nervous breakdown due to what he saw and was transferred to a local hospital. In Hebron city, Israeli troops kidnapped 13 civilians while searching and ransacking houses in the city, troops closed the city entrance and hindered the movement of civil cars. more.. e-mail
Israeli Army arrests three in Tubas
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2008
Jenin Ma’an The Israeli army arrested three Palestinians in the Tubas region in the North of the West Bank on Thursday, said Mahmoud Sawaftah, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society in the region. Sawaftah condemned the arrests and said, "these ongoing arrests and invasions into Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps are to weaken all talks over political resolutions and truce. They are aimed at increasing the tension in the region and weakening the Palestinian Authority (PA) since most of these invasions are into areas under the control of the PA. "He called on the International community to pressure on the Israeli government to halt such actions. Those arrested have been named as Ahmad Mustafa Naji Bsharat and A’rafat Mustafa Naji Bsharat from Tamun and Hasan Musa Hamad from Al-Far’aa refugee camp. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces abduct Islamic Jihad leader
Ali Samoudi, Palestine News Network 7/31/2008
Jenin -- Israeli forces abducted a leader of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Jenin on Wednesday. "Special Israeli forces disguised in civilian uniforms and driving a white Subaruabducted Samir Jalal Al Qash from the town of Burqin in western Jenin at 9 p. m. Wednesday," another Islamic Jihad member reports. Al Qash had been wanted by Israeli forces for 2 months on the charges of belonging to the Islamic Jihad Movement. Israeli forces previously made two attempts to arrest the man, but he managed to escape both times. An Israeli military campaign has been launched in several northern West Bank towns to find leaders of the Al Quds Brigades. Israeli forces stormed the house of an Al Quds Brigades leader at dawn on Wednesday in the West Bank, destroying the contents of his home. more.. e-mail
Young man injured in clashes with Israeli forces east of Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2008
Tulkarem Ma’an - 21 year-old Mahmoud Rashid Abdul Jabbar Foqaha was shot in the leg by the Israeli forces during clashes in the town of ’Anabta east of Tulkarem northern of the West Bank on Thursday morning. The young man was taken to Dr. Thabet Thabet Hospital in Tulkarem for treatment where medical sources described his condition as stable. Palestinian security sources told our correspondent in Tulkarem that the Israeli army stormed the town at dawn on Thursday and stationed themselves near a gas station in the centre of the town where they were met with resistance from local youths. Israeli forces proceeded to search houses in the area but no one was arrested, the forces withdrew a few hours after they entered the town. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades West Bank city of Tubas
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/31/2008
Local sources reported that the Israeli army invaded al Far’a refugee camp and Kashda village south of the West Bank city of Tubas on Thursday morning. A number of Israeli military vehicles invaded Al far’a refugee camp and closed its main entrance banning residents from getting in or out the camp. Moreover in Kashda village, located western the refugee camp, Israeli troops searched and ransacked several farm lands leaving some damages. In addition to that Israeli troops centered in the middle of the village but no kidnappings were reported. [end]
The Israeli army shoots Palestinian in Tulkarem city invasion
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/31/2008
The Israeli army shot a Palestinian on Thursday dawn in A’nbta village southern of the West Bank city of Tulkarem. Local sources reported that an Israeli military force invaded the village at dawn, Israeli troops shot intensive gun fire shooting Mahmud Abed Al Jabar and then entered the center of the village. Israeli soldiers ransacked several houses in the village but no kidnappings were reported. [end]
Lebanese MAG worker wounded by a cluster bomb is southern Lebanon
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 8/1/0200
A Lebanese citizen working with the Mine Advisory Group (MAG) was moderately wounded on Thursday when a cluster bomb dropped by Israel during the 2006 war detonated near him as he was attempting to disarm landmines in a village in southern Lebanon. The UN worker was identified as Abbas Akout, 29. Most of his wounds were in his hands and feet as the bomb exploded next to him on Thursday morning in Zwatar village, in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army dropped millions of cluster bombs on Southern Lebanon during the July-August war in 2006. Nearly one million cluster bombs failed to explode and now are causing harm to civilians. The MAG center reported that 51 Lebanese military men and international workers were wounded by these bomblets, and more than 250 civilians casualties were reported since the war ended. more.. e-mail
Youths contribute to advancement of Third Temple
Kobi Nahshoni, YNetNews 7/31/2008
Jerusalem’s Temple Institute takes biblical statement "build me a Temple and I shall dwell amongst you’ literally, enlisting hundreds of teens for this endeavor - Mourning over the destruction of Jerusalem is normal in the month of Av, but at the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faith Movement all focus is on the "big day"- the day in which the Third Temple will be built. As part of the preparations, hundreds of teenagers are expected to sign the "Temple Treaty" and to proclaim, "We commit to doing everything in our power to abide by this commandment and to devote at least half an hour a week toward this effort. " In the youth conference conducted by the Temple Institute in the Old City of Jerusalem, scheduled for Thursday, participants will discuss possible plans of action to further the building of the Temple. more.. e-mail
17-year-old shot by Israeli forces dies in hospital
Ma’an News Agency 7/31/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an Israeli radio reported that Yousef Ahmad Amira, who was shot on Wednesday by Israeli forces in Ni’lin, died on Thursday. The 17-year-old went into a coma on Wednesday evening with life threatening injuries after being shot twice in the head by Israeli soldiers in Ni’lin, a village West of Ramallah, medical sources told Ma’an on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses said Amira was shot twice with rubber coated steel bullets from close range by Israeli forces during a curfew imposed on the town on Tuesday after ten-year-old, Ahmad Husam Yousif Musa, was shot and killed in the village during a previous demonstration. Aiman Nafe’, Mayor of Ni’lin said that six other young men were shot but their injuries are not thought to be life threatening. Sources in the village say that running battles broke out between Israeli soldiers and local men at around 5:30pm after villagers built barricades blocking the main street into the village. more.. e-mail
In town known for nonviolent resistance Israeli forces kill two kids this week
PNN, Palestine News Network 7/31/2008
Nal’in - The name of the young boy who Israeli forces shot in the forehead and killed in western Ramallah’s Nal’in Village on Tuesday was named Ahmed Moussa. The village is a bastion of nonviolent resistance and as such has faced heavy Israeli attack for the past two months as Wall construction and land confiscation continue. Salah Al Khawaja told on Thursday that it feels as if the first Intifada has returned. During the young boy’s funeral last night, Israeli forces injured six Palestinians; another is clinically dead and now in a Jerusalem hospital. He is 17 year old Yousef AhmedAmira. Salah Al Khawaja, the Campaign Coordinator of the People against the Wall, told that the 17 year old is life-support. In an interview with on Thursday Al Khawaja said, "Everybody here is in a state of alert and there is great anger over what is happening from the Israeli onslaught against Palestinian citizens. more.. e-mail
Palestinian teen in clinical death after IOF troops shoot him in the head
Palestinian Information Center 7/31/2008
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- A Palestinian youth was declared in a state of clinical death in Ramallah government hospital after he was shot in the head by an Israeli border guard in Na’lin village west of Ramallah on Wednesday afternoon. Local sources said that Yousef Omaira was taking part in the funeral procession of 9-year-old Ahmed Omaira, who was killed by Israeli sniper fire during anti wall protests in the village a couple of days ago. Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers fired at the demonstration that followed the funeral procession at a short distance hitting Yousef with two bullets in the head. Na’lin villagers have been holding regular protest marches against the Israeli occupation authority’s confiscation of 3,000 dunums of village lands to build the separation wall. Foreign sympathizes and Israeli peace activists participated in those marches. more.. e-mail
Child killed in Nil’in was shot by live rounds
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/31/2008
An autopsy on the body of an 11 year-old child who was killed on Tuesday by Israeli gunfire in the village of Ni’lin, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, revealed that the child was shot by a live round. The Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported that Ramallah governor, Sa’id Abu Ali, said on Wednesday that the autopsy revealed that the live round which hit the boy was fired from an M16 assault file. The boy was shot by the soldiers who attacked a peaceful protest against the Israeli Annexation Wall in the village. At least ten Palestinians were wounded during the protest. Three of the wounded are said to be in stable condition. The army claimed that two soldiers were mildly wounded. Soldiers also kidnapped Mohammad Abdul-Qader of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 073108
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/31/2008
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 July 31st, 2008. The Israeli army invades West Bank cities kidnapping 16 civilians, while Israeli troops shoot a civilian in Tulkarem, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News cast On Thursday morning, Palestinian medical sources in the central West Bank city of Ramallah told IMEMC that 17 year old Yousif Amira, who was shot in the nearby Nil’in village on Wednesday evening, had been pronounced clinically dead. Amira was among the villagers who took part in the funeral of Ahmad Mousa, the 11 year old Palestinian boy who was killed by Israeli army gunfire on Tuesday night. Witnesses said that Israeli soldiers stormed the village and took up positions there. more.. e-mail
High alert in north Jerusalem lifted
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/31/2008
Forces boosted Thursday evening in northern part of capital after defense establishment receives warnings on plan to carry out terror attack in area - Security forces were put on high alert in the northern part of Jerusalem on Thursday evening, after the defense establishment received warnings on terrorists’ plans to carry out a terror attack in the area. The alert was lifted two hours later. A number of terror attacks have taken place in the capital in the past few weeks. Last week, an east Jerusalem resident driving a bulldozer was shot and killed after injuring 18 people on King David Street. In the middle of July, two Border Guard officers were shot by a terrorist near the Lions Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City. One of the officers was critically injured anddied of his wounds several days later. more.. e-mail
Palestinians: IDF troops wound 9 at boy’s funeral in West Bank
News Agencies, Ha’aretz 7/31/2008
Israel Defense Forces troops wounded nine Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday in a clash with protesters at the funeral of a 11-year-old boy killed a day earlier, Palestinian medics said. They said the troops had shot the casualties with rubber bullets while fighting stone-throwing protesters. A 18-year-old Palestinian was hit in the head by a rubber bullet and doctors described him as brain dead. An initial Border Police investigation has found thatAhmed Moussa , 11, who was killed at a West Bank protest on Tuesday, died from a live round fired by one of the security force’s troops. Ahmed Moussa died during a confrontation with Israeli security forces on Tuesday in the West Bank village of Na’alin. Villagers have been protesting for months against Israel’s separation fence. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army and settlers attack a house in Jerusalem
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/30/2008
Local sources reported that a group of Israeli settlers accompanied by Israeli troops tried to seize a Palestinian land in Silwan village at the north east of Jerusalem city. Locals reported that Israeli settlers attacked the land and houses and brought mobile homes with them in order to settle there. Clashes followed between locals and Israeli settlers but no injuries were reported. The head of the Jerusalem Unit at the Palestinian Presidency Office, Ahmed Rweidi, spoke at a press conference held by residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in support of the Umm Al-Kurd family which faces home demolition as well. "We are faced with a new policy in Jerusalem, which necessitates support on a national and international level. "This policy, which has been described by some as "Judaization," involves the demolition of Palestinian homes to make room for Jewish settlers. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers invade Osh Ghrab Public Park in Beit Sahour
George Rishmawi, International Middle East Media Center News 7/30/2008
Around 70 Israeli settlers invaded Osh Ghrab park in Beit Sahour Wednesday evening and forced international and local volunteers to stop the painting work that they were doing in the site. Around 20 Palestinian and International volunteers were painting the place, which is an abandoned military base, when the settlers car came with four people in. As soon as they saw the painting work, they left. One hour later, the group of settlers came with their backbags, and said that this is an Israeli area that Palestinians are not allowed to be in. They warned that everybody should leave in one minute. The paintings the volunteers made included peace signs, love signs and a sign for a mock Falafel Kiosk, mock bookstore and a mock burger restaurant. The volunteers who almost finished their work for the day decided to leave in order not to escalate the situation who were provocative, said Rianna, one of the organizers of the activity. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces arrest Palestinian policeman and brother
Ma’an News Agency 7/30/2008
Nablus Ma’an An undercover Israeli force on Wednesday morning arrested a Palestinian policeman and his brother from their home in the northern West Bank village of Zawata, west of Nablus. According to Khalid Al-Khandaqji, the uncle of the arrested men, the undercover forces, arriving in a white minibus, besieging the house at 6 in the morning before a back up of 15 military vehicles arrived and soldiers raided the two-storey house. They arrested 23-year-old Abdul-Majid Al-Khandaqji, a Palestinian police man, and his brother Taymour, aged 19 after searching their home and damaging parts of the interior. The uncle asserted that the soldiers confiscated Al-Khadaqji’s policeman’s pistol and ammunition. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces arrest two in Qabatia raid
Ma’an News Agency 7/30/2008
Jenin - Ma’an - Israeli forces arrested two people in Qabatia in the south of Jenin city early on Wednesday morning as part of a wider operation in the western districts of Jenin apparently to search for resistance figters. Security sources said that Israeli forces stormed the town after midnight and searched several houses before detaining Nasser Zakarneh andMohhamed Abu-Zeid, transferring them to an interrogation unit. Zakarneh was released a few hours later, at the time of writing Abu-Zeid remains in custody. Local sources said that Israeli soldiers damaged property in the houses they raided. One of those houses was owned by Abdel Fattah Khzeimiyyeh an fighter with Islamic Jihad movement who has been wanted by the Israeli forces for about two years. Abdel Fattah’s brother, Yousef, told Ma’an’s correspondent, that, "at 3am Israeli soldiers surrounded the two-storey house. . . more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades West Bank cities kidnapping 4 civilians
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/30/2008
The Israeli army invaded several West Bank cities including Nablus, Jenin and Bethlehem kidnapping four civilians on Wednesday. Local sources reported that the Israeli army invaded Nablus city with a number of military vehicles. Moreover Israeli troops invaded the nearby Zwata village kidnapping two brothers. In the city of Jenin, Israeli troops invaded the Kabatia and Alyamun villages at dawn with a number of military vehicles. Israeli troops spread out in several neighborhoods searching and ransacking houses of civilians. In addition Israeli troops forced civilians out of their houses and shot gunfire. Locals reported that the troops kidnapped Khaled Abu Zaid, 25, and Muhammad Shaban, 20, taking them to unknown destinations. Moreover, Israeli troops invaded Al Khader village south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Israeli troops searched and ransacked the residence of Al-Muheseri. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 073008
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/30/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MBWelcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Wednesday July 28th, 2008. The Israeli army invades west bank cities and kidnaps 4 civilians, while Israeli settlers attack lands in Jerusalem. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News cast The Israeli army invaded several West Bank cities including Nablus, Jenin and Bethlehem kidnapping four civilians on Wednesday morning. Local sources reported that the Israeli army invaded Nablus city with a number of military vehicles. Moreover Israeli troops invaded the nearby Zwata village kidnapping two brothers. In the city of Jenin, Israeli troops invaded the Kabatia and Alyamun villages at dawn with a number of military vehicles. more.. e-mail
Palestinian security source: Hizb Ut Tahrir spokesman not 'wanted'
Ma’an News Agency 7/30/2008
Hebron Ma’an Palestinian security sources told Ma’an that the Hebron spokesperson of Hizb Ut Tahrir, Dr Mahir Al-Ja’bari was not "wanted by Palestinian Authority security" as previously thought. Two members of the group were arrested on Tuesday during a series of arrests, mostly of Hamas activists. On Monday PA security dispersed an event organized by Hizb Ut Tahrir and arrested about twenty of the participants. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied claims that Al-Ja’bari is being pursued by PA security services. The source also refuted the claims that members of Al-Ja’bari family attacked Al-Haras police station in Hebron last night. Dr Al-Ja’bari called on PA security to release all members of Hizb Ut tahrir who were detained following the fight which erupted between them and security services in Hebron on Tuesday. more.. e-mail
IOF troops kill Palestinian child participating in peaceful rally in W. Bank
Palestinian Information Center 7/30/2008
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation soldiers killed Tuesday a Palestinian child participating in a peaceful rally in the West Bank village of Ni’lin, near Ramallah city, after they shot him in the head, Palestinian local and medical sources confirmed. The child was identified as Mohammed Husam Zanoun, 8, who attended the demonstration held by his village inhabitants to protest the Israeli seizure of their farms in favor of the apartheid, separation wall which the Israeli occupation government is building in the West Bank with the aim to transform it into geographically divided cantons. The Hebrew radio alleged that two Israeli occupation soldiers were wounded when the demonstrators hurled stones at them; yet, local observes asserted that the mere shooting of the child in the head by the IOF troops was a clear sign that they intended to kill him. more.. e-mail
’How can a boy threaten soldiers?’
Ali Waked, YNetNews 7/30/2008
Uncle of 11-year-old Palestinian said to be killed by Border Guard police officer slams security forces; posters of Ahmed Musa posted across Palestinian village; dead child turns into symbol of resistance to West Bank fence - A general strike has been called at the Palestinian village of Naalin Wednesday to protest the killing of 11-year-old boy Ahmed Mussa. IDF troops blocked the main entrance to the village, while businesses in Naalin closed their doors ahead of the funeral, scheduled for Wednesday. Meanwhile, weeping local residents gathered around the Mussa home and slammed the IDF and Israel’s security forces. The women standing near the home kept repeating "they have no God," while wiping away their tears. Mussa’s uncle, Hosni Yusuf Mussa, told Ynet that he fails to understand why a Border Guard police officer would shoot at a child. more.. e-mail
Israeli army set fire to Nablus furniture store; losses estimated at $3 million
Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - The Israeli army set fire to a furniture store early on Tuesday morning on Al-Quds Street in Nablus, and the losses were estimated at $3 million. Sabri Hindiyyeh, a partner of Qaser Hindiyyeh furniture, told Ma’an, "the Israeli army fired light and smoke bombs into the store at 2am on Tuesday, turning everything in the shop to ashes. " Sabri says that he has no idea why the army attacked the four-storey establishment, and appealed to PA officers to intervene and help them deal with disaster. For the last few weeks Israeli forces have stepped up their operations in Nablus, with raids resulting in mass arrests and the closing of major commercial centers. Also on Tuesday morning Palestinian security sources said that Israeli forces detained 28-year-old Ma’moun As-Safadi after storming his house in the old city of Nablus. more.. e-mail
DFLP leader: no concrete evidence of Fatah involvement in Gaza beach explosion
Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an Salih Zeidan, a Gazan member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) political bureau, on Tuesday cautioned that there was no concrete evidence linking Fatah to the explosion on the Gaza beach which killed five Hamas members and a young girl on Friday evening. In a press statement, Zeidan noted, "I cannot say that any concrete evidence has been presented up to this moment concerning the alleged Fatah involvement in the attack, and no scientific evidence has been shown to us or the general public. "He stressed that the DFLP condemns the attacks and the actions of the de facto government, including the mass arrests, closure of PLO or Fatah-affiliated organisations, and confiscation of computers and other equipment. Zeidan added that because of the scale of Friday’s explosion, the number of people killed. . . more.. e-mail
Blast rockets Hamas training camp in Gaza, 5 hurt
Associated Press, Jerusalem Post 7/29/2008
A huge blast late Tuesday rocked a training base run by the Islamist group Hamas in southern Gaza, and at least five people were hurt, witnesses and a health official said. Ambulances raced to the scene of the blast late Tuesday, on the site of an evacuated Jewish settlement next to the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The explosion could be heard all over the city. It was not immediately known what caused the blast. Neither Hamas nor the Israeli military had an immediate comment. Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry said two of the five wounded were in critical condition. He said all five were Hamas members. Israel and Hamas have been observing a truce that stopped Gaza rocket fire and Israeli reprisal raids. But in recent days there has been tension between Gaza’s Hamas rulers and their rivals from Fatah, which is led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas more.. e-mail
Explosion rocks Hamas training camp, 6 wounded
Ali Waked, YNetNews 7/30/2008
Medics, witnesses say several wounded after explosion in encampment operated by Islamist group in southern Gaza. Fearing people may be trapped under debris at scene, Hamas military wing sends earthmovers to aid rescue efforts -A massive explosion rocked a training camp belonging to Hamas in southern Gaza late Tuesday night. Medical officials and witnesses reported at least six operatives belonging to the Islamist group were wounded in the incident. Fearing there may be others still trapped under heavy debris, Hamas’ military wing said it dispatched earthmovers to the site, which was built on the ruins of anIsraeli settlement near the town of Khan Younis. Emergency response teams swarmed the scene of the disaster, the explosion having echoed loudly throughout the neighboring town. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces storm Ash-Shuhada village
Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2008
Jenin - Ma’an - Israeli forces stormed the village of Ash-Shuhada south of Jenin early on Tuesday raiding a house there. Eyewitnesses said that the house of 60-year-old Yossor Wishahi was stormed and searched at 1. 30am by Israeli forces after five military vehicles entered the town from the Jenin-Nablus road and asked people through loudspeakers to evacuate the houses and lift their clothes up so that they could be searched. They stayed in the village until 4am and gave the owner of the house and his son an order to go to Salem military post in the west of Jenin city. This house has been attacked several times within the last few months and it is the same house in which Ghassan Wishahi was arrested ten days ago. The village has also been stormed several times in the last week. In one raid Israeli forces surrounded the main cafι in the village and detained 23-year-old Yousef Asasa. more.. e-mail
Israeli army invades West Bank cities kidnapping five civilians
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/29/2008
The Israeli army invaded the West Bank cities of Hebron and Nablus on Tuesday morning, kidnapping five civilians. Local sources reported that Israeli army invaded Hebron city at dawn, as Israeli troops searched and ransacked several houses in different villages kidnapping four civilians. Meanwhile, a number of Israeli vehicles invaded Nablus city, Israeli troops searched several houses kidnapping Ma’moon Al Safadi, 28, taking him to unknown destination. In addition to that Israeli army continued targeting businesses on Nablus as it set a four floor furniture store on fire; the losses are estimated at 3 million dollars. [end]
Israeli forces arrest 9 Palestinians in West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an Israeli forces on Tuesday evening arrested 9 Palestinians in raids across the West Bank. Israeli sources said the army arrested 9 "wanted" Palestinians in Bethlehem, Hebron and Al-Arrub camp in the southern West Bank as well as Nablus in the north. Arrestees have been taken to detention centers for interrogation. [end]
Palestine Today 072908
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/29/2008
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 July 29th, 2008. In Gaza, the death toll reaches 221, while the Israeli army kidnaps 5 civilians from the West Bank, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News cast In the Gaza Strip the death toll reached 221 as two more patients were announced dead on Tuesday morning. Nabeel Buheri, an 11 year-old child, died of a heart failure after being banned from getting out of the Gaza strip to seek life-saving medical treatment. Also 55 year old Hidaya Issa died of cancer after many failed attempts to get out of the strip for treatment. Last month both Israeli and Palestinian Resistance factions in Gaza agreed to a truce, as a result of Egyptian mediation efforts. more.. e-mail
Mustafa Barghouthi: 'Child killed in cold blood by the Israeli army'
Palestinian National Initiative, Palestine Monitor 7/29/2008
Ramallah, 29-07-08: Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, the General Secretary of the , said "Ahmed Hassan Yousef Musa, the 10-year old boy from Ni’lin, was shot in the head at close range by the Israeli army while he was protesting in Ni’lin against the construction of the Apartheid wall. Peaceful protests by villagers and internationals in the town of Ni’lin have been ongoing since May. Said Dr Barghouthi "The occupation is a form of punishment practised by Israel against the peaceful non-violent struggle of the people in the face of settlement expansion and construction of the Apartheid wall. " [end]
Violent clash erupts between rightists and Bedouin near Jerusalem
Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz 7/30/2008
A violent clash erupted Tuesday afternoon between right-wing activists and a group of Bedouin near the outpost of the Jerusalem-area outpost of Maoz Esther. Stones were thrown and blows exchanged in the clash, which left several people wounded. The activists, who were there as part of the Journey to the Land of the Hilltops tour, also fired shots in the air. The Judea and Samaria District Police arrested five activists and two Bedouin suspected of involvement in the violence. Last week, dozens of settlers participated in a rampage at several junctions in the northern West Bank, close to the settlement of Yitzhar. The disruptions began after a group of settlers were evacuated from a bus they had parked as an illegal residence at the Adei Ad outpost. During that incident, a settler stole the weapon of an Israel Defense Forces soldier and fired five bullets in the air. more.. e-mail
Fatah commander critically wounded in Lebanon bomb
Associated Press, Jerusalem Post 7/29/2008
A military commander of the Fatah movement was critically wounded Tuesday in a bomb explosion in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, Lebanese and Palestinian security officials said. Talal Sleim was heading to his office in the Ein el-Hilweh camp, on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon, when a roadside bomb exploded nearby, the officials said. Sleim, a 43-year-old Palestinian, was seriously wounded and was rushed to a Sidon hospital outside the teeming camp, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters. A bodyguard was also lightly wounded, they said. After news of the explosion spread, Fatah guerrillas exchanged machine gun fire with Palestinian gunmen of the Jund al-Sham group, which follows the extremist ideology of al-Qaida. more.. e-mail
Peres calls for building fence, bridge in occupied Jerusalem
Palestinian Information Center 7/29/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli president Shimon Peres on Tuesday called for building a fence and a bridge inside occupied Jerusalem in a bid to ward off Palestinian resistance attacks. Peres, who was speaking during a visit to the family of an Israeli policeman who was killed in a shooting incident in occupied Jerusalem two weeks ago, said that the security situation in occupied Jerusalem was worsening. He said that disengagement should be made and Palestinians should be allowed to live in the city in a bid to avoid exploding conditions. The president stressed that relations between Arabs and Israelis should be improved through spreading awareness and confidence building measures. Israeli officials have expressed concern after three attacks were made against Israelis in occupied Jerusalem in July, and called for "deterrent" penal measures against families of the attackers. more.. e-mail
Mastermind behind Ze’evi assassination convicted of murder
Aviad Glickman, YNetNews 7/29/2008
Jerusalem District Court finds Majdi Rehima guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, accessory to murder for his part in plot to assassinate former tourism minister -The Jerusalem District Court convicted 43-year-old Majdi Rehima on murder and conspiracy charges Tuesday for his part of in planning the 2001 assassination of former Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi. Ze’evi was gunned down at Jerusalem’s Hyatt hotel on October 17, 2001. Rehima, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the third man convicted for involvement in the assassination, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, accessory to murder and membership in a terror organization. The State asked the court to order Rehima serve consecutive sentences for each offence, as is did when convicting Basel al-Asmar and Hamdi Quran for their part in the murder plot. more.. e-mail
Rehavam Ze’evi murder mastermind convicted
Jerusalem Post 7/29/2008
Majdi Rahima Rimawi, the man who planned, ordered and organized the assassination of tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi in 2001, was convicted Tuesday on five separate charges for his part in the assassination and four other terrorist attacks in the months leading up to it. The decision was handed down in Jerusalem District Court by a panel of three judges, Ya’acov Tsaban, Gila Canfi-Steinitz and Rafi Carmel. The court unanimously convicted the 43-year-old Rimawi of training with weapons, attempted murder (several counts) and murder. He will be sentenced at a later date. Two of the other defendants in Ze’evi’s murder at the Hyatt Hotel near Mount Scopus in Jerusalem on October 17, 2001, have already been convicted and given life sentences. "There were five charges in which Rimawi played a similar role according to the description of events [in the indictment]," Tsaban wrote. more.. e-mail
Child killed by Israeli military fire in Nilin
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/29/2008
Eyewitnesses reported that Ahmad Mousa, 11, was shot in his head and died at the Ramallah governmental hospital. He was shot during evening hours. Mohammad Al Khawaja, one of the residents of the village, stated that hundreds of residents conducted peaceful protests against the Wall and were surrounded by the soldiers who fired rounds of live ammunition and gas bombs. Several residents were wounded, some moderately, medical sources reported. Israeli sources said that two soldiers were mildly wounded. Local sources reported that 10 non violent protesters against the illegal wall were injured during clashes with the Israeli army at Ni’llin village south of the west bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday midday. Local sources also added that the Israeli army attacked the protesters in order to stop the protest which took place near the illegal wall on the village lands. more.. e-mail
Jewish Internet Defense Force ’seizes control’ of anti-Israel Facebook group
Stephanie Rubenstein, Jerusalem Post 7/29/2008
The Jewish Internet Defense Force, a group that claims to have 5,000 members worldwide, says it is steadily removing members from a viciously anti-Israel and anti-Semitic group on Facebook, having taken control of the group on Sunday. Facebook wouldn’t do anything about [the group], so we did what had to be done," the group posted on its Web site. "We’re not sure how long this can or will last, so we’re moving fast to do what needs to be done. " The Jewish Internet Defense Force (JIDF) describes itself as a group of Jewish activists who fight anti-Semitism and terrorism trends throughout the Internet. It says it formed as a grassroots effort in 2000, mainly to mount mass e-mail campaigns, in response to the second intifada. It then began operating on various Web sites, including Facebook, to spread news about Israel and Jewish issues. more.. e-mail
PA security forces fired at in Silwad
Ma’an News Agency 7/29/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Sources told Ma’an that Palestinian security forces were fired at on Tuesday as they entered Silwad village to the east of Ramallah to impose a campaign of law and order in the area. The sources added that no injuries were reported amongst the security personnel, adding that armored forces arrived to the village to take control of the area and detain the shooters. Security sources denied that the actions came as retaliation after the detention of Hamas members and stated that the campaign is targeting criminals, not political activists and is aimed at confiscating illegal cars. Security sources added that the campaign is part of the security plan for the West Bank that is in its third stage at the moment. more.. e-mail
Barghouthi: The rate of Israeli settlers rose to 5.5 percent last year
Palestinian Information Center 7/28/2008
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- MP Mustafa Al-Barghouthi, the secretary-general of the Palestinian national initiative, revealed Monday that the rates of Israeli settlers who are brought to live in the occupied Palestinian lands rose to 5. 5 percent during the last year, pointing that 7,296 new settlers were added to the settlements of Modi’in, Betar Illit, Hiradhar. MP Barghouthi stated that the IOA races against time in order to impose a fait accompli and annex the largest possible area of the West Bank lands, adding that Israel’s intention to build a new settlement in the Jordan valley area falls under this context which is aimed at seizing the whole area and ruling it out of any future solution. For its part, the EU’s French presidency said in a statement that the EU is deeply concerned about the Israeli decision to invite bids for the building of new settlement units in the Arab eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army begins demolition of a Palestinian home in Jerusalem and attacks civilians
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/28/2008
Israeli troops started to demolish a Palestinian owned house located in Beit Hanina neighborhood in Jerusalem city on Monday at dawn. The house, which belongs to the Abu Ayisha family, consists of five apartments and houses five families. The Israeli army announced plans to demolish the house on Sunday. Israeli troops stormed the area and surrounded the Palestinian neighborhood on Monday at dawn, reported eyewitnesses. Shortly after, the troops attacked the families and their Palestinian and international supporters who arrived on Sunday night to show solidarity, the witnesses added. As army bulldozers arrived, Israeli troops attacked the families and their supporters and forced them out of the home. At least 10 civilians were injured; among them Hatem Abed Al Qader, the Palestinian Prime Minister’s Advisor for Jerusalem affairs. Abed Al Qader, informed the media that the Israeli forces did not allow ambulances and medical teams to evacuate the injured, leaving them to be taken to the hospital by civilian cars. more.. e-mail
Settlers attack, wound, two Palestinian workers near Jerusalem
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/28/2008
The settlers attacked the two workers inside the factory and inflicted serious injuries on one of them while the other sustained minor injuries. Both workers were later moved to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem. Recently, Israeli settlers carried out repeated attacks against Palestinians in Jerusalem including an attempt to stab two Palestinians after an Arab resident carried out a second bulldozer attack in the city on Tuesday. [end]
Israeli settlers attack Burin village southern Nablus
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/28/2008
A group of Israeli settlers continued their attacks on Burin village. The settlers stormed some farm lands and set them on fire which subsequently spread to a nearby Palestinian house. In addition to that locals reported that the Israeli settlers tried to break in to some houses in the village as they broke down some doors and smashed windows. During the past four weeks Israeli settlers attacked the village several times. Last week settlers’ homemade shells struck the village and set fire to its land on more than one occasion. [end]
Palestinian house set ablaze by settlers
Ma’an News Agency 7/28/2008
Nablus Ma’an A gang of settlers from Yitzhar settlement, to the south of Nablus in the West Bank, set fire to a Palestinian house in the village of Burin in the early hours of Monday morning. Ghassan Deghles director of village and municipal affairs in Nablus governorate told Ma’an’s correspondent that dozens of settlers attacked the village of Burin and set fire to a house, close to the settlement, owned by Said Mahmoud An-Najar, apparently burning it to the ground. Deghles said that the settlers took advantage of the fact that the owner was away at a wedding party and descended on the house that lies only tens meters away from Yitzhar. He also expressed his anger that the frequent attacks against civilians were able to continue due to the unwillingness of the Israeli army to take any action to stop those involved in the attacks. more.. e-mail
Record rise in number of illegal settlers in past year
Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 7/28/2008
Nablus -- Settlement expansion is rising at an alarming rate, which President Abbas notes as the major impediment to negotiations with the Israelis. As all Israeli settlements and settlers contravene international law, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi reports that the number of settlers is up 5. 5 percent this year from last. General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, Dr. Barghouthi, stressed that this number is in addition to 3,600 settlers in Modi’in Settlement alone, 3,300 settlers to Beitar Illit and 386 settlers to Har Adar settlement. He highlighted how Israel is racing for time in order to impose a fait accompli in illegally acquiring the largest area of the West Bank and East Jerusalem possible. Israel’s intention to build a settlement in the Jordan Valley falls under the Israeli plan to annex the eastern West Bank’s Jordan Valley area and ensure the Jordanian -- Palestinian border remains under its own control. more.. e-mail
IDF officers: Yeshiva teachers incite W. Bank teens to violence
Haaretz, Palestine Monitor 7/27/2008
Students at extremist yeshivas in West Bank settlements have been involved in a large number of violent confrontations with security forces there recently and in throwing stones at Palestinian cars, say military sources. Senior Israel Defense Forces officers are reportedly furious over the lack of effective legal measures against rioters and because the government is taking no steps against yeshiva teachers who incite to violence. The officers’ remarks followed last Thursday’s wave of unrest in which settlers in the area used beepers to call residents to the roads to attack Palestinian cars and confront security forces. The settlers’ move followed the destruction of a structure at the outpost of Adei Ad. This is not the first such reaction in recent months. The intent is to "extract a price" and create a kind of balance of fear vis-a-vis the security forces. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades West Bank cities kidnapping 7 Palestinians
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/28/2008
The Israeli army invaded zoyoba, a village near the west bank city of Jenin, reported local sources. Israeli troops searched and ransacked several houses located near the illegal wall on the village lands, in addition to ransacking farm lands in the village. The Israeli troops forced civilians out of their homes and shot gun fire and sound bombs causing panic, the eyewitness reported. Three civilians were kidnapped by the Israeli army and taken to an unknown destination. In the West Bank city of Tulkarem, a number of Israeli military vehicles invaded. Israeli troops searched and ransacked houses kidnapping an 18 year old youth. Meanwhile in the West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli vehicles invaded and erected check points at the city’s entrance and between crossroads. Israeli troops banned cars from getting in or out the city and imposed a curfew for civilians. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces arrest 3 near Jenin
Ma’an News Agency 7/28/2008
Jenin Ma’an Israeli forces stormed several areas in the Jenin district in the northern West Bank and arrested three Palestinians on Monday. Local sources mentioned to our correspondent that Israeli forces stormed the village of Zabuba, which is close to the separation wall and searched several homes. The soldiers forced residents out of their homes at gun point and caused damage to the interiors of the homes. The sources identified the arrestees as 24-year-old Muayyad Maqaldah, 20-year-old Ahmad Jaradat, and 26-year-old Abdullah Amarnah. Separately, Israeli forces entered the city of Jenin and the nearby villages of Al-Yamun, Arraba and Fahmah. No arrests have been reported. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces raid Tulkarem, arrest teenager
Ma’an News Agency 7/28/2008
Tulkarem Ma’an Israeli forces on Monday morning raided the western neighborhood of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank and arrested 18-year-old Mu’ath Al-Haroun. eyewitnesses told Ma’an’s reporter that more than 8 Israeli military vehicles stormed the Al-Younis building in the city after they besieged the whole neighborhood. The building and other neighboring buildings and offices were evacuated and women, children and infants were sent into the street. At 8:30, Israeli forces left after they seized Al-Haroun. [end]
The delays in the fence / Frozen by lawyers, budgets and politics
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 7/28/2008
Until two years ago, the defense establishment typically blamed leftists and lawyers for the delays in building the separation fence. Anytime a terrorist entered Israel via a gap in the fence, Israel Defense Forces officers would point fingers at the numerous petitions against the route and the High Court of Justice’s slowness in ruling on them. Today, senior officers offer a very different excuse: money. The sharp drop in successful terror attacks, they say, has reduced pressure on the Finance Ministry to fund construction. But others, including Col. (res. ) Shaul Arieli of the Council for Peace and Security, say the real problem is that in all the areas where the fence has yet to be completed, the proposed route cuts deep into the West Bank, and would thus never be approved by either the court or Washington. Therefore, construction has effectively been frozen. more.. e-mail
Qassam fighter killed in Hebron
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/28/2008
The sources stated that on Saturday evening soldiers surrounded a house in an area located between Tafoa town and Hebron city where a fighter identified as Shihab Ed Deen Al Natsha, 25, was situated. The fighter exchanged fire with the invading forces for ten hours until the army started demolishing the home where he had fortified himself, and killed him. Soldiers also kidnapped three Palestinians who were inside the same house, including the owner Wael Mohammad Al Beitar, and Abdul-Qader Abu Aisha while the third remained unknown. The Israeli security devices claim that Al Natsha provided logistic aid to a suicide bomber who carried a bombing in Demona in February. The Israeli security claims that the slain fighter was an explosives engineer. The Al Qassam Brigades vowed revenge and stated that its retaliation will be fast and painful. more.. e-mail
Head of assassinated Al-Qassam leader found under rubble of demolished building near Hebron
Ma’an News Agency 7/28/2008
Hebron Ma’an Local sources in Hebron reported on Monday evening that the head of assassinated Al-Qassam brigades leader Shihab Ad-Dein An-Natshah was discovered after two days of searching through the rubble of a building demolished by Israeli forces early on Sunday morning. The Al-Qassam brigades are the military wing of the Hamas movement. The sources added that An-Natshah’s head was given to his family for burial. After refusing to surrender and holding off Israeli forces for about 12 hours, An-Natshah was killed at about 5am on Sunday when Israeli military bulldozers demolished the building where he was hiding on top of him. The building was located in the Shi’b Al-Milh area between Hebron and the nearby town of Taffuh. Israeli authorities have accused An-Natshah of planning the bombing operation in Dimona performed by two Hamas affiliates in February 2008. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 072808
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/28/2008
Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Monday July 28th, 2008. In Gaza, death toll reaches 219, while the Israeli army demolishes a home in Jerusalem, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News cast In the Gaza Strip the death toll reached 219 as one more patient was announced dead on Monday morning. Maher Al Mabhuh, 43, from Jabalia refugee camp north of the strip was announced dead due to kidney cancer. He had been forbidden from leaving the Gaza Strip to receive medical treatment. The Gaza Strip has been under siege since June 2007. Last month both Israeli and Palestinian Resistance factions in Gaza agreed to a truce, as a result of Egyptian mediation efforts. The deal stipulates that Hamas will stop the firing of homemade shells into Israeli territory in exchange for Israel lifting the 12. . . more.. e-mail
Hamas, militant group clash in Gaza Strip violence
Reuters Foundation, ReliefWeb 7/27/2008
GAZA, July 27 (Reuters) - Hamas security forces clashed with gunmen from the Army of Islam, an al Qaeda-inspired group, in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, part of a security crackdown following a surge in internal violence. One Hamas commander was seriously wounded in the fighting, which started when the Hamas forces sought to arrest some Army of Islam gunmen, Hamas officials and local residents said. Two Army of Islam gunmen were arrested. Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip a year ago, launched the crackdown over the weekend after a series of bombings, including one on Friday that killed five Hamas members and a girl. As part of the crackdown, Hamas has arrested more than 160 activists from Fatah, the secular faction of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Writing by Adam Entous; Editing by Dominic Evans) more.. e-mail
Israeli ministers call for redrawing Jerusalem boundaries, home demolitions, and deporting activists
Ma’an News Agency 7/27/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz warned during the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting held on Sunday that Jerusalem is becoming "a terror hub," and called for the government to adopt policies of demolishing homes, closing areas, and exiling Palestinian activists and their families in response to these "new threats. " Responding to Mofaz, Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon said: "Those who think that the problem of Jerusalem and terror is limited, and that destroying houses will help resolve this problem, are burying their heads in the sand. The main question is whether the government wants Jabal Mukaber and Sur Baher as part of the state of Israel state or not. Those who want the fence to be east of Sur Baher actually determine that Jerusalem will live with the terrorist threat posed by the 175,000 Palestinians [in East Jerusalem] with no affinity to Israel. more.. e-mail
Mofaz: Jerusalem becoming terror hub
Attila Somfalvi, YNetNews 7/27/2008
Transportation minister warns of new trend of attacks in capital, recommends change in policy including demolition of homes, deportation of terrorists’ families. Vice Premier Ramon contradicts him, says solution is placing Arab villages east of fence - Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said during Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting that Jerusalem was fast becoming "a terror hub". His remarks referred to the second bulldozer attack that had taken place in the capital, and he said the increasing terror would require "a change in policies". Mofaz called for the demolition of homes, sealing off of areas, and the deportation of terrorists and their families, to be supported by these new policies. "We need a plan of action that will give a correct response to the threat," he said. Regarding this issue, Vice Premier Haim Ramon said that "those who think. . . more.. e-mail
1 dead in Hamas, Army of Islam clashes
JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP, Jerusalem Post 7/25/2008
An Army of Islam gunman was killed Sunday in clashes with Hamas security forces in a Gaza City neighborhood, a Palestinian medical official said. Hamas-Fatah tensions re-ignite in GazaA spokesman for the al-Qaida-affiliated group, identifying himself only by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Makdesi, said that the clashes erupted as two of its members were arrested in a Hamas raid. Several people were wounded, including a Hamas man who was in a serious condition, Palestinians said. The confrontation came as Hamas launched a massive crackdown on Fatah supporters and institutions in the Gaza Strip following an explosion that killed six people, five of them members of Hamas’s armed wing, Izzadin Kassam. RELATEDHamas rounds up Fatah men in Gaza after blast kills 6 Video:IDF kills man involved in Dimona bombing. . . more.. e-mail
Palestinian factional fighting wounds six in Gaza
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 7/28/2008
GAZA CITY: Clashes broke out in Gaza City on Sunday, wounding at least six people, as Hamas-run security forces pressed on with a territory-wide crackdown on rival Palestinian factions after a deadly bombing. The fighting erupted when Hamas-run police moved to arrest members of the Army of Islam, a small shadowy group believed to have links to Al-Qaeda. "Hamas forces came to arrest us early this morning, just after midnight," one member of the group who asked not to be identified told reporters. "There was fighting for several hours, with rocket-propelled grenades, explosions and gunfire, but they did not arrest anyone," he added. Fatah has denied any involvement in the blast and said the attack was part of an internal Hamas conflict. Since the explosion Hamas-run forces have arrested more than 300 people, according to senior Fatah officials, most of them members of the movement which was largely expelled from Gaza when Hamas seized control. more.. e-mail
IOF troops kill Qassam fighter after violent clash
Palestinian Information Center 7/27/2008
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- A Palestinian fighter affiliated with the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas Movement, was killed at dawn Sunday following a violent clash with Israeli occupation forces in Al-Khalil district. Sources in the area between Al-Khalil city and Tafuh village said that Shihabuddin Al-Natshe, 25, was killed after the IOF troops blasted the home he was entrenched inside for hours. They added that the IOF soldiers encircled the house on 7:00 pm Saturday and clashed with Natshe until 5:00 am Sunday when they demolished the house. The soldiers kidnapped three citizens from the same house including the landlord Wa’el Al-Bitar. The IOF intelligence accuses Natshe of extending logistical support to the fighter who carried out the Dimona attack, which killed and wounded a number of Israelis including two nuclear scientists. more.. e-mail
Biggest Hamas Crackdown on Fatah, PNA since June 2007
Palestine Media Center 7/27/2008
Fatah Blames Fridays Gaza Blast on Disputes within Hamas - In the biggest crackdown against Fatah since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Hamas arrested at least 160 members of Fatah and closed more than 42 Fatah institutions and at least three governorates of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the coastal strip after a blast killed a child and four members of the groups military wing on Gaza beach on Friday, which Fatah and the office of President Mahmoud Abbas denied and blamed it on disputes within Hamas itself. Palestinian Foreign and information cabinet minister, Ritadh Al-Malki, briefed Arab ambassadors in the West Bank city of Ramallah on the situation in Gaza Saturday, saying that the Hamas crackdown was its response to President Abbas call for national dialogue. more.. e-mail
Egyptian security arrests three Palestinians fleeing Gaza through tunnels
Palestinian Information Center 7/27/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Egyptian security elements deployed along the borders with Gaza Strip have arrested three Palestinians while trying to cross the borders into the Egyptian Sinai peninsula at a late hour on Saturday, well informed sources said. They told the Palestine newspaper published on Sunday that the Egyptian forces detained the young men while trying to cross the barbed wire near the Rafah border terminal’s gate. The sources said that the three youths were from the Sabra suburb, east of Gaza city, but would not divulge their names. The young men confessed to the Egyptian security that they were involved in the bombing that killed six citizens in Gaza including a child and that they escaped fearing execution at the hands of the PA government in Gaza. The sources pointed out that the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, closed all tunnels in Rafah district that are used. . . more.. e-mail
Settlers assault Palestinian School Children and Internationals escorting the children near Hebron
George Rishmawi, International Middle East Media Center News 7/27/2008
Janet Benvie, member of the Christian Peace Makers Team (CPT) in Hebron, told IMEMC that settlers attacked the children and internationals who accompany them as they were walking from the village of Tuba to a summer camp in the village of At-Tuwani, both in the southern Hebron hills. Settlers threw stones at the children and their accompaniers and wounded Joel Gullege, a CPT member from the United States. Settlers then kicked him on his legs, took his camera away and beat him both with the camera and their fists. Gullege has been taken to the hospital for treatment. According to CPT, the Israeli army has rejected a number of requests by the group to provide escort to the children because of anticipated settler assaults. CPT is a Christian organization arose from a call in 1984 for Christians to devote the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war. more.. e-mail
Palestinian Police detain 27 fugitives in Jenin
Ma’an News Agency 7/27/2008
Jenin- Ma’an- The administration of public relations and media department for the Jenin police announced that 27 fugitives in the town of Deir Abu Daif were arrested. The arrests come as part of the new campaign for "law and order," that was launched recently. Police confirmed that they destroyed five illegal vehicles and detained another three civilians who attacked a vehicle owned by police of Jalqamus. [end]
Hamas militants vow revenge after Israel kills top operative
Daily Star 7/28/2008
Israeli forces killed a top Hamas operative in an early morning gunfight in the southern Occupied West Bank city of Hebron, according to Palestinian security officials who said another three people were arrested in the raid. Hamas’ armed wing vowed to take revenge for the killing of Shihab al-Natshe, who Israeli media reported was behind a suicide bombing in February that killed an Israeli woman and wounded 11 other people. In Sunday’s operation in Hebron, Israeli soldiers fired at the house of Natshe, 25, after he refused to surrender and shot at troops, local residents said. An army bulldozer later razed the dwelling. The militant’s mangled body was seen being removed from the rubble. Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade, vowed to avenge the resistance fighter’s killing. "Our response will be swift and painful," it said in a statement. more.. e-mail
Israeli troops in Hebron kill Hamas man behind Dimona attack
Haaretz Service and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 7/28/2008
Israeli security forces killed a top Hamas militant wanted over a deadly suicide attack on the southern city of Dimona earlier this year, during an operation in the West Bank city of Hebron on Sunday. Special unit troops and Border Police officers fired a shell at the house of Shihab al-Natsheh, after he refused to surrender and opened fire at troops, local residents said. A Hamas statement said the militant clashed with soldiers for 12 hours before being killed. An IDF spokeswoman said soldiers clashed with a group of gunmen in the city, killing a militant, but declined to give further details. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert praised the Border Police and Shin Bet combateers for carrying out the raid. "I can’t go into details, but I will stress that this was quite a successful operation,". . . more.. e-mail
Dimona attack mastermind killed by IDF
YAAKOV KATZ, Jerusalem Post 7/27/2008
A Hamas terrorist who masterminded and directed a suicide bombing in Dimona earlier this year was shot dead by elite border policemen early Sunday morning during an IDF raid in Hebron. IDF kills man involved in Dimona bombingThe IDF said that in a joint Border Police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) operation the forces surrounded a house where 25-year-old Shihab Na’atsha, a Hamas explosives engineer, was hiding. The IDF said Na’atsha had assembled the bomb belt used in the Dimona attack on February 4 that killed 73-year-old Lubov Razdolskaya and wounded 40 other people. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert praised security forces. "Due to the nature of the activity, I won’t go into detail, but this was a very successful operation," Olmert said during the weekly cabinet meeting. "I send the thanks of the cabinet and of the Israeli public to the members of the security services and to the Israel Police elite units that assisted. more.. e-mail
Hamas activist dead after Israeli troops demolish Hebron home, crushing him
Ma’an News Agency 7/27/2008
Hebron Ma’an - Twenty-five-year-old Shihab Ad-Dein Natshah was killed by Israeli forces near Hebron. Natshah was a Palestinian activist affiliated with the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He was killed by Israeli forces after they demolished a house were he was hiding in the Shi’b Al-Milh region between the southern West Bank city of Hebron and the nearby town of Taffuh, eyewitnesses say. The witnesses added that Israeli forces besieged the home on Saturday at seven in the evening. Palestinian medics reported seeing fire erupt from the besieged home, and other witnesses said heavy gunfire was heard in the area and at least 15 Israeli military vehicles were present. The military operation went through the night, with palpable tension in the area. Israeli forces summoned back-up forces accompanied by a military bulldozer to the area. more.. e-mail
Hamas arrests Fatah supporters after Gaza blast
Middle East Online 7/26/2008
GAZA CITY - Hamas security forces fanned out across Gaza City Saturday, arresting dozens of people after a bomb blast killed five senior Palestinian resistance fighters and a girl of five. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known but Hamas blamed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah movement, accusing it of collaborating with Israel. "This criminal act proves that the call for dialogue from Ramallah (Abbas’s headquarters) was a lie designed to throw sand in our eyes and conceal a conspiracy to kill and assassinate and terrorise our security forces," Hamas said in a statement. In the hours after the attack, security forces arrested dozens of people in sweeps across Gaza City, mostly Fatah members, according to witnesses. A senior Fatah official who asked not to be named said security forces arrested over 100 Fatah members and raided his party’s offices across Gaza, confiscating computers and documents. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces besiege Palestinian home near Hebron
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2008
Hebron Ma’an Israeli soldiers on Saturday evening besieged a Palestinian home in the area of Shi’b Al-Milh, between the southern West Bank city of Hebron and the nearby town of Taffuh, according to eyewitnesses. The witnesses added that there was heavy gunfire in the area and 15 Israeli military vehicles. Palestinian medics also reported that they saw fire erupting from the besieged home. Meanwhile, other sources mentioned that Israeli soldiers arrested three Palestinians from the area, who were near the besieged home, but their identities remain unknown. The military operation is ongoing, with palpable tension in the area, as Israeli soldiers have summoned back-up forces accompanied by a military bulldozer to the area. more.. e-mail
Security services begin campaign of arrests in Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2008
Nablus Ma’an - Security sources in Nablus told Ma’an’s correspondent that Palestinian security services arrested 21 locals from the village of Qabalan south of Nablus on Saturday morning. The arrests were carried out according to the security plan of the Palestinian Authority in Nablus. The source confirmed that 22 Palestinian patrols participated and arrested 21 locals including wanted criminals and other suspected individuals in the area. According to the source, the patrols began at midnight on Saturday and lasted until six in the morning. Fugitive from security services Mohamed Qatani 30-years-old was one of those arrested. [end]
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian farmers in Qalqilia
Palestinian Information Center 7/26/2008
QALQILIA, (PIC)-- A number of Israeli settlers from the Kadumim settlement in Qalqilia protected by IOF troops assaulted physically a number of Palestinian farmers on their way to their lands located to the south of the settlement. Palestinian eyewitnesses reported that more than 10 settlers beat severely the Palestinian farmers as the IOF troops were watching without doing anything. The eyewitnesses added the IOF troops intervened when Palestinian citizens gathered to protest at the maltreatment of the farmers, where they fired bullets and tear gas at the protesters. Other Israeli settlers reportedly smashed and threw stones at Palestinian cars traveling near the Shavi Shomron settlement. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers fire missiles at southern Nablus villages
Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 7/26/2008
Nablus -- Israelis settlers launched missiles toward Palestinians in Awarta, a town in southern Nablus, this week. Israeli settlements are in violation of international law. Israeli projectiles landed only a few meters from locals’ homes. Abdul Salam Awad, an Awarta resident, said this was the first attack of its kind against the village. "People were surprised when they discovered that the strange objects falling from the sky were missiles launched from Israeli settlements," Awad said. "The missiles have created terror in the hearts of Palestinians living in Nablus. They fear what would happen if the missiles exploded after landing only 30 meters from their homes. "This is not the first time Israeli settlers have launched missiles towards villages in Nablus. Earlier this month, Burin and Asira villages were the victims of such attacks. more.. e-mail
IDF officers: Yeshiva teachers incite West Bank teens to violence
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 7/27/2008
Students at extremist yeshivas in West Bank settlements have been involved in a large number of violent confrontations with security forces there recently and in throwing stones at Palestinian cars, say military sources. Senior Israel Defense Forces officers are reportedly furious over the lack of effective legal measures against rioters and because the government is taking no steps against yeshiva teachers who incite to violence. The officers’ remarks followed last Thursday’s wave of unrest in which settlers in the area used beepers to call residents to the roads to attack Palestinian cars and confront security forces. The settlers’ move followed the destruction of a structure at the outpost of Adei Ad. This is not the first such reaction in recent months. The intent is to "extract a price" and create a kind of balance of fear vis-a-vis the security forces. more.. e-mail
Hamas arrests 120 Fatah men after 6 die in Gaza blast
Reuters, YNetNews 7/26/2008
Islamist group blames ’members of fugitive party’ for Friday night’s blast that killed five Hamas men, girl. Fatah: Explosion related to internal Hamas disputes -Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip arrested 120 men aligned with the rival Fatah faction on Saturday after an Hamas gunmen and a girl, the Islamist group’s officials and Fatah said. Friday’s blast next to a car used by the armed wing of Hamas killed three gunmen and the girl, and two others later died of their wounds in hospital, Gaza’s ruling Palestinian Islamist group and medical officials said. The blast, the third of its kind in a day, marked one of the biggest flare-ups in internal Gaza violence since Hamas routed the forces ofPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ secular Fatah faction to seize control of the territory a year ago. more.. e-mail
After car bombing in Gaza, Fatah members detained and charities shut down
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2008
Gaza Ma’an De facto Gaza police confiscated the files, computers and furniture of a number of local non-governmental and private organizations in the Gaza Strip on Friday night and Saturday morning. Several Fatah members were detained. Forty-three year-old former Palestinian Intelligence Service colonel Muhammad Ajjour, Mahmoud Qassem Al-Barbar and cameraman for a German news agency Sawwah Abu Seif were all detained by the police. The contents of the Ash-Shamal association for social development and the Beit Lahia (hope and life) association, both located in the north of the Gaza Strip, were confiscated. The police also raided the home of the Owaydat family in the south of the Gaza Strip, who are said to be affiliated with Fatah. Police broke into the house and clashes broke out in the area. There were no arrests. more.. e-mail
Hamas seizes Abbas-run agency in Gaza crackdown
Reuters Foundation, ReliefWeb 7/26/2008
GAZA, July 26 (Reuters)- Hamas security forces stormed the office of a Palestinian news agency run by President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday and arrested dozens from his Fatah faction in their biggest crackdown since seizing Gaza, Fatah sources said. The sweep, in which 162 Fatah activists were arrested including two faction officials, came in response to an explosion on Friday that killed five members of the armed wing of the Gaza Strip’s ruling Islamist Hamas group and a girl. The blast, the third of its kind in a day, marked one of the biggest flare-ups in internal Gaza violence since Hamas routed the forces of Abbas’s more secular Fatah faction to seize control of the coastal territory a year ago. The sources said Hamas security men seized computers and files at the Gaza offices of the WAFA news agency, a Palestinian media outlet run by Abbas, and stormed 40 other Fatah offices. more.. e-mail
Hamas: We won’t stay passive towards the Gaza beach massacre
Palestinian Information Center 7/26/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement stated Saturday that it will not stay passive towards the massacre committed by a gang of rogues on the Gaza beach, calling on the national and Islamic forces to determine their positions towards this heinous crime. Four Palestinian citizens affiliated with the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and a little girl were killed and many others were wounded Thursday evening in an explosion that targeted them while they were picnicking on the beach. It is believed that the explosion is the work of the remnants of the mutiny trend within the Fatah faction, as three of them were arrested Friday morning after targeting the home of MP Dr. Marwan Abu Ras with an explosive device that caused only material damage. In a statement received by the PIC, Hamas called on the Palestinian government to strike with an iron fist all perpetrators and accomplices in this crime and to expedite the investigation into it. more.. e-mail
Gaza on the Brink After Beachside Explosions [July 20 July 26]
MIFTAH, MIFTAH 7/26/2008
The unfortunate turn of events in the Gaza Strip on the evening of July 25 may re-spark the tense relations between Hamas and Fateh, which have been on a relative hiatus for the last few months. A mysterious car bomb on a Gaza beach killed six people, one of them a six-year old child. Twenty others were injured. The other five were members of Hamas’ Izzedin Al Qassam Brigades. Earlier in the day two other blasts took place in Gaza City but with no casualties. Although Hamas is not directly accusing Fateh for the blasts, it has vowed to "hunt down the perpetrators" and has reportedly stormed a number of Fateh offices and arrested several Fateh activists for questioning. A communiquι released today by Hamas read, "Everyone should understand that political freedom is guaranteed in the Gaza Strip, but that criminal action is prohibited. These crimes cannot pass. We will deter the criminals with strong punishment, to makes others think a thousand times. . . before they think of committing such crimes. " more.. e-mail
Halt the raids in Gaza
MIFTAH, MIFTAH 7/26/2008
The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialouge and Democracy,strongly condemns the July 26 raid on the office Palestinian Legislative Council member andBoard of Trustees member Dr. Ziad Abu Amr in Gaza City by Hamas operatives. According to Palestinian sources in Gaza, members of Hamas security services broke into Dr. Abu Amrs office and confiscated documents and equipment. MIFTAH is particularly disturbed by the fact that Dr. Abu Amr is a PLC member and supposedly enjoys parliamentary immunity, thus protecting him from such transgressions. calls on the immediate return of valuable documents and equipment that were taken from his office in addition to an official apology for the raid, which only serves to further drive a wedge between Palestinian factions already at odds. continues to encourage an open dialogue between all Palestinian factions with the goal of reaching a true state of national unity. more.. e-mail
After an explosions kills five fighters and a child Hamas arrests Fatah activists all over Gaza
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/26/2008
The sources added that the Hamas run police raided several Fatah movement offices and confiscated computers and documents. The latest developments come hours after a homemade bomb targeting Hamas fighters at the Gaza coastal road west of Gaza city detonated killing five fighters and a child on Friday night. The Fatah movement headed by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated on Saturday that the attack that killed the Hamas fighters is an internal conflict inside the Hamas movement. He denied that Fatah had played any role in the attack. Meanwhile the Hamas movement in Gaza accused Fatah of being behind the attack and said that an investigation will be conducted and that those responsible for the attack will be arrested. The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, announced on Saturday in a statement faxed to press, that the group demands those who committed the Friday attack to be punished. more.. e-mail
Caretaker gov’t: The mutiny trend reached the level of serving the occupation
Palestinian Information Center 7/26/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The caretaker government headed by premier Ismail Haneyya stated Saturday that the Gaza beach massacre carries political connotations indicating that the mutiny trend within Fatah reached the level of serving the Israeli occupation through killing and terrorizing the Palestinian people on its behalf. In a statement following an emergency meeting held this morning to discuss the explosions that took place yesterday, the government underlined that the broadcast televised by the Fatah-affiliated Palestine TV channel in celebration of the criminal attacks is a real indication that these attacks have political objectives. According to a copy of the statement which was received by the PIC, the government stressed that one of the aims of these criminal attacks is to destabilize the state of security and calm in Gaza, pointing out that it issued directives to the interior ministry. . . more.. e-mail
Condemnations of Gaza bombing pour in
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2008
Gaza Ma’an Condemnations of the Friday explosion near the beach in Gaza City come from all corners of Palestinian political scene. Spokesman for the leadership of the Palestinian Legislative Council Ahmad Bahar said in a statement received by Ma’an that incidents like the bombings in Gaza are dangerous and threaten the lives of civilians. He pointed to the attack on the home of Dr Marwan Abu Ras early Friday, in a busy residential area, and called on police to track-down the individuals who took the lives of six, and endangered the welfare of countless. Interior Minister in the de facto Gaza government Sa’id Siyam has called for the issuing of new laws that will protect civilians from such incidentsThe senior leadership committee of Fatah in the Gaza Strip denounced the explosions and confirmed their earlier position which made it clear that they refused to "give cover". . . more.. e-mail
De facto government instructs security services to find those responsible for Friday bombing
Ma’an News Agency 7/26/2008
[Ma’anImages]Gaza Ma’an The de facto Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip gave directives on Saturday to its security services to find the individuals responsible for Friday’s explosions in Gaza City which left 6 dead including 5 members of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades and a young girl. In an emergency session, the de facto government said, "every one who proves to be involved in the Gaza beach explosion will receive just and strict punishment; this will be a lesson for anyone who dares to shed Palestinian blood. " "The real target of such criminal acts," continued the statement, "is to disturb the state of tranquility in the Gaza Strip. " The de facto government implied that Fatah and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah may have been behind the explosions. "While the government supports political freedom," it said, "there is a difference between political. . . more.. e-mail
Five killed and 15 injured in Gaza explosion
PNN, Palestine News Network 7/26/2008
Gaza -- Four Palestinian activists and a young girl were killed in a car explosion on a coastal road west of Gaza City Friday night. Victims of the explosion include the nephew of Hamas member Khalil Al Haya, Al Qassam Brigades leader Amar Masbah and activist Osama Al-Helou. Palestinian medical and security sources also report that a young girl was killed and at least 15 Palestinians were injured in the explosion. The cause of the explosion is currently unknown, although members of the Al Qassam Brigades have implied they believe that a faction of the Fateh party is responsible. Two other explosions took place in the Gaza Strip on Friday. The first occurred outside a café in Gaza, killing a Palestinian man and injuring three others. The second, a bombing near the house of Hamas member Marwan Abu Ras, did not cause any injuries, officials report. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army kidnaps 3 civilians near Ramallah
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/26/2008
Local sources said that Israeli troops stormed the camp then searched a number of homes there, soldiers left after kidnapping three men, witnesses said. The three kidnapped were identified as Abed Al Ghanni Qattash, 24, Mohamed Al Hihy, 23, and Ibraheem Iliyan, 22. [end]
IDF drill sees rockets land in Ashdod
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 7/27/2008
Exercise designed to test cooperation, coordination between army, emergency response organizations, local municipalities in event of escalation of attacks on South - Sunday morning will see the defense establishment staging an exercise for command HQs simulating an escalation of the security situation in southern Israel and the Gaza-vicinity communities. The drill is designed to examine the cooperation between the various government ministries, emergency response organizations and local municipalities. It will include extreme scenarios, such as the firing of rockets towards the city of Ashdod. Other municipalities taking part in the exercise are: Ashkelon, Netivot, Kiryat Gat, the Eshkol Regional Council, Sha’ar Hanegev, Sedot Negev and Hof Ashkelon. The exercise will be held entirely in the Kirya base in central Tel Aviv and not in the field, so no irregular troop movement is to be expected. more.. e-mail
South to hold rocket attack drill
Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post 7/26/2008
A number of nightmare security scenarios will be drilled Sunday by the IDF Home Front Command and rescue services, following a directive from Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna’i. The exercise will simulate mass rocket and mortar attacks on Gaza-border communities that prompt panic and a large-scale evacuation. "The quiet [from Gaza] has not made us calm," Vilna’i said. "We continue to prepare at an increased pace. We are responsible for being prepared for any possibility of escalation. " One of the scenarios includes "parents searching for their children. . . abandoned work places and roads jammed with civilians seeking to evacuate affected areas," as well as "thousands of families leaving the South for the center of the country. " Firefighters, Magen David Adom and the National Emergency Authority will take part in the drill. more.. e-mail
4 dead, 20 injured as car of Hamas leader explodes near Gaza City
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2008
Gaza Ma’an Four are dead and twenty injured after the car of a Hamas leader in Gaza exploded west of Gaza City Friday evening. One of the dead is reported to be Amar Mussubyih, who was wanted by the Israeli army. He was a prominent leader of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades in the area west of Gaza City. Also killed were Iyad Al-Hayah, nephew of local Hamas leader Khalil Al-Haya and Nidal Mabiad. All are affiliated to the Al-Qassam Brigades. The fourth death was that of an unidentified little girl. Ihab Al-Ghussain, spokesperson for the de facto ministry of the interior, said that the reasons behind the explosion are unknown. He affirmed that Gaza police will search for the perpetrators, though he did not rule out the idea that the deaths were the result of "outsourcing" by the Israeli army. This is the third explosion in Gaza on Friday. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades two refugee camps, kidnaps 3 civilians in Nablus city
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/25/2008
The Israeli army invaded the West Bank city of Nablus on Friday, and kidnapped three civilians. The Israeli army invaded Askar and Balata refugee camps, and Fureek village located in eastern Nablus, according to local sources. The sources stated that the the names of the kidnapped civilians in Balata refugee camp are, Ali Sroje, Murad Abu Slaid, and Mu’een Mansour. The Israeli army took them to an unknown detention camp. [end]
30 Israeli settlers invade the local park of Esh Ghrab in Beit Sahour
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/25/2008
30 Israeli settlers invaded Esh Ghrab Park in the town of Beit Sahour nearby Bethlehem on Friday midday. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura from the scene reported that 30 Israeli settlers accompanied by 20 Israeli soldiers arrived at the old military base in Esh Ghrab and prevented journalists and internationals from entering the area. An armed Israeli settler tried to attack journalists and internationals and the Israeli soldiers did not intervene. Later on, the Israeli soldiers forced the settlers out of the park and prevented the internationals from entering the old military base. The Israeli soldiers placed a line dividing the park and announced the area a closed military zone. They threatened to shoot anyone who crossed the line. The Israeli settlers had previously planned to attend a group breakfast at the park. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces arrest ten in Bethlehem, Nablus and Jenin
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an - Israeli forces arrested ten Palestinians from cities across the West Bank after they raiding houses in the early hours of Friday morning. Israeli sources said that of the ten men detained three were from Bethlehem, three from Jenin and four from Nablus. All of those arrested have been transfered to interrogation centers for questioning. Included in those arrested in Bethlehem were Mohammed Shehadeh and Ahmad Al-Balbol, both 18, who are both the sons of assassinated activists. These arrests come as part of an ongoing campaign of raids and arrests by Israeli forces, which have seen Nablus targeted in particular. Over the last few weeks a large number of Nablus citizens have been arrested and important commercial centers shut down. Negotiations are currently being held between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israeli military commanders in an attempt to resolve the situation in the city. more.. e-mail
Qassam lands on Palestinian side of fence
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 7/25/2008
After several days of relative calm, rocket fired from Gaza at western Negev; no injuries or damage reported - A Qassam rocket was fired from the northern Gaza Strip just before noon Friday, landing on Palestinian territory near the border fence. There were no reports of injuries or damage. The relative calm in Gaza vicinity communities has been maintained over the past few days. About a week ago, a Qassam rocket landed near the Kissufim crossing, without causing injuries or damage. Two days earlier, a rocket landed in an open area near a community in the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council. There were no reports of injuries or damage. Hamas has been trying to prove that it is fighting the factions firing Qassams. Abu Kusai, a spokesman for the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, said that following the firing of a rocket, Hamas men "kidnapped Fatah members at the Jabalya refugee camp. more.. e-mail
Palestinian projectiles fall in western Negev near border with Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an - Israeli media sources reported Friday that a projectile was launched from within the Gaza Strip. The right wing Israeli daily newspaper Yediot Ahronot said that the homemade device landed in the western Negev not far from the Gaza-Israel border. No casualties or damages have been reported. [end]
Israeli forces shoot two and arrest 80 Palestinians this week
Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 7/25/2008
Nablus -- Israeli forces shot two Palestinians, including a child, and arrested 80 from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during nonviolent protests this week. Several Palestinians protested in response to the escalating number of Israeli invasions in Nablus and nearby villages. On Wednesday, Israeli forces shot a Palestinian in Beit Hanoun located in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces shot him from the Israeli border 300 meters away. In their weekly report, The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said that Israeli forces have been using "excessive force in systematic attacks against peaceful protests organized by Palestinians and Palestinian human rights defenders. "In Bil’in, a village in western Ramallah, Israelis used force to disperse demonstrators, injuring dozens and asphyxiating two. . . " more.. e-mail
The Israeli army kidnaps two Palestinians in Jenin city
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/25/2008
The Israeli army invaded Jenin city and Muthalath ash-Shuhada’ village on Friday at dawn, kidnapping two Palestinians. Local sources reported that the Israeli army invaded Jenin city twice on Friday. First they shot gun fire and sound bombs, then kidnapped Mu’taz as-Salfene, 20. In the second instance Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli military vehicles, blockaded a cafΓ© in the village and kidnapped Yousef Ali As’os, 23. [end]
IOF troops, Israeli settlers intensify their aggressions on W. Bank
Palestinian Information Center 7/25/2008
NABLUS, [PIC]-- Armed Israeli settlers had joined on Thursday the Israeli occupation army in attacking Palestinian citizens in the West Bank as a group of those settlers assaulted cars of Palestinian citizens and set their olive groves ablaze. According to Palestinian eyewitnesses, fanatic Israeli settlers from the colony of Yitshar smashed windows of parked Palestinian cars in Borin village, south of Nablus city. They added that the settlers also burned Olive fields in the village before Palestinian fire engines arrived at the scene and prevented fire from spreading to nearby fields. Also in Borin village, tens of Israeli settlers from the colony of Brakha destroyed electric posts in the village prompting total blackout before they sealed off roads linking the village with Nablus city. For their part, the Israeli occupation soldiers intensified their attacks and arrest campaigns. . . more.. e-mail
Settlers threaten to exact ’price’ in response to evacuations
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/25/2008
Following tense day of clashes in West Bank, settlers warn they will continue to respond to any attempt to banish them. Their ire, however, mostly directed at IDF’s behavior in media -Settlers had uncommonly harsh words for the IDF’s conduct on Thursday following a day of violent clashes in the West Bank. The most scathing criticism, however, was directed not towards the army’s behavior during the evacuation of the Adi-Ad outpost, but rather its portrayal of the settlers in the media. "We’re not the IDF’s punching bag," they proclaimed, pointing towards several instances throughout the day when the army accused settlers of violently attacking soldiers. The settlers vehemently denied troops were assaulted, and threatened to sue the army for libel. In one such incident, the army said a settler seized an assault rifle from a soldier near the settlement of Shiloh and fired several rounds in the air. more.. e-mail
IDF commander: We must deal with settler ’provocateurs’
Uri Blau and Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 7/26/2008
The outgoing commander of the Samaria Brigade, Col. Amir Baram, last month told Israel Defense Forces and legal officials that efforts should be made to "deal with provocateurs" among settlement leaders. Baram cited Kedumim Mayor Daniella Weiss and Rabbi Gadi Ben-Zimra, who heads an Orthodox girls’ high school in the northern West Bank settlement of Ma’aleh Levona as specific examples. At that meeting, with IDF officers and officials from the State Prosecutor’s Office, Baram focused in particular on two yeshivas in the northern West Bank whose students have been party to crimes against Palestinians in the area. One, called Dorshei Yihudcha, is located in Yitzhar and headed by Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, an associate of Rabbi Yitzhak Ginzburg, who headed the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva that was formerly located at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus. more.. e-mail
A Car explosion in Gaza kills three Hamas fighters
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/25/2008
A car explosion in Gaza city killed on Friday evening three Hamas fighters and wounded 20 other people. Palestinian medical sources said that Ammar Mossabeh, Iyad Alhaiya and Nedal Almobayeid, were killed and 20 other people were wounded, in a mysterious blast of a car in Gaza city. Palestinain security sources in the Hamas-led government said that the blast occurred on the coastal road of Gaza city , as the car, in which the three victims, was driving near a local Cafeteria on the Gaza coastal road, west of Gaza city. Spokesman of the Hamas interior ministry said the reasons for the blast remain unclear yet he pledged that the police will start thorough investigations into the incident and bring perpetrators to justice very soon. The Alqassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, accused the Fatah party of targeting a school trip convoy on the coastal road. more.. e-mail
One killed, 'Fatah elements' arrested as two explosions rock Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 7/25/2008
Gaza Ma’an Gaza police said on Friday that they have arrested elements affiliated to the Fatah movement after two explosions in Gaza City. One Palestinian, believed to be the bomber, was killed in the first blast at Ag-Gazira cafι in the centre of the city in the early hours of Friday morning. Security sources in the Gaza Strip had earlier reported that unknown persons launched an explosive device at the cafι, resulting in the death of at least one person and massive damage to the building. A few minutes later there was another explosion outside the house of Dr Marwan Abu Ras, a Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, also in Gaza City, though no one was injured. Media spokesman for the police Islam Shahwan, said that they have sufficient information that Fatah elements were involved in an attempt to attack high profile Hamas figures in Gaza. more.. e-mail
Massacre committed by collaborators in Gaza
Palestinian Information Center 7/25/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Four members of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and a little girl were killed on Friday evening in an explosion that targeted a group having a picnic on the Gaza beach. It is believed that the explosion is the work of the remnants of the mutiny trend within the Fatah movement, as three of them were arrested Friday morning after targeting the home of Dr. Marwan Abu Ras with an explosive device that caused vast material damage to house, but no human casualties. Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told PIC that the atrocity targeted a mosque organised picnic to the beach using a road-side bomb which has resulted in the death of 4 Qassam fighters and a little girl who was in the vicinity of the explosion and whose identity was still unknown. He stressed that the atrocity was premeditated and said: "We hold the remnants of the criminal groups and their leaders who fled to Ramallah responsible for this crime. " more.. e-mail
Bahar condemns attack on Abu Ras; three suspects are caught
Palestinian Information Center 7/25/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Acting PLC speaker MP Ahmad Bahar has strongly condemned on Friday the attack on Hamas lawmaker Dr. Marwan Abu Ras that inflicted clear destruction on the legislator’s home. "This criminal act had indeed left clear destruction on parts of the MP’s house, and exposed his life and the life of his family and neighbors to real danger, which proves that the attackers meant to inflict big human and material losses in the attack", asserted Bahar in a statement he issued in the aftermath of the crime. According to Bahar, the attack on Abu Ras’s house falls in line with the Israeli targeting of legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people, adding that the Israeli occupation army had rounded up and still holding more than 45 Palestinian lawmakers from the Hamas-affiliated change and reform parliamentary bloc. more.. e-mail
5 dead in Gaza blast
Ali Waked and Reuters, YNetNews 7/25/2008
At least five people, including senior Hamas member, killed after bomb explodes at major Gaza intersection; explosive device planted near Hamas police parking site - A bomb exploded at a major junction in the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing five Palestinians including Amar Masbach, a senior member of Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam military wing. Notably, Masbach survived an Israeli assassination attempt last year, after elite troops attempted to kill him in the Strip. Three other Hamas men were killed in the blast, including Iyad al-Haya, the cousin of senior Hamas figure Khalil al-Haya. Osama, al-Haya’s son, was among the wounded. A girl who happened to be in the area was also killed. More than 15 people were wounded in the explosion, west of Gaza City. The blast is believed to be related to intra-Palestinian tensions. more.. e-mail
Gaza bomb blasts kill four, wounds 23
Jerusalem Post 7/25/2008
A powerful explosion ripped through a car on a busy Gaza City beach Friday night, killed four and wounding 23, Hamas security officials said. It was the third mysterious blast of the day in Gaza after a relatively calm period that has followed a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. No one in Gaza blamed Israel for Friday’s violence and it is likely internal Palestinian battles. The late night blast killed Amar Musubah, a Hamas military field commander, Hamas member Eyad Al-Hia, a child and a fourth unknown individual. All the wounded were civilians, medical officials said. Earlier in the day, unknown assailants set off two bombs in Gaza City, killing one man. The first explosion took place just after midnight outside the Al Jazera cafe. The cafe has been hit twice in the past year by similar attacks, presumably perpetrated by radical Muslims who also target record shops and institutions they see as signs of Western influence. more.. e-mail
This Week in Palestine - Week 30 2008
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/25/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB || This Week In Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. IMEMC. org, for July 19th, through July, 25th, 2008. Top Palestinian negotiator, Ahmad Qurei, is set to head to Washington for talks over the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. As the Palestinian ceasefire with Israel enters its sixth week, the Israeli army kills one Palestinian and shoots another in Gaza. These stories and more coming up stay tuned. Nonviolent Resistance We begin our weekly report with recent nonviolent actions in the West Bank. IMEMC’s Rula Shahwan has the details: Nearly 200 Palestinians from the village of Al Khader, located near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, were joined by International peace activists for the weekly prayer service and march to protest the illegal wall Israel is building around the village. more.. e-mail
Beit Fijar Mayor to PNN: this is not the first time
PNN, Palestine News Network 7/24/2008
Bethlehem - Israeli forces violently attacked Beit Fijar Thursday, destroying 45 factories in the industrial zone of the eastern Bethlehem town. Palestinian security sources report that the attack was conducted by numerous Israeli soldiers who confiscated bulldozers, digging equipment and other industrial equipment. The mayor of Beit Fijar, Ahmed Thowabta, told PNN, "This is not the first time the Israelis have come and confiscated equipment such as this from us, and the last time it happened they kept it for 6 months. " The town was held under curfew this afternoon with no one allowed to leave their homes. Israeli forces proceeded to arrest a number of Palestinian citizens and took them to an unknown destination. The industrial zone of Beit Fijar contains a number of cement factories and quarries, which contribute vitally to its economic sector. more.. e-mail
Yitzhar settlers riot in West Bank
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/24/2008
Residents of West Bank settlement clash with IDF, Judea and Samaria police officers, as reports of violent acts stream in from Adi-Ad outpost, village of Burin, Shilo Junction - A series of violent incidents involving settlers swept through the West Bank Thursday, as dozens of settlers clashed with IDF and police forces, stoned cars and vandalized Palestinian property. The gravest incident of the day occurred in the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar, when during the riot a settler was able to snatch a weapon away from an IDF soldier standing next to him and began firing in midair. A second settler began firing in midair as well. No injuries or damage were reported; both men were arrested. Eralier Thursday, the Judea and Samaria Police received reports of settlers rioting in the West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus. more.. e-mail
Police free settlers arrested for seizing soldier’s weapon
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/24/2008
Police release men arrested for snatching rifle from soldier after determining initial report by army had been incorrect. In second incident, IDF says settler pulled out knife during altercation with troops, pressed it to soldier’s throat. Settlers deny report, threaten to sue IDF for libel - Settlers clashed with a group of soldiers at the Havat Gilad outpost in the West Bank on Thursday afternoon. During the course of the altercation one of the settlers pulled out a knife and pressed it to a soldiers’ throat in threat. The settler snatched the soldier’s helmet and fled the scene, the soldier was unharmed. IDF troops have begun searching after the perpetrator. Military officials told Ynet that the incident was viewed severely and would be dealt with. "A red line has been crossed here, this is very serious," they said. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian village south of Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 7/24/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an More than one hundred Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Yizhar south of Nablus attacked Wednesday evening the nearby village of Burin in protest of the Israeli army attempt to remove a trailer that was illegally installed by the settlers earlier that week. Israeli media sources said that the settlers unleashed their anger on the Palestinian villagers, by blocking the road to the village with burning tires, and throwing stones at them and their homes throughout the day. One of the residents of the village said that the settlers threw stones at village homes and caused damages to the residents’ vehicles. While this was going on, he said, a large number of Israeli policemen were trying to control them. more.. e-mail
Settlers attack village south of Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 7/24/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - Dozens of settlers from Bracha settlement near Nablus attacked residents of Burin village south of Nablus city and closed the main road between Nablus and Ramallah on Thursday afternoon. Security sources told Ma’an that dozens of settlers demonstrating near the village also knocked down electric poles causing black outs in the village. The sources added that when Israeli forces arrived in the area the settlers withdrew. [end]
Israeli settlers invade Yousuf tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/24/2008
A number of Israeli settlers invaded Yousuf tomb in the east part of the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday at dawn. [end]
Israel set to authorise more settlements
Middle East Online 7/24/2008
JERUSALEM - Israel was set to expand an illegal Jewish settlement in the occupied Jordan Valley, a senior official said on Thursday, in defiance of Palestinian and international calls to freeze such activity. "We are currently in the process of constructing 20 housing units in the Jordan Valley settlement of Maskiot," a senior defence ministry official said on condition of anonymity. Local authorities in the Jordan Valley on Wednesday published a tender for the construction, he said, but the move still requires the final go-ahead from Defence Minister Ehud Barak. "The construction still requires the authorisation of the defence minister. . . there is no reason for him not to give the authorisation. " The international community has repeatedly called on Israel to freeze all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and Arab east Jerusalem, saying it would hamper efforts. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli gov’t announces establishment of new settlement in the Jordan valley
Palestinian Information Center 7/24/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli government officially announced the establishment of a new settlement on Palestinian lands in the Jordan valley located in the eastern flank of the West Bank. The Israeli Maariv newspaper reported Thursday that Israeli settlers started to reside in the new settlement called Mashkiot which was an abandoned military post. Meanwhile, the Islamic and Christian front for the defense of Jerusalem and holy places warned that Zionist settlement societies are planning and working on seizing Arab real estate and houses in occupied Jerusalem and its environs. In a statement, the Front stated that 28 Jerusalemite families living the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood are threatened with eviction from their homes after a Zionist organization called Yeshiva Haim Ha’olam seized two Arab houses in the Khaldieh Akaba area in the old town. more.. e-mail
Israel to construct 20 new houses in Jordan Valley settlement
Ma’an News Agency 7/24/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Israeli Ministry of Defence and civil administration approved the building of 20 new houses in the settlement of Maskiot in the north of the Jordan valley on Wednesday. This decision is still contingent on the approval of Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. Only one year ago Israel scrapped a plan to build 180 new houses at the settlement due to demands made by the US administration. In recent visits to the area both French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Premier Gordon Brown, have called for an immediate freezing of all settlement expansion in the West Bank. [end]
Israeli forces arrest man in Jenin raids
Ma’an News Agency 7/24/2008
Jenin Ma’an - Israeli forces detained a local from Ta’naq, a village north of Jenin, after stroming his home on Thursday as part of a wider campaign of raids in the Jenin area. Security sources said that Israeli troops detained Mohammed Abdul-Ghani Kezilih, 22, after braking into his house and destroying property. Israeli forces also carried out a major incursion into the centre of Jenin raiding several houses, but detaining no one. In Muthallath Al-Shuhada, in the west of Jenin, Israeli troops surrounded the house of Jihad Sa’id Washahi and called on his two sons Iyad and Muhammad to surrender. The troops then broke into the house but no one was arrested. [end]
The Israeli army invades Al Manya village in Bethlehem and kidnaps a civilian
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/24/2008
The Israeli army invaded Al Maniya village in the southeastern part of the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Thursday midday and kidnapped a civilian. 6 Israeli military vehicles invaded the village and imposed a closure lasting a couple of hours. Israeli troops searched and ransacked several houses forcing civilians out of their homes according to local sources. The troops kidnapped Nawaf Abu Nur, 44, after damaging his residence. [end]
The Israeli army shoots three Palestinians and kidnaps eleven in Hebron City
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/24/2008
The Israeli army invaded several villages in the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday at dawn, kidnapping 11 Palestinians and shooting 3 others. [end]
Palestine Today 072408
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/24/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 3 m 0s || 2. 74 MB ||Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Thursday July 24th, 2008. The Israeli Army invades several areas in the west bank and kidnaps 15 civilians. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News cast Today in the west bank city of Bethlehem, the Israeli army invaded villages at midday; troops kidnapped three civilians taking them to unknown detention camps. The Israeli troops searched and ransacked several houses causing damage and destruction. Moreover the Israeli troops shot tear gas and sound bombs panicking civilians in the village. The Israeli army also invaded Faggar village located at the southern part of the city of Bethlehem. The army entered the industrial zone in the village and invaded 45 stone quarries in the area. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army kidnaps a Palestinian from a village near Jenin city
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/24/2008
The Israeli army invaded the west Bank city of Jenin on Thursday morning kidnapping a Palestinian man from nearby Ta’nik village. [end]
The Israeli Army invades villages in Ramallah city
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/24/2008
The Israeli Army invaded Al Berieh and Beteen villages, east of the central West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday at dawn. [end]
The Israeli army kidnaps two Palestinians from Husan village nearby Bethlehem
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/24/2008
The Israeli army kidnapped two Palestinians from Husan village, western the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Thursday at dawn. [end]
Settler holds knife to IDF soldier’s throat in West Bank riot
Yuval Azoulay, and The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 7/24/2008
A settler attacked an Israel Defense Forces soldier at the West Bank outpost of Havat Gilad Thursday afternoon, holding a knife to the soldier’s throat and forcibly removing his helmet from his head. The attacker then fled the scene. The incident occurred during a confrontation between settlers and Israeli soldiers in the area, west of Nablus. Other settlers at Havat Gilad set Palestinian olive groves on fire, sparking several field fires. Earlier Thursday, Palestinian security officials said that more than 20 settlers had attacked another Palestinian village in the West Bank, Burin, smashing cars and windows and cutting electricity wires. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, however, said settlers never entered the village itself although there were scuffles between Palestinians and Israelis outside Burin on the road to the nearby settlement of Yitzhar. more.. e-mail
Palestinians attack electrician with hammer
Tova Dadon, YNetNews 7/24/2008
According to initial report, two laborers working in kibbutz in southern Israel lightly injure Jewish man, flee scene - Two Palestinian workers attacked a Jewish electrician with a hammer at a construction site in Kibbutz Masuot Yitzhak in southern Israel on Thursday afternoon. The man was lightly injured and the two laborers fled the scene. The police are searching for them in the area. It is still unclear what prompted the attack. The electrician, 38-year-old Avi Turjeman of Kiryat Gat, said he had no early contact with the assailants. "I had no argument with them and did not talk to them," he noted. "They attacked me from the back, one hitting me in the head and hand with the hammer, and the other helping him near the door. I managed to grab the hammer and jump out of the window. more.. e-mail
Civilian shot by Israelis in the north of Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency 7/23/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - Palestinian medical sources announced on Wednesday morning that a civilian was shot by Israeli forces in the north of the Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses told Maan that Israeli forces opened fire at a group of civilians in the north of Beit Hanoun injuring Mohammad Abdel Aziz Hamdan in his leg who is in his twenties of age. Hamdan was transferred to Beit Hanoun hospital then to Kamal Udwan hospital for treatment, doctors described his situation as stable. This incident will be seen by the de facto Hamas government in Gaza as constituting another Israeli breach of the truce between Israel and the Gaza Strip. [end]
Israeli settlers attack a house in Nablus City
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/23/2008
Israeli settlers attacked a house in Boreen village in the southern part of Nablus city and injured the residents of the house. [end]
Israel keen to crack down on East Jerusalem terrorists
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 7/24/2008
Responding to the sharp rise in terrorist attacks in the capital, carried out by Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities are keen to expedite procedures that would authorize the resumption of punitive measures, such as the razing of terrorists’ homes. For the second time in three weeks, a Palestinian terrorist went on a rampage with a bulldozer in central Jerusalem. Twenty four Israeli civilians were injured, one seriously, before the driver was shot and killed by a Border Police officer and a civilian. The attack occured close to 2 P. M. , near the King David Hotel, where Barack Obama, the presumptive U. S. Democratic presidential candidate, stayed Tuesday night. Security sources expressed concern Tuesday at the sharp rise in the number of attacks in the capital, and the role of East Jerusalem’s Arab residents in them. more.. e-mail
The Israeli Army kidnaps a Palestinian in Hebron
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/23/2008
The Israeli Army invaded on Wednesday at dawn the southern West Bank city of Hebron. and kidnapped a civilian. [end]
Kittani survives fourth assassination attempt
PNN, Palestine News Network 7/23/2008
Tulkarem -- Three leaders of Saraya Al Quds, the armed resistance wing of Islamic Jihad, survived an assassination attempt by Israeli forces Tuesday evening in the northern West Bank region of Tulkarem. Israeli forces chased a car containing Fadi Kittani and two other leaders of Saraya Al Quds, as reported in a Palestinian Authority press release. They found themselves surrounded by over ten Israeli military jeeps and special forces vehicles. Israeli forces exchanged fire with the three men, who then escaped from their vehicle shortly before it was blown up. The men were brought by Palestinian security to a safe place in town. Israeli forces carried out searches of several houses in a failed attempt to find the men. This is the fourth assassination attempt survived by Kittani. more.. e-mail
Kitani evades capture again as Israelis storm Qaffin
Ma’an News Agency 7/23/2008
Tulkarem - Ma’an - Israeli forces stormed the houses of civilians on Wednesday morning in the town of Qaffin north of the West Bank city of Tulkarem, searching for Fadi Kitani, leader of Islamic Jihads military wing. A source from Islamic jihad told Ma’an that the raids happened at 1am Wednesday morning and targeted the houses of relatives of Kitani. The soldiers apparently opened fire in the houses and attacked a number of the inhabitants before arresting one man, named as Ahmad Abu Abed. Israeli forces have been searching for Kitani for a number of years and he dramatically escaped the fifth attempt to assassinate him on Tuesday, when troops surrounded him and blew up his car. In the early hours of Wednesday, 16 military vehicles arrived in the town and closed off the Al-Ajjouli area in Qaffin in order to stop Kitani from escaping. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 072308
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/23/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB || Palestine Today 072308 Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Wednesday July 23rd, 2008. The Israeli army injures a Palestinian civilian in Gaza and runs-over a Palestinian child in the West Bank, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The News cast In the Gaza Strip, The Israeli army shot a Palestinian on Wednesday midday from a nearby Israeli military zone located on the northern borders of the Gaza Strip. Medical sources reported that Israeli troops opened fire at the 25 year old Abed Hamdan causing the injury of his foot and he was transferred to a local hospital for treatment. The Israeli army fire today came following an Israeli decision two weeks ago to shoot at any moving object just 300 meters away from the border fence. more.. e-mail
Shin Bet probes ’settler rocket fire’ near Nablus
Yaakov Katz And Tovah Lazaroff, Jerusalem Post 7/21/2008
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) was looking into Palestinian claims on Monday that settlers from Har Bracha and Yitzhar in the West Bank fired two rockets into fields near Nablus. This burnt cylinder, which Palestinians claim is a homemade rocket, was found in a field near Nablus on Sunday. A picture of the "rocket" provided by a left-wing activist and obtained by The Jerusalem Post shows a burning metallic cylinder lying in a field near Nablus. The Shin Bet said it could not confirm what the cylinder was and raised the possibility that settlers had fired a homemade rocket or that Palestinians had discovered an old military shell and set it on fire. One of the two projectiles landed in a field near the villages of Awarta and Odala, Hani Dalrashi of Awarta told the Post. He said it was the fourth time that settlers had fired rockets at Palestinian villages south of Nablus. more.. e-mail
HRC ready to rebuild 619 homes hit by 2006 war
Daily Star 7/23/2008
BEIRUT: The Higher Relief Council (HRC) has finished the paperwork to rebuild 619 residential units in South Lebanon that were damaged or destroyed during the summer 2006 war, according to a statement released on Tuesday. "Since 2006, the council has finished the paperwork for 2,439 residential units in South Lebanon and has provided the Council for South Lebanon with checks to be distributed to affected families amounting to $26,190,270," the HRC said. According to the HRC statement, the residential units are located in several towns across the South, including Nabatiyeh, MarkabaGhaziyyeh and Ain Ebel. The total cost of rebuilding the housing units is estimated at around $6 billion, or L. L. 9,612,535,000. - The Daily Star Tags: Lebanon Printable Version Send to a friend more.. e-mail
Commander of IDF’s south Gaza brigade seriously hurt in car accident
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 7/23/2008
Colonel Shlomi Dahan on life support after suffering severe head wound as his Isuzu jeep flips over; his driver moderately wounded -Colonel Shlomi Dahan, head of the IDF’s southern regional brigade along the border with the Gaza Strip, was seriously injured in a car accident Wednesday morning at the Magen Junction in south Israel. Dahan and his driver, who sustained moderate wounds in the accident, were evacuated by helicopter to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center. Magen David Adom paramedics who arrived at the scene found an Isuzu jeep overturned at the side of the road, with Dahan and his driver trapped inside. They were pulled out of the vehicle by the paramedics and firefighters that were dispatched to the scene and then taken by an army helicopter to Soroka. Colonel Dahan remains unconscious after suffering a severe head injury and is on life support. more.. e-mail
Egyptian security discovers tunnel under its borders with Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 7/23/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an Egyptian security on Wednesday discovered an underground tunnel beneath the borders between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in Rafah in the south of the Strip, Radio Israel reported. The tunnel was apparently being used to smuggle goods from Egypt to Gaza. Egyptian police also announced that they have arrested 8 Egyptians for attempting to cross into Israel through the Sinai Peninsula to look for work in Israel. [end]
Israel failing to deter Jerusalem attacks, security chiefs warn
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 7/24/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel’s security chiefs said on Wednesday that more needed to be done to protect Occupied Jerusalem from Palestinian attacks as debate raged after a second payloader rampage in the holy city this month. A Palestinian from Occupied East Jerusalem plowed through a crowded street on Tuesday, wounding 16 people before being shot dead in an apparent copycat attack modeled on a similar rampage earlier this month that killed three people. There have since been mounting calls for Israel to return to a policy of destroying the family homes of Palestinian attackers, despite a military report that concluded in 2005 that the practice was ineffective. "Sanctions should be applied against the families of terrorists in cases where it is proved that they collaborated in attacks, or did nothing to stop them," Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit told Public Radio. more.. e-mail
Border Guard officer injured in Old City shooting attack dies of wounds
Ronen Medzini, YNetNews 7/23/2008
David Shriki critically wounded in attack 12 days ago passes away at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court issues gag order on attack investigation as hunt for shooter continues -Border Guard officer Lance Corporal David Shriki from Rishon Letzion, who was critically wounded in the shooting attack near the Lions’ Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem 12 days ago, died of his wounds Wednesday at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in the capital. Shriki, who suffered a head wound, was shot together with fellow Border Guard officer Imad Gadir, who was moderately injured, by a terrorist who escaped to a nearby Muslim cemetery and has yet to be captured. The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court issued a gag order on the shooting attack’s investigation details. First to arrive at the shooting scene were another Border Guard officer and a policeman who were patrolling the area. more.. e-mail
Border police officer injured in Old City of Jerusalem after a shooting attack, dies of wounds
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/23/2008
Border police officer Lance Corporal David Shriki , who was critically wounded in the shooting attack near the Lions’ Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem 12 days ago, died of his wounds on Wednesday at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in the capital Jerusalem. [end]
Ahrar Al-Jalil claim bulldozer attack
Ma’an News Agency 7/23/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an - The Ahrar Al-Jalil Brigades, Imad Mughniyya group, on Tuesday night claimed responsibility for bulldozer attack near the King David Hotel in Jerusalem that left 19 Israelis requiring medical attention. In a statement received by Ma’an, the group named the bulldozer driver as Ghassan Abu Teir, and claimed that the operation came in response to Barak Obama’s visit to Israel to the King David Hotel scheduled for Wednesday. Doubt has been cast on the authenticity of the statement. The group has claimed responsibility for a large number of attacks that they are unlikely to have carried out. [end]
The Israeli army erects a military check point in Bethlehem City
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/23/2008
The Israeli army has erected on Wednesday morning a military checkpoint at the entrance of Al Shawawra village north of the West Bank city of Bethlehem. [end]
Aqsa Foundation warns of preparations to build the Jewish temple
Palestinian Information Center 7/23/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Aqsa Foundation for the maintenance of Islamic holy shrines on Tuesday warned of a series of activities launched by fanatic Jewish groups to prepare for the construction of the alleged temple after demolishing the holy Aqsa Mosque. The Foundation said that the activities point to the escalating Israeli schemes to target the Aqsa Mosque. The Hebrew media on Tuesday said that a fanatic rightist group was organizing courses over a period of three weeks in 200 areas to rehabilitate cadres to work inside the temple. The Foundation in a statement said the "mad" escalation of the Israeli institutions meant that the holy site was in great danger. It appealed to the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic rulers and ruled to immediately act to save the Aqsa and to pressure for halting all forms of aggression on the holy site without any further delay. more.. e-mail
Relative of imprisoned PLC member conducts operation with bulldozer in Jerusalem
PNN, Palestine News Network 7/22/2008
Jerusalm - As Israeli forces continue to bulldoze Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, this is the second time that a Palestinian with a bulldozer fought back. The first time was at the beginning of the month. Ghassan Abu Tair is dead Tuesday afternoon after being shot by an armed Israeli civilian and then shortly after by Israeli forces when he hit a bus and five cars near the King David Hotel. The number of Israeli injuries are said to be at 16, but only one in serious condition, according to Israeli medical reports. Abu Tair is the relative of imprisoned Palestinian Legislative Council member Mohammand Abu Tair. Israeli forces have held him in their prisons for approximately two years. Ghassan Abu Tair is from the East Jerusalem village of Umm Tuba, one of many suffering under the Israeli policy of ethnic cleansing of the native Palestinian population. more.. e-mail
2 Arabs narrowly escape lynching in Jerusalem
Roi Mandel, YNetNews 7/22/2008
Dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jews assault two Palestinians in Jerusalem Tuesday evening; ’people in yeshiva were yelling: murder the Jews who protect Arabs,’ says Jewish man who saved lynch victims’ lives - Hatred in Jerusalem:Two Palestinians narrowly escaped a lynching attempt in Jerusalem Tuesday evening after they were assaulted by dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jews. The two Arabs were wounded, while a Jewish resident who protected them with his body was stabbed. "Blood was boiling, and these crazy people almost killed me," the Jewish man told Ynet. The police are looking into the incident and searching for the attackers. According to eyewitness testimonies, an angry mob stormed the backyard of a home located near a Jerusalem yeshiva. The family at the home was sitting shiva at the time after a relative died. more.. e-mail
Zionist settlers burn Palestinian farms
Palestinian Information Center 7/22/2008
QALQILIA, (PIC)-- Zionist settlers set fire to Palestinian farms planted with olive trees northeast of Qalqilia district on Monday evening in an area called Abul Jud valley, locals reported. They said that tens of citizens rushed to extinguish the fire with the help of civil defense squads, and noted that the quick action on the part of those citizens prevented the spread of fire. Witnesses reported that the settlers assaulted farmers in the same area and opened machineguns to terrorize them while IOF soldiers escorted those settlers and fired teargas and rubber-coated bullets at the locals causing suffocation among farmers and citizens. Meanwhile, IOF soldiers raided the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus city shortly after midnight Monday and kidnapped Jamal Al-Ayed. Local sources said that the soldiers stormed the city and roamed its streets. more.. e-mail
Jewish settlers accused of firing rockets on Nablus
Middle East Online 7/22/2008
NABLUS, West Bank - Palestinians found a burning projectile south of the occupied West Bank town of Nablus on Monday and said it was a makeshift rocket fired by Jewish settlers. The Palestinian Ma’an News agency quoted a local leader as saying settlers fired a projectile that hit agricultural land between the villages of Awarta and Odala, without causing casualities. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld dismissed the account, however, saying it was "absolutely not" a home-made rocket. "It was a leftover 105 mm mortar (round) that was found and played with by a Palestinian boy who also set it on fire," Rosenfeld said, without providing further details on where the projectile may have come from. He said such mortar rounds have been used by the Israeli army in the past as flares, but he could not confirm its origin. Print more.. e-mail
VIDEO - News / Bulldozer driver goes on rampage in Jerusalem, wounding at least 24
Channel 10 and Haaretz Staff, Ha’aretz 7/23/2008
Haaretz. com/Channel 10 news brief for July 21, 2008. In this edition:A Palestinian bulldozer driver goes on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem on Tuesday, wounding at least 24 people, just weeks after a similar attack in the capital left three dead. [end]
Driver killed after second digger rampage
AP, The Independent 7/22/2008
The driver of a construction vehicle rammed into cars and a city bus in Jerusalem today, wounding four people before he was shot dead, police said. The attack was a chilling imitation of a similar incident early this month, when a Palestinian driver went on a rampage with his earthmoving vehicle on a busy Jerusalem street, running over vehicles and pedestrians, killing three and wounding dozens before an off-duty soldier shot and killed him. The identity of the driver in today’s attack was not immediately clear. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Israeli police called it a "terror attack. " Minutes after the attack, the man’s body was visible sprawled backward in the cabin of the yellow front loader. Three cars were heavily damaged, including one that was overturned. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police sealed off possible escape. . . more.. e-mail
VIDEO - Killing of terrorist captured on video
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/22/2008
Caught on video: Bulldozer driver goes on rampage in Jerusalem, wounds 18 people; terror attack ends quickly thanks to rapid respone by settler Yaakov Asael, Druze Border Guard officer Amal Ganem who shot and killed terrorist - VIDEO - The Jerusalem bulldozer attack Tuesday afternoon left 18 people wounded but could have been much worse had it not been for the quick reaction of settler Yaakov Asael and Border Guard officer Amal Ganem, who shot and killed the terrorist. The last moments of the incident were captured on video. The video shows Ganem fire at the terrorist from one side of the bulldozer. In the backdrop a man is heard saying "is there anyone here who can provide first aid? There’s somebody wounded here. " Ganem is then seen moving over to the other side of the bulldozer, while an eyewitness tells him that the driver is still alive: "He’s not dead, he’s dead. more.. e-mail
Police to closely watch Arab workers in Jerusalem
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/22/2008
Police to be in touch with construction site managers in bid to prevent further bulldozer attacks - Jerusalem District Commander Aharon Franco ordered police Tuesday evening to more closely scrutinize Arab workers who are residents of east Jerusalem, in the wake of the latest bulldozer terror attack in the capital. Following assessments by police officials, senior officers decided to undertake strict checks and patrols at construction sites in the capital. Police source say that the attention given to construction sites has been boosted following the first bulldozer attack, and now they also plan to be in touch with site managers regarding any unusual incidents or employees with a criminal record. The police will also continue their activity at east Jerusalem villages in an effort to prevent clashes between Arab residents and far right activists. more.. e-mail
Bulldozer driver a relative of Hamas lawmaker
Ali Waked, YNetNews 7/22/2008
Man who carried out Jerusalem attack named as Ghasan Abu-Tir of east Jerusalem. His relative, Palestinian Parliament member Muhammad Abu-Tir, is jailed in Israel - Palestinian sources in Jerusalem reported Tuesday that the man who carried out the bulldozer attack on Jerusalem’s King David Street was Ghasan Abu-Tir, 22, of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Umm Tuba. His relative, Hamas lawmaker Muhammad Abu-Tir, is jailed inIsrael. Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, who arrived at the scene of Tuesday’s bulldozer, said that "this is another east Jerusalem resident from on of Jerusalem’s villages. " He added, "You throw terrorists out the door, they climb through the window with all kinds of means and ideas. Every working tool becomes a means of terror and we must rethink how we employ those working here. more.. e-mail
Settler grandpa saves the day
YNetNews 7/22/2008
Yaakov Asael, 53-year-old grandfather of six, kills rampaging bulldozer driver - Published: 07. 22. 08, 16:43 /Yaacov Asael, a resident of the Susiya settlement in southern Mount Hebron is Tuesday’s hero. Asael shot and killed the terrorist who carried out the bulldozer attack in Jerusalem earlier in the dayFifty-three-year-old Asael is an IDF reserves company commander, a father of eight, grandfather of six, and a teacher. Ayelet Recanati, Asael’s daughter, told Ynet that her father is "resourceful. " "He was a military man in commanding positions in combat units, in the armored corps," she said. "He is a bible teacher and an agriculturalist but has studied judo his whole life. He is a Jewish Israeli who combines the Torah and labor and tremendous politeness," she said. more.. e-mail
Three Islamic Jihad fighters survive Israeli attack near Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency 7/22/2008
Tulkarem Ma’an Three Islamic Jihad fighters escaped an Israeli assassination attempt in the town of Qaffin, north of the city of Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, sources in Islamic Jihad said. According to the sources, Israeli troops in several jeeps surrounded a car containing Fadi Kittani, a leader in Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, and two companions. The fighters then clashed with the Israeli soldiers. The troops blew up the car and searched houses in the area, but the three managed to flee safely, the sources said. This was Israel’s fourth attempt to kill Kittani. [end]
Report: Hamas operative killed in Gaza blast
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 7/22/2008
Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades say man died while ’on special jihad mission’ east of Gaza City; two Palestinians injured in incident - A member of Hamas’ military wing was killed Tuesday morning and two others were severely injured in an explosion which took place east of Gaza City, the Palestinian news agency Maan reported. The man was hurt by shrapnel in all parts of his body. Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, declared that the man, 24-year-old Halil Ibrahim Jundiah, was killed "while on a special jihad mission. " Two weeks ago, two Palestinians were killed and two were injured in a blast at a Hamas training base near the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis. A source in the Strip said that a facility in the base collapsed following the explosion. The IDF said the incident was a "work incident". more.. e-mail
Gazans arrested for violating fuel price limits
Ma’an News Agency 7/22/2008
Gaza Ma’an Palestinian police arrested a number of fuel merchants in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday for selling fuel for higher than the official price. The investigation unit of the police affiliated to the Hamas-run government said that its officers raided the shop where the fuel was being sold. Police say that further investigations have been opened in the case. The police also said that selling fuel at higher than the government mandated price is a violation of the law, a way of taking advantage of Gazans’ harsh living conditions. [end]
Palestinian killed in ’copycat’ attack in Occupied Jerusalem
Mehdi Lebouachera, Daily Star 7/23/2008
Agence France Presse OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: A Palestinian man was shot dead after going on a rampage with a payloader in Occupied Jerusalem on Tuesday, wounding at least 16 people as he ploughed into cars in the second such attack this month. Police chief Aharon Franco said the assailant, identified as a man from Occupied East Jerusalem, rammed his vehicle into a bus near the King David Hotel, failing to overturn it, but smashing its windows. "The bulldozer then rammed five cars and damaged them. A civilian tried to stop him when a border guard arrived and neutralized him. " The attack comes on the eve of a visit by US presidential candidate Barack Obama who is due to hold meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials Wednesday on the latest leg of a tour of the Middle East and Europe. Obama condemned the attack, telling reporters in neighboring Jordan he would support Israel "in confronting terror. more.. e-mail
Shin Bet sources: East Jerusalem security measures ineffective
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/23/2008
In face of east Jerusalem residents’ growing involvement in terror, Shin Bet officials tell Ynet current security measures ineffective; Israeli security forces should enter Arab villages in Jerusalem more frequently, one official says - Current security measures aimed at curbing the terror threat in east Jerusalem "aren’t effective enough," Shin Bet sources told Ynet Tuesday night in wake of the latest bulldozer attack in the capital. The terrorist, an east Jerusalem resident, wounded 18 people before he wasshot and killed by a civilian and a Border Guard officer. Security officials told Ynet that what they characterized as "popular attacks" such as the hurling of Molotov cocktails and stabbing attacks are on the rise. Heavily armed police near terrorist’s home (Photo: Reuters) "There is a link between events in Gaza and the pictures. . . more.. e-mail
Bulldozer driver goes on rampage in Jerusalem, apparent copycat of recent deadly attack
Nadav Shragai , Haaretz Service and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 7/23/2008
A Palestinian bulldozer driver went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem on Tuesday, wounding at least 24 people, just weeks after a similar attack in the capitalleft three dead. The driver was identified as a 22-year-old resident of East Jerusalem who held an Israeli ID card. Police sealed off possible escape routes into the predominantly Arab area of Jerusalem and were searching for two suspects who fled the scene, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. One of the wounded was in serious condition and the rest sustained light wounds. They were taken to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem for treatment. The driver of the tractor struck a bus and at least five cars before being shot dead by security forces, Jerusalem police said. Television footage showed an elderly woman being wheeled into an ambulance and rescue personnel assisting visibly shocked passersby. more.. e-mail
East J’lem terror activity on the rise
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 7/23/2008
Responding to the sharp rise in terrorist attacks in the capital, carried out by Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities are keen to expedite procedures that would authorize the resumption of punitive measures, such as the razing of terrorists’ homes. For the second time in three weeks, a Palestinian terrorist went on a rampage with a bulldozer in central Jerusalem. Eighteen Israeli civilians were injured, one seriously, before the driver was shot and killed by a Border Police officer and a civilian. The attack occured close to 2 P. M. , near the King David Hotel, where Barack Obama, the presumptive U. S. Democratic presidential candidate, stayed last night. Security sources expressed concern yesterday at the sharp rise in the number of attacks in the capital, and the role of East Jerusalem’s Arab residents in them. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 072208
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/22/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 fileWelcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Tuesday July 22nd, 2008. One killed in Gaza, while 16 Israelis injured in Jerusalem, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News Cast The Al Qassam brigades, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas party in Gaza, announced on Tuesday that one of their fighters was killed and two others were wounded in eastern Gaza City. In a statement, faxed to media outlets, the brigades said that the three causalities were taking part in a resistance- mission when a blast occurred at a Qassam post in the Shijaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. Dr. Mo’awiya Hasanin, chief of the Emergency Department at Gaza’s Health Ministry told media outlets that one man arrived dead at the hospital while the other two wounded people, including a child, underwent life-saving surgeries. more.. e-mail
Palestinian bulldozer driver killed in Jerusalem
Middle East Online 7/22/2008
JERUSALEM - A Palestinian bulldozer driver was shot dead in central Jerusalem on Tuesday after injuring at least 16 people in an attack mimicking one earlier in the month, Israeli police and rescue services said. Jerusalem police chief Aharon Franco said "the terrorist was neutralised very quickly" and police were working to reopen the street to traffic. On July 2, a Palestinian in Jerusalem killed three people and wounded 30 others when he rammed a bulldozer into a bus and cars on a busy street before being shot dead. Franco said Tuesday’s assailant attacked a bus, failing to overturn it, but smashing its windows. "The bulldozer then rammed five cars and damaged them. A civilian tried to stop him when a border guard arrived and neutralised him. " In the July 2 incident, the attacker succeeded in flipping a bus, decapitating the driver in the process. more.. e-mail
Twenty-four Israelis injured in a bulldozer attack in Jerusalem
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/22/2008
Israeli sources reported on Tuesday that twenty-four Israelis were wounded after being attacked by a bulldozer driven by a Palestinian from the Old city of Jerusalem. The attacker was shot dead by Israeli policemen at the scene. The attack was considered a copycat to previous attack carried out on July 2, in which a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem carried out a bulldozer attack on Jaffa Road in Jerusalem and killed three Israelis. The attacker is not known to be a member of any Palestinian armed group. The Tuesday attack was carried out by a 22-year old resident of East Jerusalem. The police claimed that there are two other suspects involved in the attack and that they fled to the Arab section of Jerusalem. An Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that the attack took place on the corner of Keren Hayesdod and King David streets. more.. e-mail
Driver killed after second Jerusalem ’bulldozer rampage’
Ma’an News Agency 7/22/2008
[Ma’anImages] Jerusalem Ma’an A bulldozer driver was shot dead after he plowed through several cars in West Jerusalem on Tuesday afternoon, wounding 19 Israelis in an incident similar to an attack earlier in July. Witnesses said the construction vehicle struck a bus, then overturned one car and crushed four others at the corner of Keren Hayesdod and King David streets, behind the King Solomon hotel. The driver was then shot and killed. The driver of the bulldozer was identified as 22-year-old Ghassan Abu Teir, from Umm Tuba, in East Jerusalem. Witnesses said the left window of the cab of the bulldozer was hit by at least eight bullets. Israeli medical sources report that 19 people were injured. Only one person was seriously injured. The rest were mildly to moderately injured, some treated for shock. more.. e-mail
Attacks in Israel
Matthew Weaver and Haroon Siddique, The Guardian 7/22/2008
Today’s incident marks the fifth serious attack on Israel this year following a lull in violence in 2007. February 4 - A woman is killed and 11 people injured in the town of Dimona, in the first suicide bombing inside Israel in more than a year. Responsibility for the attack is claimed by hardliners within the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a group linked to the Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. March 5 Eight students are killed when a gunman opens fire at Mercaz Harav Yeshiva, one of Jerusalem’s largest seminaries. It is the worst incident inside Israel since April 2006. May 14 At least 14 people are injured when a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip hits a busy shopping mall in central Ashkelon. more.. e-mail
Palestinian arrested for planning to stab Israeli soldier
Ma’an News Agency 7/22/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Israeli army said on Tuesday that they detained a 27-year-old Palestinian man for plotting to stab an Israeli soldier near Jerusalem. They stated that they detained him on Monday at Ar-Ram checkpoint to the north of Jerusalem. After searching him they say they found a knife. The man has apparently admitted that he was carrying it with the intention of stabbing an Israeli soldier. [end]
VIDEO - 16 injured in Jerusalem digger attack
The Guardian 7/22/2008
A Palestinian in a mechanical digger causes havoc in central Jerusalem, injuring up to 16 people before being shot dead in a near-identical repeat of an attack three weeks ago. [end]
The Israeli army demolished 3,100 Palestinian houses in Jerusalem since 1976
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/21/2008
The Israeli army threatened more than 20 Palestinian civilian of demolishing their houses east of The City of Jerusalem, The Israeli army says that those houses were built without the needed permission. Since Israel occupied Jerusalem in 1967 it has rarely given its Palestinian residents any form of documentation for their land or homes. On Thursday at dawn, Israeli forces backed by a bulldozer stormed and demolished the home of Ahmad Al A’rameen in Al Ezariye neighborhood in Jerusalem City. Witnesses said that Israeli troops attacked Ahmad, and his family injuring three of them then kidnapped two of his sons before demolishing the house. On Tuesday the Israeli Authorities demolished a two-story home in Al Aiswiye neighborhood in Jerusalem city. The demolished building belonged to Aishaq Mustafa which housed 12 family members. more.. e-mail
An Israeli jeep runs over a Palestinian and kidnaps him in Qalqilia City
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/21/2008
Eye witnesses reported that an Israeli jeep intentionally ran over a Palestinian and kidnapped him on Sunday in the West Bank city of Qalqilia. Eye witnesses reported that the 21 year old Khaled Dakhmes was moderately injured after the Israeli troops intentionally ran him over. Eye witnesses also reported that the Israeli troops kidnapped him taking him to an unknown detention camp. [end]
IOF jeep runs over youth, 30 Israelis gang up over Palestinian
Palestinian Information Center 7/21/2008
QALQILIA, (PIC)-- IOF soldiers used their jeep to deliberately run over a Palestinian youth in Qalqilia city called Khaled Dughmesh before arresting him, witnesses reported. They said that the 21-year-old youth, who hails from Jibla village southeast of Qalqilia city, was moderately wounded in the incident. The witnesses pointed out that Dughmesh was driving a cart when the army jeep hit the cartIn another atrocity, around 30 Israelis ganged up on a Palestinian young man in Karmiel city on Saturday and turned his car upside down. Arab press in the 1948 occupied areas said that Hazem Jabran, 22, from the Rame town near Safad city, was waiting in his car for his sister when the group of fanatic Israelis approached him and smashed his car’s window shields wounding him in the left leg before turning it over. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades several cities in the West Bank
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/21/2008
The Israeli army invaded on Monday at dawn Al Thahirye village south of the West Bank city of Hebron, and several areas in the West Bank city of Jenin. Local sources reported that several Israeli military vehicles invaded the city’s neighborhoods. The Israeli troops walked through the streets and ransacked several houses. The Israeli army withdrew and no kidnaps were reported. [end]
Palestinians: West Bank settlers fired makeshift rockets at us
Reuters, Ha’aretz 7/22/2008
Two makeshift rockets landed harmlessly outside Palestinian villages in the West Bank on Monday, residents said, accusing neighboring settlers of launching an attack. A source in the security establishment described the Palestinian report as incorrect. Residents of the villages of Odala and Awarta, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, said two rockets were fired from the nearby settlement of Yitzhar. ATelevision cameraman saw a projectile, about 45 centimetres long, burning in a field. A week ago, Israeli police arrested Yitzhar settler Gilad Herman on suspicion of involvement in a failed rocket attack last month on the Palestinian village of Burin in the West Bank. The projectile failed to reach its target and nobody was harmed, although the sound of the blast triggered a sweep of the area by Israeli security forces. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers launch homemade projectile at villages south of Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 7/21/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - Israeli settlers launched a homemade projectile towards the Palestinian villages of ’Awarta and Odala, south of Nablus, on Monday. Hani Abdel Latif, a member of the ’Awarta village council, told Ma’an in a phone interview that a projectile landed on Monday afternoon in agricultural land between the villages of ’Awarta and Odala. No injuries were reported. Abdel Latif added that this is the forth time that Israeli settlers have launched such projectiles at Palestinian villages south of Nablus. Palestinian security sources have confirmed finding these homemade rockets after they landed near Palestinian villages. Israeli authorities have acknowledged that a group of settlers belonging to a religious school in the settlement of Yitzhar have been producing homemade rockets to launch at nearby Palestinian villages. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers launch a home made shell at O’rta village in Nablus City
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/21/2008
Local sources reported that an Israeli home made shell was launched at O’rta village east of the West Bank city of Nablus Eye witnesses reported that the Israeli home made shell was launched from a nearby Israeli settlement and fell at the village entrance causing no injuries among civilians. As it didn’t explode up to this moment Locals are calling the Palestinian Authority to neutralize this home made shell before it explodes and causes damages or injuries among civilians. The home made shell fell only 30 meters away from civilian houses. Local sources reported that this is the first time an Israeli home made shell is launched at the village, adding that the Israeli settlers have launched four home made shells earlier at the nearby village of Burin. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian houses in Hebron City
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/21/2008
The Israeli settlers attacked several houses in the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday at dawn for the second day in a row. Local sources reported that a group of Israeli settlers attacked Al Nasara Neighborhood in the city and tried to invade several Palestinian houses. The Israeli settlers threw stones over a number of Palestinian houses and provoked civilians to get out of their homes. This is not the first time this neighborhood has been attacked by Israeli settlers, noting that Israeli settlers practiced different attacks on civilians and their homes many times earlier. [end]
The Israeli army invades the old city of Jerusalem and attacks an old woman
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/21/2008
The Israeli army invaded on Monday midday the old city of Jerusalem and attacked the Palestinian vegetables buyers in the street and confiscated their stuff. Eye witnesses reported that the Israeli army attacked an old saleswoman which led to clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinians. Eye witnesses also reported that the Israeli army kidnapped one of the Palestinian youth taking him to a nearby Israeli police station. [end]
Rail inspector: Arabs attacked me, tried to snatch my weapon
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews 7/21/2008
Family says Arab youths arrived at 22-year old guard’s post Thursday night, demanded his weapon; upon discovering he had none they beat him, causing bone fractures in his face, body. Police have no leads, say motive may be nationalistic - Twenty-year old Ronen, an inspector with the Israel Railways, was attacked on Thursday while manning his post at one of the rail crossings near Atlit. The attackers, a group of young men, beat him and fractured bones in his face and body. Despite the lengthy period of time that has passed, the Tirat HaCarmel police department investigating the case still has no leads on the suspects’ identities. Charged with Terrorism6 Israeli Arabs charged with operating al-Qaeda cell / Efrat Weiss (Video) Hebrew University students indicted of trying to build terror infrastructure in Jerusalem. more.. e-mail
Israeli campaign against Nablus continues; more than 20 arrested overnight
Ma’an News Agency 7/21/2008
Nablus Ma’an Israeli forces raided the northern West Bank city of Nablus at 3am on Monday, ransacking several homes including that of female Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Legislative Council member Muna Mansour. Mansour was arrested along with over 20 other Palestinian citizens. Palestinian security sources speaking to Ma’an said that the arrestees included businessmen, workers and students. Among those arrested were 60-year-old Uthman Muslih, a businessman; 55-year-old Imad Kan’an; 40-year-old Awni Kalbouna; ’Allan Judallah; Shadi Judallah, who was arrested together with his father; 22-year-old Tamir ’Ileiwi; Salah Abu Ata; Hassan Hashash; 22-year-old Hamza Abu Zant; 28-year-old Einas Al-Faqih; 57-year-old Hassan Abu Zant,director of the Nablus Mall; 67-year-old Ibrahim As-Sakhil and his sons, 40-year-old Wa’el and 20-year-old Hamza; Yahya Abu Zant; Salah Abu Asab and ’Isam Jarrar. more.. e-mail
Daily attacks on Nablus continue: Israeli forces arrest PLC member Muna Mansour
Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 7/21/2008
Nablus -- Israeli forces arrested Palestinian Legislative Council member Muna Mansour and many top businesspeople in Nablus on Monday. According to local eyewitnesses, Israeli forces entered the northern West Bank city, firing guns and explosives, and proceeded to raid several neighborhoods. Daily incursions have occurred in Nablus for the last two weeks. Israeli forces have arrested several Palestinians during that time, including government officials and journalists. "Israeli forces stormed the area behind Rafidiya Hospital in western Nablus at about 2:30 a. m. ," Mansour’s daughter reported. "They wreaked havoc in our home, destroying computers, documents and photos before arresting my mother. "The Center for the Study of Human Rights of Prisoners reported Mansour’s abduction as "heinous and violent. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 072108
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/21/2008
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 July 21st, 2008. The Israeli army continued targeting the West Bank city of Nablus, kidnapping 30 civilians, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News cast The Israeli army invaded the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday at dawn and kidnapped about 30 civilians, among them a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council Monna Manssour. Local sources reported that the Israeli army invaded the city with over 30 military vehicles. The Israeli troops spread in several neighborhoods and launched a kidnapping campaign against civilians and ransacked several houses. Moreover the troops ransacked one of the students’ dorms in the area and confiscated their computers. more.. e-mail
Israeli warships fire at Gazan fishermen
Ma’an News Agency 7/20/2008
Gaza Ma’an Israeli warships opened fire at Gazan fishermen for three hours on Sunday morning. Security sources in the Hamas de facto government in the Gaza Strip told Ma’an that Israeli warships fired a number of anti-tank missiles at fishermen’s boats and opened fire heavily at them while fishing in the Sudaniyya area north of Gaza City and Ash-Shati camp west of Gaza City. The shots were fired between 3 and 6 in the morning. Sources explained that the missiles horrified fishermen and damaged several boats. No injuries have been reported. There has been a ceasefire in place in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian factions for one month, however the ceasefire has been breached repeatedly by Israeli forces. Palestinian factions, on the other hand, have succeeded in preventing the launch of homemade projectiles towards Israeli towns after minor factions tried a few time to launch homemade projectiles. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces arrest two Palestinians in Nablus and Hebron
Ma’an News Agency 7/20/2008
Nablus Ma’an Israeli forces arrested a young Palestinian man from Balata refugee camp east of Nablus in the northern West Bank Sunday morning after storming the camp overnight on Saturday. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an’s correspondent that Israeli forces raided the camp overnight and apprehended 19-year-old Rasim Hashash. The young man was taken to an unknown location. Israeli sources confirmed that he was arrested. In the south of the West Bank, Israeli sources said its army arrested one man in Hebron. [end]
Palestinian on horse run down by Israeli Jeep
Ma’an News Agency 7/20/2008
Qalqilia Ma’an A Palestinian young man was seriously injured on Sunday when an Israeli military jeep chased him down and ran him over while he was riding a horse between Qalqilia and the nearby town of Habla in the northern West Bank. Eyewitnesses identified the young man as 21-year-old Khalid Dughmush. They said he was seriously injured and an Israeli ambulance evacuated him to unknown destination. The witnesses told Ma’an’s reporter that the soldiers deliberately hit the young man on his horse while they could have easily arrested him if they had wanted to. [end]
Preventive security officer arrested in Gaza City
Ma’an News Agency 7/20/2008
Ramallah Sources within Fatah in the Gaza Strip said on Saturday evening that the security forces affiliated to the Hamas’ de facto government seized an officer in the Palestinian Authority’s preventive security service. The man arrested wasMarwan Al-Gharabili from the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City. Sources told Ma’an that a large number of security forces besieged Al-Gharabili’s house before apprehending him without explanation. [end]
Homeless out of Gush Katif
Ariel Rosenberg, Globes Online 7/20/2008
Three years after their traumatic evacuation, as mutual recriminations continue apace, many former residents of Gush Gatif and Gaza appear no closer to finding a permanent home. In this special report "Globes" looks at the plight of the 1,700 families and finds out why some of them feel the country has let them down. The recent Independence Day found the former residents of Gush Katif in extremely melancholy mood as they marked 1,000 days since the disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Almost three years have now passed since the evacuation went ahead on August 15, 2005, yet despite endless government promises, nearly 80% of the evacuees are still without a permanent housing solution. Even today, it is still difficult to make sense of all the claims and counterclaims, the mutual recriminations, and accusations of prevarication on the one hand, and lack of cooperation on the other. more.. e-mail
Pending Eviction in East Jerusalem - Settler organisation attempts to occupy Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jerrah
International Solidarity Movement 7/19/2008
Press clippings Jerusalem RegionSince Wednesday evening, a group of Palestinian, Israeli and international solidarity activists are camping out to protest against a Palestinian family being threatened with eviction from their home in East Jerusalem Map from The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ)The eviction order was announced on Monday, requesting the family to leave by Wednesday under constant threat of forcibly being evicted. The neighbourhood, Al Sheikh Jarrah, with a long history of legal struggle, has organized a local committee in an attempt to save the house - which they fear is just the beginning of a full eviction of the whole Palestinian neighbourhood. At the moment, the family the neighbourhood committee are facing a nervous wait, afraid to be evicted at any time, while trying to overrule the court ruling. more.. e-mail
The Israeli Army invades Kufor Ra’ee near Jenin
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/19/2008
The Israeli Army invaded on Saturday at dawn Kufur Ra’ee village near the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Local sources reported that Israeli vehicles invaded the village searched and ransacked homes then left after some time. No kidnappings were reported during Saturday’s attack. [end]
Gazan naval police officer killed in his Jabalia home, one man arrested
Ma’an News Agency 7/19/2008
Gaza Ma’an Unidentified gunmen murdered a member of naval police in the Gaza Strip, Abdul-Salam Abu Taqiyya aged 23 on Saturday morning. According to the interior ministry of the de facto government in the Gaza Strip, the suspected killer was arrested late Saturday morning. Police say that a family dispute was behind the crime. The man was shot dead in his house in Ber An-Na’ja neighborhood of Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical sources affirmed that the victim’s body was taken to Kamal Udwan Hospital at 5:00 am. Police transferred the case to a team of forensic scientists to help with the investigation. Eyewitnesses said Abu Taqiyya was an officer in the naval police and that he was affiliated with Fatah. more.. e-mail
Gunmen kill a policeman in the Gaza Strip
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/19/2008
Palestinian sources reported that a group of unknown gunmen shot and killed a Palestinian Police officer in the northern part of the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning. The sources said that a group of gunmen opened fire at 23-year Abd Al Salam Abu Taqia in his home at Jabalia refugee camp in northern part of the Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses said that Abu Taquia is a member of the Fateh Movement. Hamas took total control in Gaza in June 2007, ending a year long of infighting with the Palestinian President Fatah party after the latter won the Palestinian Legislative elections in 2006. more.. e-mail
Palestinian Popular Struggle Front creates military wing
Ma’an News Agency 7/19/2008
Gaza Ma’an The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) announced on Saturday that it has founded its own military wing. The "Popular Struggle Brigades" commemorates the 41st anniversary of the creation of the PPSF. The group said in a press conference Saturday that the military wing is meant to support other Palestinian factions’ military wings in their struggle against Israeli occupation aimed at liberating Palestine. PPSF representatives also stated that they will act within the interests of Palestinian national unity. [end]
IDF says troops shot and killed Syrian drug smuggler
Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 7/20/2008
Israel Defense Forces troops killed a drugs smuggler from Syria and wounded another on Saturday as they crossed a fence into territory controlled by Israel on the occupied Golan Heights, the Israeli army said. An IDF spokesman said troops on routine patrol along the heavily fortified fence in the northern part of the Golan Heights spotted four men in the area and opened fire at them, they later found large quantities of drugs at the scene. "A routine joint army and police patrol working in the area to prevent smuggling spotted a group of men and opened fire at them. . . one of the suspects was killed and another was wounded. Two others were apprehended shortly afterwards," the spokesman said. He added that the two men who had been hit were Syrian nationals and that the body of the dead man and the wounded, who was being treated in hospital, were taken to Israel. more.. e-mail
Six arrested in Israel for allegedly plotting attack on Bush
Amos Harel and Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 7/19/2008
Israel Police and the Shin Bet Security Service have arrested six Arabs - two of them Israeli citizens and the other four Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem - with alleged links to the Al-Qaida terror network. A gag order lifted on Friday revealed that the suspects allegedly planned to attack U. S. President George W. Bush’s helicopter during one of his recent visits to the region. An indictment has been issued against the suspects at the Jerusalem District Court. The men range in age from 21 to 24. According to the charges, the suspects had been in contact with Al-Qaida over the Internet with the purpose of establishing a terror cell in Israel. The indictment states that one of the suspects - a student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem - provided Al-Qiada with photographs from his cellular phone of the U. more.. e-mail
6 Israeli Arabs charged with operating al-Qaeda cell
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/18/2008
Hebrew University students indicted of trying to build terror infrastructure in Jerusalem. One of suspects allegedly collected information in attempt to shoot down helicopter carrying senior official during US President Bush’s visit to Israel - Cleared for publication: The Shin Bet and the police have arrested six Israeli Arabs, four of them residents of east Jerusalem, on suspicion of planning to operate an al-Qaeda cell inIsrael. Among the suspects are students at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The six suspects were identified as: Ibrahim Nashef, 22, of Tayibe, a physics and computer sciences student at the Hebrew University; Muhammas Najem, 24, of Nazareth, a chemistry student at the Hebrew University; Yusef Sumarin, 21, of the Jerusalem village of Beit Hanina; Anas Shawiki, 21, of the Jerusalem town of Jabel Mukaber; Kamal Abu Kwaider, 22,. . . more.. e-mail
Neighbors stunned by reports on Arab Israeli al-Qaeda cell
Raanan Ben-Zur, YNetNews 7/18/2008
Tayibe resident detained on charges of al-Qaeda links not a troublemaker, neighbor says -The indictments filed on Friday at The Jerusalem District and Magistrates’ Courts against six Israeli Arabs on charges of planning to build an al-Qaeda infrastructure inIsrael came as a shock to residents of the northern Arab Israeli town of Tayibe. The news that 22-year old local resident Ibrahim Nashef was part of the terror cell caught his neighbors by surprise. "We had no idea whyhe was arrested," a Tayibe resident said, "it’s no small matter. This is about belonging to an international terror organization in our backyard. If they arrested him for belonging to Hamas we would somehow fathom and understand that this was a small local terror organization, but being part of al-Qaeda - that’s a big thing, very big. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades Kobar village and Qalandia refugee camp
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/18/2008
The Israeli army invaded on Friday at dawn Qalandia refugee camp north of Jerusalem city. Soldiers surrounded one of the houses and ransacked it. Official sources reported that 13 Israeli military vehicles invaded the refugee camp and ransacked the home of Mohammad Emter. Soldiers left the area later on, no kidnappings were reported. Moreover, official sources reported that 4 Israeli jeeps invaded on Friday at dawn Kobar, village north of central West Bank city of Ramallah, and drove through its neighborhoods. [end]
This Week In Palestine - Week 29 2008
Ghassan Bannoura- Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/18/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 13 m 0s || 11. 9 MB || This Week In Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. IMEMC. org, for July 12th, through July, 18th, 2008. As political sources announce an upcoming summit between Palestinian and Israeli leadership in the US, five Palestinian patients died because Israel did not allow them to leave the coastal region of Gaza for medical care. These stories and more, coming up, stay tuned. Nonviolent Resistance We begin our weekly report with recent nonviolent actions in the West Bank. IMEMC’s Rula Shahwan has the details: The nonviolent actions this week were part of an ongoing campaign marking the fourth year of the International Court of Justice ruling against the Israeli wall being built in the West Bank. Close to a hundred Palestinians from the village of Al Khader, located. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli forces wage arrest campaign in Nablus: take 15
Palestine News Network 7/18/2008
Nablus / PNN -- Israeli forces continue to wage a campaign against the northern West Bank city of Nablus. First they hit the charities, then the people who ran them and public officials, all the while still attacking the refugee camps and surrounding towns, making arrests. On Friday morning Israeli forces arrested 15 Palestinians from several areas of Nablus, but concentrated on the south. Eyewitness reports in Asira indicated that a high number of military vehicles raided the town beginning at 2:00 am and started breaking into houses. Among those arrested are: Sheriff Nassar, Rami and Mohammed Nassar Ali Faraj, Tha’er Samir Nassar and Samir Nassar, Hani Sedki Dib, Hashem Nassar, Mohammad Faraj and Bashir Hamid. Among those specifically taken from Asira are: Emad Aziz, Hamam Hamdan, Walid Hosni, and Ahmed Khalil Makhlouf. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army attacks a refugee camp near the West Bank city of Tubas
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/16/2008
The Israeli army invaded on Wednesday morning Al Fara’ refugee camp south of the West Bank city of Tubas, with a huge military force, kidnapping at least 5 civilians and injuring a number of locals. Eye witnesses reported that over 20 military vehicles invaded the neighborhoods of the camp shooting gunfire, tear gas and sound bombs intensively. Local medical sources reported that a number of civilians were injured with gun fire and rubber bullets and they were taken to local hospitals in Tubas and Nablus for treatment. Moreover the Israeli army banned the ambulances for an hour to enter the camp and transport the injured civilians to local hospitals. Local sources reported that the Israeli army ransacked dozens of homes in the camp and shot sound bombs inside the houses. In addition to that the homes were drastically damaged due to shooting and breakage of doors This Israeli. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli forces storm Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency 7/16/2008
Tulkarem - Ma’an - Israeli forces stormed the West Bank city of Tulkarem and the neighboring refugee camp in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an’s correspondent that a large number of Israeli patrols carried out a widespread inspection operation in the western neighborhood of the city. They raided the homes of Samir Al-Haroun and Khaled Al-Haroun, saying they were looking for wanted resistance fighters. The forces also stormed houses in the Tulkarem refugee camp, including the homes of two Palestinian security personnel. The sources added that the forces withdrew early in the morning with no detentions reported. [end]
Israeli forces detain civilian in Jalqamus
Ma’an News Agency 7/16/2008
Jenin - Ma’an - Israeli forces detained a civilian in the village of Jalqamus east of Jenin after searching his house early Wednesday. Security sources said that Israeli forces detained 30-year-old Abdel Rahim Sami Al-Haj after storming his house. Seven military vehicles participated in the raid. Civilians told Ma’ans correspondent that Israeli forces surrounded the house and asked residents to evacuate via loudspeaker. The men who exited the home were detained, and the house was searched using police dogs. Sound bombs were also heard in the area. Al-Haj was taken by Israeli forces to an unknown location. [end]
The Israeli army invades Abu Eshedem village near Ramallah
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/16/2008
The Israeli army invaded on Wednesday at dawn Abu Eshedem village north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah Official sources reported that five Israeli military forces invaded several neighborhoods in the village and spread its troops in the area, but no kidnaps were reported. [end]
The Israeli army invades several villages in the West Bank city of Jenin
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/16/2008
The Israeli army invaded on Wednesday at dawn Kabatia, Kuffer Raee’ and Barkeen villages in the West Bank city of Jenin Official sources in Jenin reported that the Israeli military vehicles invaded the village’s neighborhoods at dawn and walked through them shooting sound bombs and intensive gun fire. Official sources also added that the army attacked some villager’s lands in the area and ransacked some homes. The Israeli army withdrew and no kidnaps were reported [end]
Israeli forces raid three towns near Jenin; no arrests
Ma’an News Agency 7/16/2008
Jenin Ma’an Israeli forces raided the northern West Bank towns of Qabatia, Kafr Ra’I and Birqin in Jenin district on Wednesday morning. No arrests have been reported. Local sources told Ma’an’s correspondent that Israeli patrols toured the towns firing gunshots and sonic bombs into the air. Soldiers used police dogs to conduct searches of yards and agricultural fields in all three towns. Soldiers withdrew at dawn. [end]
The Israeli army kidnaps a civilian east of Jenin
Rula Shahwan Editorial News, International Middle East Media Center News 7/16/2008
The Israeli army invaded Jalqus village eastern of the West Bank city of Jenin on Wednesday at dawn and kidnapped a civilian taking him to an unknown detention camp. Local sources reported that the 32 year old Abd Al Raheem Al Haj was kidnapped from his home at dawn after a huge Israeli military force surrounded his home and ransacked it; moreover the Israeli army used police dogs in the nearby farms. [end]
Israeli forces withdraw from Beit Fajjar after carrying out widespread raids
Ma’an News Agency 7/16/2008
Bethlehem- Ma’an- Israeli forces withdrew from the town of Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem on Tuesday evening after storming it at dawn, detaining four. A large number of Israeli military vehicles stormed the town from all directions and closed all entrances to the town by blocking streets with piles of earth and rocks. Forces then imposed a curfew. Ma’an’s reporter stated that Israeli forces occupied several buildings, including the former headquarters of the municipality. The four men detained were Thaer Taqatqa, Hussein Jum’a, ’Alaa Taqatqa and ’Alaa Thawabta. According to local sources Israeli soldiers rounded up dozens of youth, and corralled them into the center of town. The men were held there until the troops left the city. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades a number of civilian residences in Tulkarem
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/16/2008
Sources reported that the Israeli Army invaded the West Bank city of Tulkarem at dawn. Eyewitnesses reported that a number of military vehicles invaded Tulkarem and ransacked the homes of Samir al-Haroon and Khaled al-Haroon. Eyewitnesses added that the Israeli army withdrew in the early hours of the morning and no kidnappings were reported. [end]
Palestine Today 071608
Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/16/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 2 m 7s || 1. 95 MBWelcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Wednesday July 16th, 2008. The Israeli army invaded several cities in the West Bank kidnapping 14 civilians. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned The news cast The Israeli army continued on Wednesday targeting charitable institutions in the West Bank city of Nablus, as it attacked the city at dawn and kidnapped 8 civilians. Moreover it invaded the city mall and ransacked the office of the Solidarity Institution for Human Rights. The troops confiscated a number of computers and files of the Palestinian detainees. For the second day the Israeli army invaded on Wednesday Al Fara’ refugee camp in the southern West Bank city of Tubas with over 20 military vehicles kidnapping at least five civilians. more.. e-mail
Hamas: PA security detain three Hamas members in West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 7/16/2008
Nablus - Salfit - Ma’an - Hamas announced on Wednesday that Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces detained three members of the movement in the West Bank. Hamas said in a statement that security forces detained Ibrahim An-Nouri in the Nablus governorate, Hussam At-Tammam in the Tulkarem governorateand Mujahed Nofal in Qalqilia. It is still unclear why the men have been detained. [end]
Israeli Army Arrests 8 Palestinians in Nablus
Kuwait News Agency, MIFTAH 7/16/2008
The Israeli Army arrested 8 Palestinians in Nablus, Tuesday, who Israel claims are affiliated with Hamas Movement. Palestinian security sources said Israeli forces arrested the former head of a charitable society in the city, Dr. abdulhaleem Al-Hanbali, after storming his house and also arrested two members of Nablus Municipality, Kholoud Al-Masri and her husband and Husam Qataloni and his son. A Nabuls Municipality statement said Israeli forces arrested 6 members out of a staff of 15 and claim they are affiliated with Hamas. The sources added the Israeli forces also arrested administrative board member of the General Women’s Union Ms. Haneen Druzah and her son, as well as Finance Director of the Women’s Union Hospital Mohyee Al-Deen Al-Saloos. The arrests are the latest in Israeli crimes against the people of Nablus after several shops and charitable institutions were closed down recently with the pretext of being part of Hamas infrastructure. more.. e-mail
Israeli troops abduct 12 Hamas members in West Bank
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 7/16/2008
NABLUS, Occupied West Bank: Israeli troops abducted 12 Hamas members in a dawn raid in the Occupied West Bank on Tuesday, a Palestinian security official said, as part of a widening crackdown on the Islamist movement. The troops rolled into the northern city of Nablus in about 40 jeeps and detained 12 members of the movement, including two women and two city council members, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. An Israeli Army spokesman said seven Palestinians had been arrested during what he called "routine searches" in the area. Israel has launched a territory-wide crackdown on Palestinian charities and businesses it says are linked to the movement, which violently seized power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007 after winning democratic elections in January 2006 and then facing a challenge from its rivals in US-backed President Mahmoud’s Abbas’ Fatah faction. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army erects a Military border south- west of the West Bank city of Jenin
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/15/2008
The Israeli army erected on Tuesday morning a military border at the south- west border of the West Bank City of Jenin, and invaded the city on Monday at midnight. Eye witnesses reported that the Israeli troops erected this military border and stopped a number of Palestinian cars randomly and searched them. Moreover the Israeli troops checked the ID cards of the passengers. Official sources in Jenin reported that an Israeli military force invaded the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday midnight, as the Israeli military vehicles walked through several neighborhoods in the city and withdrew at dawn. No kidnaps were reported. [end]
Israeli Army kidnaps two civilians from Bethlehem
Ghada Salsaa, International Middle East Media Center News 7/15/2008
The Israeli Army kidnapped two Palestinian civilians from the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem on Monday at dawn. Official sources stated that a number of Israeli troops invaded Abu Nujeem village in the southern part of Bethlehem and ransacked the home of the Aziz al-Horeme and kidnapped his twenty- year- old son "Abd taking him to unknown detention camp. The army also attacked the Beit Ta’mar village east Bethlehem, the Israeli soldiers kidnapped a Palestinian youth Mohammad Soman after ransacking his family home. [end]
Israeli forces carry out wide scale detention operation across the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 7/15/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli forces carried out a wide scale detention operation at dawn on Tuesday across the West Bank, detaining 24 civilians. Israeli sources said that the Israeli army detained 24 wanted Palestinians in the West Bank cities of Jenin, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqilia and Hebron and the neighboring villages, confirming that all detainees were transferred to interrogation centers. [end]
Palestine Today 071508
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMc -Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/15/2008
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 July 15th, 2008. The Israeli soldiers attacked West Bank areas, kidnapping at least 33 Palestinian civilians, and demolishing two homes in Jerusalem. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned. The News cast Israeli military operations continued on Tuesday afternoon, targeting the village of Beit Fajar located near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. Local sources stated that the army conducted a wide scale search campaign in the village; witnesses told news agencies that soldiers have rounded up at least 20 men from the village and are holding them at an unknown detention camp. On Tuesday at dawn a number of Israeli troops invaded Beit Fajar village and placed the village under curfew. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/15/2008
Local sources reported that the Israeli army invaded on Tuesday dawn the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia and kidnapped two civilians. Locals reported that a huge Israeli military force invaded the city at dawn and walked through its neighborhoods. The Israeli troops kidnapped 22 year-old Mu’tasem Muwafi and 19 year-old Ahmad Barham. [end]
Palestinian injured by Israeli fire, near Deir Al-Balah
Ma’an News Agency 7/14/2008
Gaza Ma’an A Palestinian was shot by Israeli soldiers, near Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip on Monday morning. The Israeli authorities informed their Palestinian counterparts that soldiers opened fire on a Palestinian man, who was ten meters way from the border near the Kisufim crossing, east of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Palestinian security sources say that coordination is ongoing to transfer the injured man to hospital. His identity is not yet known. It is also still unclear whether he is still alive. [end]
Israel approves factories in West Bank colony
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 7/15/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel has approved the construction of 25 factories in a Jewish settlement in the heart of the Occupied West Bank, a spokesman for the settlement said on Monday. "We have received authorization from the Ministry of Defense to pursue construction on the site of our industrial area," Ariel settlement spokesman Reuven Shapira told AFP. "Around 10 factories exist and the project is to reach 35 factories in this area," he said, adding that work resumed on Monday. Shapira said the ministry had frozen the Ariel project around a year ago to check its feasibility. The settlement lies south of the Palestinian city of Nablus and is one of the biggest in the Occupied West Bank. The expansion of illegal colonies in the Occupied West Bank is widely regarded as a major obstacle to the success of peace talks with Israel formally relaunched at a US conference in November. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army intends to turn a military base in Hebron into an Israeli settlement
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/14/2008
Local sources reported on Sunday night that the Israeli army expanded one of the military bases in the northern West Bank city of Hebron, as it added a number of mobile houses into the area. Eye witnesses reported that they saw Israeli vehicles carrying mobile houses into the military base which is located in between two Israeli settlements in the West Bank city of Hebron. This military base seems that it will turn into a new Israeli settlement. [end]
Israeli settlers stake claim to abandoned West Bank military base
Ma’an News Agency 7/15/2008
Bethlehem Maan More than one hundred Israeli settlers, some of them armed, set up camp in an abandoned military base in the West Bank town of Beit Sahour on Monday night in what may be the establishment of an illegal settlement outpost. Were here to build a Jewish city, with the help of God, one teenage boy settler told a half-dozen journalists, as he scouted out his new campsite, camera in hand. While Palestinian families gathered for a festival in a public park less than 100 meters away, Israelis from the nearby settlements of Efrat, Har Homa, Gush Eztion, and Tekoa arrived in a chartered bus and private cars. A handful of Israeli soldiers and civilian police looked on, blocking the road between the military base and the park, keeping journalists out of the military base. The settlers, among them families, a Russian-speaking security guard and a contingent of. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers invade park in Beit Sahour, assault IMEMC Staff
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center News 7/14/2008
At least 150 Israeli settlers invaded the local park at Esh Ghrab in Beit Sahour and laid claim to the place, then held a barbecue at the location. Armed settlers arrived at the place, which is an evacuated military base owned by people and municipality of Beit Sahour Monday evening and brought with them barbecue grills and said they want to camp there for few days. As IMEMC reporter Ghassan Bannoura and photographer Rami Rishmawi approached the site, settlers started pushing them away although it was obvious that they are journalists. According to Bannoura, Israeli soldiers who accompanied the settlers intervened later and stopped the settlers assault. This is not the first time the settlers attempt to colonize this site. The first time they came on May 15, 2008 while Palestinians were commemorating the 60 anniversary of the 1948 Nakba when around 800 thousand Palestinians. . . more.. e-mail
Death toll 208 as three more patients die in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli siege
Rula shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/14/2008
Medical sources reported that the number of patients who died due to the Israeli siege on the Gaza strip reached 208 as three patients were announced dead on Monday morning. Medical sources reported that Latifa Kafina died on Monday morning of leukemia. she couldn’t get the permission to leave the Gaza Strip and get treatment. The patient’s family reported that they tried for over ten days to get permission, but they got it only after she was dead. Moreover sources in Gaza reported that 36 year old Suhaila Abu Hweshel died of cancer on Monday after being banned to leave the Gaza strip to outer hospitals for medical treatment. In addition Ahmad Abu Ajwa, an old man with diabetes, was pronounced dead on Monday for being unable to get life saving medical treatment out of The Gaza strip because the army banned him from getting the permission. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades Cofferdam Village West of Jenin City
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/14/2008
The Israeli army invaded on Monday at dawn Cofferdam Village in the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Locals reported that the Israeli army invaded the city with dozens of military vehicles and walked through several streets. In addition, witnesses reported that the soldiers shot sound bombs and sprayed live ammunition randomly, and used police dogs while ransacking several houses in different neighborhoods in the village. The Israeli army withdrew after several hours and no abductions were reported. [end]
Dalal Al-Mughrabi brigades open fire on Al-Julma checkpoint near Jenin
Ma’an News Agency 7/14/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an The Fatah-affiliated Dalal Al-Mughrabi brigades claimed responsibility for shooting at the Al-Julma military checkpoint, near Jenin early on Monday morning. The brigades said in a statement that a number of their members had managed to approach the Al- Jalama checkpoint and open fire, before withdrawing safely. They added that the attack was a response to Israeli crimes against Palestinians. [end]
Israeli forces storm village near Jenin
Ma’an News Agency 7/14/2008
Jenin - Maan - Israeli forces raided the town of Kafr Dan, west of the city of Jenin, searching a number of buildings overnight, witnesses reported on Monday. Residents of the town told Ma’an that Israeli forces conducted house-to-house raids from 1am to 5:30am. No one was arrested. [end]
In a fresh violation of calm, IOF soldiers shoot and wound Palestinian
Palestinian Information Center 7/14/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian man was shot and wounded on Monday at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces stationed east of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip. PIC reporter said that the soldiers opened their machinegun fire at a group of Palestinian citizens near the border fence separating the Strip from the 1948 occupied lands. The IOF troops have violated the calm agreement on 20 occasions in less than a month. They killed a Palestinian teen a week ago in the same area. [end]
The Israeli army kidnaps a civilian from West Bank city of Hebron
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/14/2008
The Israeli army invaded the Southern West Bank city of Hebron on Monday morning and kidnapped a civilian, taking him to an unknown detention camp. Locals reported that the Israeli army kidnapped the 22 years old Hamada Abu Aisha from eastern the city leading him to an unknown detention camp. It also has been reported that the Israeli troops stopped some of the civilians at the center of Hebron City and checked their IDs but no abductions were reported. [end]
Palestine Today 071408
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/14/2008
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 July 14th, 2008. The Israeli army invades several cities in the West Bank and shoots a civilian in Gaza, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News Cast Medical sources reported that the number of patients who died due to the Israeli siege on the Gaza strip reached 208, as three patients were announced dead on Monday morning. Three patients died this morning because they were unable to get out of the Gaza strip to seek medical treatment. Israel placed the Gaza Strip under total siege in June 2007. Last month, Israel agreed to open the border crossings around Gaza after Egypt mediated a truce deal between Israel and the Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza. more.. e-mail
Israeli troops kill unarmed Palestinian at Gaza border
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 7/11/2008
GAZA CITY: Israeli troops shot dead an unarmed Palestinian on the border in the Gaza Strip Thursday, the first fatality of a three-week-old truce, prompting retaliatory rocket fire. Troops "identified a suspicious person crossing the fence from Gaza into Israel near Kissufim. The force called on him to stop and fired warning shots but he did not stop and the soldiers fired at him and killed him," an army spokesman said. "When they approached his body they saw he was unarmed," he said, alleging that there had been several attempts by Palestinian militants to plant bombs in the border area. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction, claimed that the man, Salim al-Hamedi, was one of its members. "We will respond to this crime soon," it said. Several hours later, two homemade rockets were fired on southern Israel from Gaza, without any initial report of casualties, the army said. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army attacks Hebron, demolishes two homes and kidnaps 7 civilians
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/10/2008
The Israeli army demolished two Palestinian-owned homes and kidnapped seven civilians during separate attacks targeting the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday. Israeli forces surrounded two homes that belong to Karamah family located in Hebron city center on Thursday morning. Witnesses said that troops forced the family out then demolished the two homes. Ied Karamah told reporters that the Israeli army sounded his brothers homes and his mother’s. Troops asked the family to leave the homes then opened fire at them, he said. The two homes which house more that 20 people were demolished; in addition Mohamed Karamah was taken by the soldiers to an unknown location. During the attack Ied said that his mom Mirfat sustained bruises and had to be moved to the hospital along with another family member after the soldiers attacked them. more.. e-mail
Israel Approves New Homes in East Jerusalem Settlement
Agence France Presse, MIFTAH 7/10/2008
An Israeli commission has approved the building of 920 new homes in occupied east Jerusalem, the municipality said on Wednesday, in a new blow to shaky peace talks with the Palestinians. " The district commission has approved for construction 920 housing units in Har Homa," a statement said, referring to a neighbourhood in east Jerusalem, known in Arabic as Jabel Abu Ghneim, that has more than 10,000 residents. The Har Homa project is part of a plan to build some 40,000 new homes over the next decade in neighbourhoods in both east and west Jerusalem, that the housing minister approved in June, a ministry official told AFP. Until now specific aspects of this project were unknown. Israel occupied and annexed the eastern half of the city after the 1967 war in a move not recognised by the international community or the Palestinians, who wish to make the Holy City the capital of their future state. A total of 245,000 Palestinians live in east Jerusalem alongside more than 200,000 Jewish settlers. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army attacks Al Khader village near Bethlehem
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/10/2008
The Israeli army attacked the village of Al Khader near Bethlehem and then ransacked the home of the mayor, on Thursday morning. Witnesses said that several army jeeps invaded the village the surrounded the house of Ramzi Salah, the mayor of Al Khader, troops searched and ransacked his home then attacked his brothers’ homes. The army left after some time, no kidnappings were reported. The village of Al Khader organizes each Friday a protest at the nearby Israeli settlers road that splits the village from its lands where the army is building the illegal wall. [end]
Israeli forces detained five Palestinians across West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 7/10/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an - Israeli forces detained five ’wanted’ Palestinians from several cities in the West Bank, at dawn on Thursday. Israeli sources said that the five are from Dura near Hebron and from Nablus. All the detainees were transferred to investigation centers for questioning. [end]
Hamas arrests Gaza rocket squad after two Qassams hit Negev
Haaretz Service and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 7/11/2008
Hamas arrested three Palestinians who fired rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a militant faction said, in the first such detentions since the Islamist group and Israel agreed on a cease-fire last month. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant offshoot of President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction, said Hamas men pursued its members after the attack and "abducted them" in Jabalya refugee camp. "We demand their immediate release," said Abu Qusai, a brigades spokesman. The cease-fire deal calls on Hamas to prevent cross-border rocket fire and attacks from the Gaza Strip and for Israel to halt its raids and ease an economic blockade of the impoverished territory. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said "we stress that all parties should maintain the national agreement that was reached with a consensus. more.. e-mail
One killed, three injured, three missing in Rafah tunnel collapse
Ma’an News Agency 7/10/2008
Gaza Ma’an - One Palestinian was killed and three others injured when a tunnel collapsed on top of them in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, medical sources announced on Thursday. Another three people are still missing. Dr Mu’awiyah Hassanein, director general of ambulance and emergency services in the Gaza Strip, said that a medical crew had removed the deceased and the three injured from the collapsed tunnel. He said that one of the injured is in a serious condition. It is noteworthy that there are many tunnels at the Egyptian-Palestinian border and many were collapsed and resulted in the death of many traders. A network of tunnels runs underneath the Gaza-Egypt border, near Rafah. The tunnels are used to smuggle goods into the besieged Gaza Strip. more.. e-mail
Jerusalem hotel shortage pushes hoteliers to consider Gush Etzion
Irit Rosenblum, Ha’aretz 7/10/2008
Jerusalem tourists are finding it increasingly difficult to find accommodations in the city, leading hoteliers to consider expanding in the nearby [illegal settlement] Gush Etzion bloc. The bloc, which is inside of the West Bank, is nevertheless considered an integral suburb of Jerusalem that Israel will keep in the event it cedes territory to the Palestinians. There are plans under consideration now to expand the 35-room hostel in Kibbutz Kfar Etzion as well as in the nearby ranch of Meshuot Yitzhak. The Kfar Etzion Field School, which conducts tours in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, also plans to by adding a further 25 rooms, at a cost of about $3 million. The Meshuot Yitzhak hostel could cost up to $10 million. more.. e-mail
IOF troops execute Palestinian resistance fighter in cold blood
Palestinian Information Center 7/10/2008
JENIN, (PIC)-- A special force of the Israeli army executed a Palestinian resistance fighter in Jenin district on Wednesday night in cold blood after wounding him in an ambush, local sources reported. They said that the Israeli occupation forces killed Talal Abed, 32, after injuring and detaining him along with another fighter in Kufur Dan village west of Jenin city. Abed is field commander in the Abu Ammar Brigades, an armed wing that is targeted by the IOF command and the PA security apparatuses in the West Bank. Hebrew sources claimed that Abed died while en route to hospital after he was hit with a bullet in the neck by the soldiers of the special unit that intercepted his vehicle. They added that Abed tried to flee the scene but was shot along with Mohammed Abed, 25, another fighter. The local sources said that the special unit members used a civilian car that chased, fired at and killed Abed who was riding in a car along with Mohammed. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces detained two Palestinians near Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 7/10/2008
Nablus Ma’an - Israeli forces detained two Palestinians after storming their houses in the village of Aqraba, south of Nablus, at dawn on Thursday. Local sources told Ma’an’s correspondent in Nablus that the Israeli forces detained 37-year-old Walid Diriyah and 25-year-old Mohamed Wagih. They were taken to an unknown destination. [end]
Israeli army shoots dead 18-year-old Palestinian near Kissufim crossing
Ma’an News Agency 7/10/2008
Gaza Ma’an The Israeli army killed a Palestinian on Thursday near the Kissufim crossing southeast of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Medical sources from Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza named the dead man as 18 year-old Salim Jum’a Hamidi from the village of Az-Zawaydeh in the central Gaza Strip. Dr Mu’awiyah Hassanein, director general of ambulance and emergency services in the Gaza Strip, said that Israeli officials reported that a young man was shot dead by Israeli troops at 7:30 am on Thursday. Dr Hassanein said that Hamidi had sustained bullet wounds to the stomach and shoulder, and that medical evidence indicated his injury was sustained at approximately 4am. No report of the incident, however, was made until 7am, by which time it was too late to resuscitate the young man. Hamidi’s body was taken to the Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza, medical sources said. more.. e-mail
IDF kills Palestinian in Gaza for ’first time since truce declared’
Ali Waked, YNetNews 7/10/2008
Givati soldiers shoot dead Palestinian attempting to infiltrate Israel near Kissufim crossing; still unclear whether man was looking to carry out terror attack or seek work; no weapons found on his body - Palestinian sources in Gaza reported Thursday morning that a Palestinian was killed by IDF fire near the Kissufim crossing. They did not say whether the man was a gunman belonging to one of the terror organizations or a civilian attempting to infiltrate Israel i order to seek work. The IDF said that during the incident, which occurred at around 4 am, soldiers manning an observation point in the area spotted a suspicious figure approaching the security fence near the Kissufim crossing in south Gaza. Givati Brigade soldiers who arrived at the scene noticed that the Palestinian was heading toward Israeli territory, demanded that he halt and fired warning shots in the air. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces kill Gaza man, later identified as Salim Hamidi
Palestine News Network 7/10/2008
Gaza / PNN -- Israeli forces opened fire on a man in the Gaza Strip early Thursday, reported Dr. Mua’weh Hassanein, the Director of Emergency and Ambulance in the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The man, whose was later identified as Salim Juma Hamidi, was apparently within the vicinity of Israeli forces that are stationed just inside the Gaza boundaries, as reported by PNN’s correspondent in the Strip. Israeli military sources contacted Dr. Hassanein and informed him of the presence of the corpse on the ground in the southern Gaza Strip’s Qarara Village, just north of Khan Younis. The Israelis claimed the man was approaching the boundary line, and that this prompted them to shoot him. Dr. Hassanein said that an ambulance went to the scene immediately to take Hamidi’s remains to the hospital. more.. e-mail
Israeli army kills a Palestinian near a border fence in southern Gaza
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/10/2008
The Israeli army killed early on Thursday morning a Palestinian resident in the southern Gaza Strip, the first Palestinian causality since Israel and Palestinian resistance factions agreed to ceasefire three weeks ago. [end]
Palestine Today 071008
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/10/2008
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 Thursday July 10th, 2008. The Israeli army kills a Palestinian civilian in the Gaza Strip and another in the West Bank. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News Cast The Israeli army killed a Palestinian resident in the southern Gaza Strip early Thursday morning, the first Palestinian causality since Israel and Palestinian resistance factions agreed to a ceasefire three weeks ago. The Israeli army confirmed that the soldiers, manning the Kussofim commercial crossing in the southern Gaza Strip spotted and shot dead a Palestinian man this morning. The areas adjacent to the crossing are agricultural and are inhabited by dozens of Palestinian farmers. more.. e-mail
Hamas arrests Gaza rocket cell
Ali Waked, YNetNews 7/11/2008
Islamist group detains gunmen from Fatah military wing who fired Qassams into Israel on Thursday, further endangering volatile ceasefire. Meanwhile Fatah lashes out at Israel, with Abbas saying talks may be suspended over settlement building - Hamas arrested three Palestinians who fired rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, in the first such detentions since the Islamist group and Israel agreed a truce last month, a militant faction said. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah group, said Hamas men pursued two of its members after the attack and "abducted them" in Jabalya refugee camp. Two Qassam rockets were fired from northern Gaza towards Israel on Thursday afternoon, one of them landed near a kibbutz in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council. more.. e-mail
2 Qassams land in western Negev
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 7/10/2008
Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claims responsibility for firing of two rockets from northern Gaza in response to earlier shooting incident with IDF - Two Qassam rockets were fired from northern Gaza towards Israel on Thursday afternoon, one of them landed near a kibbutz in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council. No injuries were reported and no damage was caused. Shortly after 3:40 pm the Color Red rocket alert sirens blared throughout Sderot and neighboring communities in the western Negev, sending residents running to bomb shelters. Fatah’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, claimed responsibility for the fire. The organization said this was in response to the killing to Talal Abad near Jenin on Wednesday. Earlier on Thursday a Palestinian man was killed by IDF fire near the Kissufim crossing. more.. e-mail
2 killed in collapse of smuggling tunnel under Gaza-Egypt border
Associated Press, YNetNews 7/10/2008
Two Palestinians killed in collapse of tunnel locals say was used to smuggle drugs, fuel into Strip -A Palestinian health official said two Palestinians have been killed Thursday in the collapse of a smuggling tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border. Health Ministry official Moawiya Hassanain said that five people were pulled out of the tunnel alive. Local residents say the tunnel was used for smuggling drugs and fuel into Gaza. Gaza has been virtually sealed off from the world since the Islamic militant Hamas seized control by force a year ago. Tunnels under Gaza’s border with Egypt are used to bring in a range of items, from weapons to medicine, cement and clothing. more.. e-mail
East Jerusalem cell arrested for throwing Molotov cocktails
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/10/2008
Security forces detain eight members of Popular Front for hurling Molotov cocktails at cars in Jerusalem area; suspects confess during questioning, four have been indicted - Security forces arrested eight residents of the village of Issawiya, located north of Jerusalem, on the suspicion that they had been throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli vehicles traveling through roads in and around the capital, according to a report cleared for publication on Thursday. The youths were detained several weeks ago, and have confessed their actions had been intended to harm Jewish citizens. Two of those arrested were adults and six were minors. The arrest was a collaborative effort by Shin Bet, Jerusalem Police, and Border Guard forces. The arrest followed an undercover investigation and intelligence operations carried out by the Shin Bet. more.. e-mail
IDF non-combat reservists say they’re being thrust into war zones
Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 7/11/2008
The Israel Defense Forces is requiring reservists who serve in logistical, non-combat roles to assume operational duties in the West Bank despite their lacking the requisite training, according to a complaint obtained by Haaretz on Thursday. The soldiers, who served on bases in Israel proper and who underwent technological training as part of their compulsory service, were ordered to drive armored jeeps into the Palestinian territories. The soldiers completed Rifleman 02 basic training, which is geared for non-combat servicemen and women. Thus, they have not undergone adequate combat training. After the soldiers protested that they lacked sufficient training, their commanders responded that they were needed as drivers due to a shortage in personnel which was due in part to the increase in the scope of training and operational activity in the IDF. more.. e-mail
Israel approves 920 homes for colonists in East Jerusalem
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 7/10/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: An Israeli commission has approved the building of 920 new homes in Occupied East Jerusalem, the municipality said on Wednesday, in a new blow to shaky peace talks with the Palestinians. The Palestinians reacted angrily to the new settlement expansion, warning of its negative impact on the peace process. "The district commission has approved for construction 920 housing units in Har Homa," a statement said, referring to a neighborhood in East Jerusalem, Jabel Abu Ghneim, that already has more than 10,000 residents. The Har Homa project is part of a plan to build some 40,000 new homes over the next decade in neighborhoods in both East and West Jerusalem, that the housing minister approved in June, a ministry official told AFP. Until now, specific aspects of the project were unknown. Israel occupied the eastern half of the city after the 1967 war and illegally. . . more.. e-mail
Settlers attack town in southern Nablus
Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 7/9/2008
Nablu - Last night Israeli settlers shelled the Palestinian town of Burin in southern Nablus. As reported by a Palestinian source, the settlers are believed to be from the Bracha and Itshar settlements. Jamal Al Muhaisin, Governor of Nablus, reported in a telephone interview with PNN that projectiles fell around 9:30 and 10:00 Tuesday night. They came from territory adjacent to the town of Burin, and landed about 150 meters away from residential buildings. A source at the Office of Civil Defense in Burin reported that youth in the town found remains of the projectiles. Israeli soldiers arrived and barred them from approaching the shells. [end]
Israeli settlers launch homemade shells at Burin and Madma villages near Nablus
Rula shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/9/2008
A Palestinian official source reported that on Tuesday night that a group of Israeli settlers attacked several Palestinian villages near Nablus city with homemade shells. [end]
Troops assassinate a resistance fighter in Jenin
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/10/2008
Undercover forces of the Israeli army assassinated on Wednesday evening, Talal Sa’id Abed, 32, one of the leaders of Abu Ammar Brigades, one of the offshoots of Fateh movement, in KufrDan Village, west of Jenin in the northern part of the West Bank. The fighter was shot and abducted by the Special Forces and later on the Israeli Coordination Office informed the Palestinian Coordination Office that Abed died of his wounds at Rambam hospital in Haifa. A spokesperson of the Brigades and several eyewitnesses reported that the assassination was carried out during early evening hours when the forces infiltrated into the village through its eastern entrance using a Palestinian licensed vehicle. The undercover forces then ambushed Abed and intercepted his vehicle. The fighter noticed the forces and attempted to escape but members of the undercover unit fired several rounds of live ammunition at him. more.. e-mail
Brother of al-Qaeda suspect: He’s no terrorist
Yonat Atlas, YNetNews 7/9/2008
Brother of Bedouin indicted on charges of affiliation with al-Qaeda dismisses accusations, says suspect merely visited ’wrong websites’; two members of Islamic Movement arrested following joint Shin Bet, police operation - Residents in the southern Bedouin community of Rahat say they are shocked over reports that two local young men have been indicted over charges of affiliation with al-Qaeda. Majid Abu-Sakut, whose brother Omar is one of the two suspects, told Ynet Wednesday evening: "Taher and Omar are just two kids who visited the wrong websites. They’re innocent. " "We still have not digested what has happened," Majid said. "I do not believe that the Shin Bet has enough evidence to convict Omar at court. The Internet is open to anyone, and the same way they could also accuse me of affiliation to a terror organization. more.. e-mail
2 Israeli ’al-Qaeda suspects’ detained
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/9/2008
Two members of Islamic Movement indicted on charges of affiliation with terror organization following joint Shin Bet, police operation; suspects supplied handlers with sensitive information about strategic facilities - Cleared for publication: Two residents of the southern Israeli town of Rahat were indicted Wednesday for allegedly being al-Qaeda operatives. Taher and Omar Abu-Sakut, who are registered members of the Islamic Movement, were arrested following a joint Shin Bet, police and Border Guard operation that took place in June. According to Shin Bet records, Taher abu-Sakut’s interest in radical Islam began in 2006, when he became involved with the Islamic Movement. Soon after that, the Shin Bet says, he began surfing al-Qaeda-affiliated websites, as well as sites calling for the destruction of more.. e-mail
The Israeli army kidnaps civilians from the West Bank
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/9/2008
The Israeli army kidnapped on Tuesday at midnight and on Wednesday morning seven Palestinians from different parts of the West Bank accusing them of being involved in terrorist activities Two Palestinians were kidnapped near Nablus city while five others were kidnapped in the central city of Ramallah. The kidnapped Palestinians were taken to detention camps for investigation. The Identifications and affiliations of the kidnapped Palestinians are still unknown. The Israeli army is launching daily kidnap attempts in the West Bank that even reached civilians. [end]
Palestine Today 070908
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio, International Middle East Media Center News 7/9/2008
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 July 9th, 2008. The army attacks peaceful protests across the West Bank and kidnaps at least seven civilians in pre- dawn invasions, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The News Cast Hundreds of Palestinians protested on Wednesday the Israeli illegal wall being built in the West Bank. Protests were reported in Bethlehem, Tulkarem, Qalqilia and Ramallah. The protests were part of the activities organized by the Popular Committees Against the Wall and Settlements in the West Bank campaign marking the 4th year after the International Court of Justice, in the Hague which deemed the Israeli Wall in the West Bank is illegal on July 9th 2004. more.. e-mail
Palestinian Attorney General survives car bomb
Ma’an News Agency 7/8/2008
Ramallah Ma’an Exclusive The Palestinian Authority’s Attorney General Ahmad Al-Mghanni survived an assassination attempt on Tuesday. A bomb detonated in the boot of his car in the Al-Maysoun neighbourhood of Ramallah in the central West Bank as Al-Mghanni started the engine of his car. He escaped unhurt. Al- Mghanni told Ma’an that as he was starting his car, he heard an explosion, which damaged the fuel tank. Palestinian police have opened an investigation. Al-Mghanni said he did not know who was behind the attack and he was waiting for the results of the investigation. The head of the Palestinian Supreme Court Judge Issa Abu Sharar condemned the attack. "The attempt to assault Attorney General is a serious attack aimed at paralyzing the judiciary and the prosecution," he said. more.. e-mail
Gaza: Blast at Hamas training camp kills 2
Ali Waked, YNetNews 7/8/2008
IDF yet to comment on incident, which is believed to be result of ’work accident’ during weapon manufacturing - Two people were killed and two were injured in an explosion at a Hamas training camp near the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, Palestinian sources reported Tuesday morning. The circumstances of the blast were unclear, but a source in the Strip said it caused a building in the training facility to collapse. The Israel Defense Forces has yet to comment on the incident, which is believed to be the result of a "work accident" during the production of weapons. The Israeli army has not struck in Gaza since the ceasefire agreement with Palestinian militant groups went into effect, despite the recent violations of the truce. About a month ago, a mysterious explosion in a building in the southern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya left seven people dead, including a baby and a child, and dozens injured. more.. e-mail
Ultra-Orthdox prohibition on entering Temple Mount splinters
Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 7/9/2008
The ultra-Orthodox rabbinical consensus on banning the entry of Jews to the Temple Mount is showing cracks. This comes in the wake of a decision by religious Zionist rabbis to lift the ban and the increase of religious Zionist visitors to the site. Rabbi Moshe Tendler, son-in-law of the ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, visited the Temple Mount last Thursday with Temple Institute officials for the first time. Feinstein was one of the greatest Haredi adjudicators in the United States in the previous generation. Tendler, a bioethics expert and Talmud instructor at Yeshiva University, New York, is known mainly for his rulings on transplants and genetics. Recently several ultra-Orthodox rabbis visited the Temple Mount but unlike Tendler, none would have his name released, due to sensitivity to this issue. more.. e-mail
Israel Right Demands Wall to Keep Palestinians out of Jerusalem
Sheera Frenkel, MIFTAH 7/8/2008
Israels vision of Jerusalem as its indivisible capital came under attack yesterday as leaders reacted to Wednesdays carnage by calling for a wall across the citys ethnic divide. The Government says that the barrier between itself and Palestinian communities in the West Bank has thwarted many terrorist attacks. However, two recent acts of terrorism perpetuated by Arabs living in east Jerusalem has left some asking whether Israel should abandon the dream of a united Jerusalem and isolate itself further from Arab communities. Haim Ramon, the Israeli Vice Prime Minister, led a growing chorus of voices calling for a barrier to separate many of east Jerusalems neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It would be much more difficult to carry out attacks like these and 50,000 Palestinians who live in those two neighborhoods would not be able to reach Jerusalem so easily if they didnt have blue [Israeli] identity cards, he said. more.. e-mail
Deadly Attacks Further Divide East and West Jerusalem
Ashraf Khalil, MIFTAH 7/8/2008
The residents of East and West Jerusalem have lived side by side, if not together, for 40 years, ever since Israel seized the Arab side of the city from Jordan during the 1967 Middle East War. The union has rarely been a happy one. But recent incidents have residents on both sides viewing each other with renewed suspicion and anxiety. " There is no relationship" between mostly Arab East Jerusalem and the predominantly Jewish western neighborhoods, said Khalil Tafakji, a Palestinian geographer and map specialist. East Jerusalem’s Arab residents "go to the west to work and then return home and that’s it," he said. Last week, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem driving an earthmover killed three people and wounded dozens in a rampage downtown. In March, an Arab from East Jerusalem killed eight young students in a yeshiva. The two incidents have revived public demands for action, and Israeli politicians appear ready to answer that call. more.. e-mail
Gaza Militants Fire Mortar Shells at Karni Border Crossing
Fadi Eyadat, MIFTAH 7/8/2008
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday called for Gaza Strip border crossings to close starting on Tuesday, hours after Palestinian militants fired two mortar shells into Israel, which struck an open space between the Karni crossing and Nahal Oz causing neither casualties nor property damage. Since the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect in the Gaza Strip June 19, militants have fired several Qassam rockets into Israel, including one last week that fell in the western Negev region. Israel closed its border crossings with Gaza in the wake of the rocket fire, but reopened them on Sunday to allow goods into the Strip and Gazans in need of medical assistance out of the coastal territory. A farmer operating a tractor near the western Negev Kibbutz Nahal Oz on Sunday said a Palestinian sniper in the bordering Gaza Strip opened fire on him. Several hours later, however, the military admitted there was no sniper attack, saying damage to the tractor might have been caused by a stone. more.. e-mail
Mortar shell lands in western Negev
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 7/8/2008
Seemingly routine in course of ceasefire, yet another mortar shell lands in Israel. No injuries or damage reported. Earlier today Defense Minister Barak ordered Gaza’s goods crossings reopened despite recent attacks - The violation of the Gaza ceasefire by Palestinian groups seems to have become routine: On Tuesday afternoon yet another mortar shell landed in the western Negev. No injuries were reported and no damage was caused in the Eshkol Regional Council, where it crashed. At around 15:00 a loud explosion was heard near one of the communities in the western Negev, security personnel who set out to determine its cause located a Palestinian mortar shell nearby. The ’Color Red’ rocket alert siren system did not go off. Earlier on Tuesday Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the defense establishment to reopen the goods crossings into the Gaza Strip. . . more.. e-mail
Mortar shell lands in Israel, violating truce
Ma’an News Agency 7/8/2008
Jerusalem - Maan A mortar shell launched from the Gaza Strip landed in Israel on Tuesday afternoon in what Israel views as a breach of the Israeli-Palestinian truce. Israeli Army Radio reported that the shell landed near Israeli Kibbutzim (communal farms) in the Eshkol regional council, causing neither damage nor injuries. Army radio also reported that explosions have been heard in the area since the early morning hours. No mortars or projectiles landed in the area until the afternoon. Israel reopened the Gaza Strip’s border crossings at the urging of Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Sulaiman, who brokered the current ceasefire. Israel had closed the crossing points in response to a prior mortar shell. The ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian armed groups went into effect on 19 June. more.. e-mail
Hamas: security forces detain six Hamas affiliates in West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 7/8/2008
Nablus - Salfit Ma’an - Hamas said Palestinian security services detainedsix affiliated to Hamas in the West Bank on Monday. In a statement they said the security services in Jenin detained Imad Eddin Abu Al-Heijah, Majdi Abu Al-Heijah and Fathi ’Attoum after calling them for interview. In Hebron, the security agencies detained the Mayor Jama Abu Al-Jadayel and Daud Abu Hashim after calling them for interview. In Salfit, the security agencies detained Rizk Aziz Abdel-Raouf for the third time after calling him for interview. [end]
Troops kidnap nine residents in the West Bank
Rula Shahwan news, International Middle East Media Center News 7/8/2008
During Tuesday’s pre-dawn attacks targeting several areas in the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops kidnapped nine civilians, Palestinian and Israeli sources reported. Israeli media reported that the Israeli army kidnapped those nine civilians while conducting a search campaign in Nahaleen and Bait Fajjar villages near Bethlehem, Abu Dis town, north of Jerusalem, and in Halhool village near southern West Bank city of Hebron. The sources added all kidnapped residents were taken to detention camps for investigation. [end]
Israeli forces detain nine Palestinians from the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 7/8/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an - Israeli forces detained nine Palestinians from several cities across the West Bank early on Tuesday morning. Israeli sources said that Israeli troops detained nine alleged "wanted" Palestinians, from Nahalin, Beit Fajjar, Bethlehem and Abu Dis east of Jerusalem, and from Halhul north of Hebron. All the detainees were transferred to investigation centers for questioning. [end]
Palestine Today 070808
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio, International Middle East Media Center News 7/8/2008
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 July 8th, 2008. Two Palestinians killed in Gaza, while the Palestinian Attorney General in the West Bank escapes and assassination attempt. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News Cast Palestinian sources reported on Tuesday morning that two civilians were killed and two others were wounded in an unknown explosion in southern Gaza Strip. Dr. Mawiya Hassanen, of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, reported that the source and causes of the explosion are still unknown. He identified the two killed residents as; Muhammad AL Maghaide and Wael Saliha. He added that one of the two injured residents is in critical condition. more.. e-mail
Two Qassam members killed in mysterious explosion
Palestinian Information Center 7/8/2008
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- Two members of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas Movement, were killed at an early hour on Tuesday in an explosion west of Khan Younis city, south of the Gaza Strip. Medical sources told PIC reporter that the martyrs’ bodies were scattered remains while two others were wounded one of them in a serious condition. They identified the martyrs as Mohammed Al-Majaida and Wa’el Salhia. Locals said that a powerful explosion was heard in a training site for the Qassam Brigades west of Khan Younis in what used to be the Israeli settlement of Jani Tal, which Israel evacuated during its withdrawal from Gaza more than two years ago. [end]
Explosion kills two in southern Gaza Strip
Rula Shahwan & Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/8/2008
Palestinian sources reported on Tuesday morning that two civilians were killed and two others were wounded in an unknown explosion in southern Gaza Strip. Dr. Mawiya Hassanen, of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, reported that the source and causes of the explosion are still unknown. He identified the two killed residents as; Muhammad AL Maghaide and Wael Saliha. He added that one of the two injured residents is in critical condition. Local sources said that the explosion took place at the ruins of an Israeli evacuated settlement. [end]
Two killed, two injured in blast at Al-Qassam training camp
Ma’an News Agency 7/8/2008
Gaza Ma’an - Two Palestinians were killed and another two injured after an explosion at an Al-Qassam Brigades training camp in southern Gaza on Tuesday, security sources said. The blast took place at theevacuated Israeli settlement of Gani Tal, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Dr Mu’awiyah Hassanein, director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian Health Ministry said that medical crews are evacuating the casualties from the blast site. The Al-Qassam Brigades are the armed wing of Hamas. [end]
Ramallah: the army kidnaps a civilian and invades several villages
Rula Shahwan, International Middle East Media Center News 7/7/2008
The Israeli army kidnapped one Palestinian civilian during invasions targeting the central West Bank city of Ramallah and a nearby village. Local witnesses reported that the Israeli army kidnapped 18 year old Imad Arrar during a house to house search in the village of Qrawiah near Ramallah. Israeli forces also attacked and searched residents’ homes in Dura Al Qaree, and Bruka villages, in addition to Ramallah and Al Biereh cities. No kidnappings were reported there. [end]
Israeli forces detain two Palestinians in Balata refugee camp
Ma’an News Agency 7/7/2008
Nablus - Ma’an - Israeli forces detained two men in the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus on Monday, after storming their houses. Palestinian security sources told Maans Nablus correspondent that Israeli forces detained 17-year-old Majdi Shaher Hashash and 21-year-old Raed Saed Al-Kabi. [end]
Israeli forces detain three Palestinians in Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency 7/7/2008
Tulkarem - Ma’an - Israeli forces detained three civilians in the city of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank on Monday. Maans correspondent quoted Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses as saying that Israeli forces stormed the western neighborhood of the city and detained 18-year-old Murad Riyad Al-Mughrabi. He works in a local Israeli factory. He added that Israeli forces detained 20-year-old Mohammad Said Badran and 21-year-old Ahmad Adel Badran who are residents of the town of Deir Al-Ghusoun north of Tulkarem as they headed to work in Jerusalem. [end]
Mortar shell lands in Israel near Karni crossing
Ma’an News Agency 7/7/2008
Gaza - Maan A mortar shell landed in Israel near the Karni border crossing southeast of Gaza City on Monday, Israeli military sources said. No injuries or damage resulted. Israeli forces headed to the scene of the reported attack. A ceasefire has been effect in the Gaza Strip since 19 June. [end]
Israeli sources: homemade shell hits Karen A border crossing
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/7/2008
Israeli sources reported on Monday midday that a Palestinian home made shell struck an open area near the Karen A border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel causing no damage or injures. [end]
Relative: Initial police failure to kill bulldozer terrorist cost victim her life
Shahar Ilan, Ha’aretz 7/8/2008
A representative of the families who lost loved ones in last week’sbulldozer attack in Jerusalem told the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee on Monday that the fact that police failed to immediately kill the perpetrator had cost a life that could have been spared. Hussam Duwiyat, who killed three people in a stolen bulldozer in Jerusalem on Wednesday had been initially shot, but rallied despite his wounds, and launched a second rampage, taking the life of 33-year-old Bat-Sheva Unterman. Avraham Kol Tuv, a relative of Unterman’s, told the Knesset committee that "the fact that [the policeman] didn’t make sure he was dead cost my relative’s life. A man that goes on a killing spree loses his right to live. If [the policeman] had killed him, I wouldn’t be sitting here. " more.. e-mail
Relative of Jerusalem terror attack victim blames ’officer’s hesitance’
Amnon Meranda, YNetNews 7/7/2008
MKs discuss why police officer didn’t ’finish off’ bulldozer driver who went on killing spree in downtown Jerusalem. Victim’s relative: Officer didn’t shoot because he was afraid of being put on trial. Beilin: Demolishing homes may lead to more terror -The Knesset’s House Committee convened on Monday to discuss whether the increased number of State inquiry commissions is having a negative effect on the conduct of Israeli police officers on the ground. The Knesset members specifically examined the conduct of a police officer who arrive at the scene of last week’sterror attack in Jerusalem and wondered why he did not make sure that the Palestinian bulldozer driver was dead after being shot in the head by a female officer a few minutes earlier. A relative of Batsheva Unterman, one of three people killed in the terror attack, told the committee,. . . more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 070708
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMc - Audio, International Middle East Media Center News 7/7/2008
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 Monday July 7th, 2008. The Israeli army continues to attack a village near Ramallah for the fourth day, while troops kidnap 10 civilians during dawn invasions, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The News Cast The Israeli army continued its attacks targeting the villagers of Ni’lin near Ramallah city in the central part of the West Bank on Monday for the fourth day in a row. Sources in the village reported that the Israeli army invaded the local girl’s school and used it as a military site adding that troops attacked local businesses and set fire to a local car. The sources added that the army shot tear gas at villagers homes, which caused several injures, among them a 4 day old baby. more.. e-mail
Police conclude Jerusalem bulldozer killer acted alone
Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 7/7/2008
Israel Police have concluded that a Palestinian construction worker who killed three Israelis with a bulldozer in Jerusalem last week acted alone and not as part of a militant organisation, a spokesman said on Sunday. "(He) improvised the attack on his own," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said on a day when hundreds of officers were on hand to protect some 30 Israelis who demonstrated near the dead attacker’s house to demand his family home be demolished, or in case the protest turned violent. Husam Duwayit crushed cars and overturned a bus on Wednesday on one of Jerusalem’s busiest streets. No major militant group claimed responsibility and relatives and neighbours described Duwayit, 30, as a troubled man with a record of drug offenses. They insisted the family had been unaware of his intentions. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces fire on farmers in northern Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 7/6/2008
Gaza Ma’an Israeli forces used machine guns to fire on Palestinian farmers who were tending their fields near the high-tech border fence in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. As a result of heavy fire, farmers were forced to abandon work in their fields which they had only begun after a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian factions went into effect on 19 June. The Israeli military announced on Friday that it would reserve fire on any Palestinians who come within 300 meters of the Israel-Gaza border, despite the ceasefire. Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military took over the frequencies of local radio stations to warn locals than anyone who approaches the border would be shot. The Palestinian local initiative for countering Israeli aggression in the town of Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, called this decision "a death penalty for thousands of farmers,". . . more.. e-mail
Israeli army opens heavy fire towards farmers in northern Gaza
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/6/2008
The Israeli army opened heavy fire early on Sunday morning towards Palestinian farmers in areas, adjacent to the border electronic barbed wire fence with Israel in northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli army fire today came following an Israeli decision to shoot at any moving object just 300 meters away from the border fence. The decision was delivered earlier to Egyptian mediators who brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinians three weeks ago. The local popular committee for encountering the Israeli aggression in the northern city of Beit Hanoun, considered the decision as a real threat to thousands of Palestinian farmers, who earn a living in the area. Witnesses said on Sunday that dozens of local farmers fled the scene following the sporadic gunfire in the area, two weeks after they have got use of the ceasefire deal. more.. e-mail
Palestinians shoot at Nahal Oz farmers
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 7/6/2008
No injuries reported after Gaza gunmen open fire at farmers working in kibbutz field. Crossing from Israel to Strip reopened Sunday morning - Palestinians opened fire Sunday afternoon at farmers working in fields near Kibbutz Nahal Oz in the Gaza vicinity. There were no reports of injuries. This is the first time gunmen shoot at farmers since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect about two and a half weeks ago. Since the truce began, Palestinians have fired several Qassam rockets and mortar shells into the western Negev on a number of different occasions. The truce was last violated on Thursday, as a Qassam rocket exploded in an open area in the western Negev. There were no reports of injuries or damage. Following the rocket fire, Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the army to close all the crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip. -- See also: IDF: Negev farmer's tractor damaged by stones, not Gaza sniper more.. e-mail
Palestinian sources to PNN: latest crime by Israeli settlers under protection of soldiers
Palestine News Network 7/6/2008
Hebron / PNN / Palestinian witnesses reported that Israeli settlers again attacked the residents of southern Hebron. Sources told PNN that a group of particularly fundamentalist settlers attacked a Palestinian shepherd who was grazing his sheep on Palestinian land. An Israeli settlement, Asael, was built nearby, also on Palestinian land. The settlers came and set fire to the fields which prompted several other Palestinian farmers to rush to the field to save the life of the shepherd who was caught in the middle of the flames. Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses, including foreign activists, continued to tell PNN that when a group of Palestinian and foreigners entered the area together, dozens of settlers pounced on them and began a major physical assault. Israeli soldiers were nearby, from the beginning of the setting of the fire, yet did nothing. more.. e-mail
Soldier rebuked for taking lighter from Ramallah house
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 7/6/2008
IDF fighter says he seized pistol-shaped device for fear troops would mistake it for weapon, hurt man carrying it - A fighter in the Combat Engineering Corps charged with plunder after taking a pistol-shaped lighter from a house in the West Bank city of Ramallah has been reprimanded and won’t be sent to jail. The military court was convinced that the soldier believed the lighter might accidentally cause his fellow troops to accidentally hurt innocent people due to its resemblance to a real gun. For months, members of the Military Defense Counsel have been working to prove that the indictment filed against Corporal A. was the result of a erroneous and unfair decision. The soldier was charged with the offense of plunder, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment, as well as a criminal record for life. more.. e-mail
In Palestine: 449 dead, including 66 children in first half of 2008
George Rishmawi, International Middle East Media Center News 7/6/2008
449 Palestinians were killed including 66 children in the first half of 2008, according to a report by the Palestinian ministry of health. [end]
General Staff: Use force in response to Qassams
Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Ha’aretz 7/7/2008
Israel should respond to the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip with a targeted military response, the Israel Defense Forces General Staff stated in a document distributed to government and military leaders last week. Israel has so far responded to infractions of the two-week-old truce with Hamas by closing its crossings into the Strip. Several IDF officers reportedly believe that Ehud Barak’s decision to close the crossings did not go far enough. They say Hamas wants the calm to continue because it serves the organization’s interests, and that Israel cannot allow itself not to respond definitively to the rocket fire. Meanwhile, Hamas said Friday it was suspending talks over the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit until the crossings are reopened. Osama al-Muzaini, the Hamas official in charge of the talks on Shalit, said the organization. . . more.. e-mail
Rafael reports successful test of Iron Dome anti-Qassam missile system
Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 7/7/2008
Rafael has successfully completed a series of test in the short-range missile defense system it is currently developing as part of the project code-named "Iron Dome. " Security sources said yesterday that the trials, which were carried out at a test ground in southern Israel, were successful. The tests involved the launching of a number of Tamir missiles - the type that is expected to be used by Iron Dome to intercept Qassam and Katyusha rockets - and engineers evaluated its capabilities, in terms of such variables as effective range, command and control from the ground, speed and maneuverability. Defense sources estimate that by the end of 2008 Iron Dome will be ready to undergo a major test that will evaluate the system’s ability to intercept rockets. The test will include the launch of a rocket that will simulate a Qassam or Katyusha, which Tamir will then try to intercept. more.. e-mail
Ten months after govt. decision, Sderot schools remain unprotected
Mijal Grinberg, Ha’aretz 7/7/2008
Tenders for the construction of schools in Sderot with the necessary fortified areas capable of protecting against rocket attacks are still pending, as a result of a dispute between Sderot municipality and the Interior Ministry. The cabinet decided to construct schools in Sderot capable of withstanding rocket blasts 10 months ago, but not only have the projects not started, still no party has secured the tender. Originally, the matter was handled by the relevant department at the Sderot municipality, however the winner of the original tender led to an investigation against the city’s mayor, Eli Moyal, for possible conflict of interest. The tender issuing process and the decision were revoked by the Interior Minister, and in a letter by ministry director Aryeh Bar-Shelach to Moyal, the entire process used by the municipality was declared improper. more.. e-mail
More proof of Sderot’s exodus: Fewer births and fewer kids in school
Fadi Eyadat, Ha’aretz 7/7/2008
About a year ago, Danny and Keren Dahan from Sderot were trying to decide whether to give their 4-year-old twins Stav and Raveh a baby brother or sister. But the escalation of Qassam rockets made the decision for them. "We decided that this is not the time or place to have another baby; it would be irresponsible," Dahan says. It seems the Dahans are not alone. Statistics Haaretz obtained from the health and interior ministries show a 15-percent decline in Sderot’s birth rate in the first half of this year from the same period last year - to 154 from 182. The decline was not felt dramatically after the Qassams started falling in 2001, but only when the firing escalated in May 2007. The declining birth rate also results from families leaving the city; their numbers can be gauged by registrations for the city’s schools because children. . . more.. e-mail
Man shot by anonymous gunman near Jenin, transfered to Israeli hospital by helicopter
Ma’an News Agency 7/6/2008
Jenin- Ma’an- Israeli sources said that a young Palestinian man arrived at Rihan checkpoint west of Jenin today with serious injuries. Israeli soldiers administered first aid and then saw that the man was transferred by an Israeli helicopter to an Israeli hospital for treatment. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an that 26-year-old Haitham Jad Kabaha was shot in the head by an anonymous gunman on the road near the town of Arraba west of Jenin. The Israeli army denied shooting the young man, and confirmed that he arrived at the checkpoint injured and in serious condition. [end]
Israeli forces raid Jenin and Qabatiya
Ma’an News Agency 7/6/2008
Jenin Ma’an Israeli forces raided the northern West Bank city of Jenin and the nearby town of Qabatiya on Sunday firing in the air and deploying sonic bombs. No casualties or arrests have been reported. Palestinian security sources stated that Israeli patrols stormed Jenin at 1:00am and roamed the streets. They withdrew one and a half hours later. Just after storming Jenin, Israeli forces invaded the southern neighborhood of Qabatiya and withdrew later. [end]
Life sentence for Qassam ’engineer’
Ali Waked, YNetNews 7/6/2008
Beersheba District Court hands down two life sentences to Sharif Ziyada after convicting him of attempting to duplicate Gaza manufacturing of Qassam rockets in West Bank -The Beersheba District Court handed down two life-sentences and an additional eight-year sentence on Sunday to Gaza Strip resident Sharif Ziyada, who was convicted of attempting to bring the Qassam rocket manufacturing industry to the West Bank. Ziyada, who was arrested while trying to infiltrate the Egyptian border into Israel in October 2005, was convicted of heading an initiative to begin manufacturing rockets in the West Bank on behalf of the Salah al-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees. Two additional operatives - Kazem Dib and Kamal Aisa - were arrested along with Ziyada, who is considered the second-highest ranking member of the PRC. more.. e-mail
PRC leader given to two life sentences plus eight years by Israeli military court
Ma’an News Agency 7/6/2008
Gaza- Maan- An Israeli military court in Beer Sheva sentenced a prominent leader of the An-Nasser brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), Sharif Ziyadeh (Abu Omar) to two life sentences plus eight years last Sunday. Ziyadeh was accused of being a leader of the An-Nasser brigades in Gaza city and in the north of the Gaza Strip. The court found that he had headed a training exercise for resistance fighters and suicide bombers, and coordinated and planed several operations in the West Bank in addition to the bombing of an Israeli Merkava tank, killing three soldiers. [end]
Former police officer seriously injured in Rafah shooting
Ma’an News Agency 7/6/2008
Gaza Ma’an A former Palestinian police officer was shot and seriously wounded by two unidentified gunmen on the Mediterranean shore at Tal As-Sultan, north of the city of Rafah, in the Southern Gaza Strip on Sunday. Palestinian medical sources said the victim of the attack was 26 years old. The gunmen fled following the shooting. [end]
Israeli warships fire on Palestinian fishermen, further straining truce
Ma’an News Agency 7/5/2008
Gaza Ma’an Israeli warships used machineguns to fire on Palestinian fishermen in the Sudaniyya area of the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday morning. No casualties have been reported. Separately, on Friday, Israeli warships fired two shells at fishermen’s boats in the area of Tal As-Sultan, west of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, damaging the boats. These attacks are in direct violation of a truce between Israel and Palestinian resistance groups that went into effect on 19 June. Israel and the Palestinian groups have accused each other of violating the ceasefire. According to the terms of the Egyptian-brokered truce, all sides are to hold their fire, and Israel is to gradually ease its year-old military blockade of Gaza’s borders. Twice however, the Israeli military has re-sealed the borders in response to Palestinian homemade projectiles fired from Gaza. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces invade Deir al Ghusun near Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency 7/5/2008
Tulkarem Ma’an Israeli forces invaded the northern West Bank town of Deir al Ghusun amidst intensive gunfire and sonic bombs on Saturday. A Ma’an correspondent quoted Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses as saying that Israeli patrols are - at time of reporting- detaining cars and pedestrians on the main road between Deir al Ghsun and Bal’a village to the east of the town, as well as on the road between Deir al Ghusun and Al-Jarushiya to the south. The sources added that young Palestinian men began pelting invading Israeli soldiers with stones; the soldiers respond by shooting rubber-coated metal bullets. Some soldiers have taken positions on the tops of high buildings in the town’s center. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces arrest six Palestinians in Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 7/5/2008
Nablus Ma’an Israeli forces seized six young Palestinian men on Saturday from the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian security sources said that Israeli forces raided the city at 2:00am and ransacked several homes near the Zuwata crossroads west of Nablus as well as in Al-’Ein refugee camp. The sources named the arrestees as 20-year-old Salam Az-Zaqzouq, his brother 18-year-old Saddam, 18-year-old Muhammad Yameen, 17-year-old Muhammad Khalbous, and 18-year-old Abdul-HaleemAl-Qan’eer. [end]
Power of Palestinian nonviolent resistance: Israeli forces now deem W Ramallah closed military zone
Palestine News Network 7/5/2008
Ramallah / PNN -- Spokesperson for the Media Commission to Resist the Wall in the western Ramallah villages, Salah Al Khawaja, has reported that for the second day running Israeli forces are preventing their movement in and out of the city under the pretext that the western Ramallah District is a "closed military zone. " Western Ramallah villages are vital in the nonviolent Palestinian resistance against Israeli settlement expansion, Wall building, and land confiscation. The nonviolent resistance has been targeted with arrests, rubber-coated steel bullets, live ammunition, gas, beatings and closures. Khawaja told the press on Saturday that 446 soldiers are in the streets, and a total of 600 are in place to divide West Bank towns from one another. For the second day, Israeli forces have denied medical patients, employees and students to move. more.. e-mail
Violent confrontation between Palestinians, settlers
Ali Waked, YNetNews 7/5/2008
Palestinians exchange blows with settlers of Asael near Mt. Hebron, acres of agricultural fields set on fire; settlers accused of tying Palestinian man to pole, beating him for two hours - A dispute between Palestinians and settlers from Asael, south of Mount Hebron, ended in violence and extensive property damage on Saturday. Hebron police received a report that the settlement’s security officer had detained six Palestinians in the afternoon hours. Firefighters were alerted to the scene to combat a blaze that consumed a crop field - a fire police say appears to be a case of arson. A number of left-wing activists and Palestinians have been singled out as the suspected perpetrators. The Palestinians, residents of the village of Samoa, claimed they were attacked by settlers, who set fire to three acres of wheat fields. more.. e-mail
VIDEO: Settlers tie Palestinian man to phone pole and beat him
Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 7/6/2008
A group of West Bank settlers on Saturday beat a 31-year-old Palestinian man in the southern Hebron Hills, after having tied him to a telephone pole. Left-wing activists later videoed a settler kicking Madahat Abu-Kirash, the victim, as he remained tied up and was surrounded by Israeli security forces. The soldiers subsequently removed the settler from the scene. Hebron police opened an investigation into the incident after Abu-Kirash submitted a complaint, claiming that he had been beaten all over his body. According to the left-wing organization Ta’ayush, whose members were close to the scene of the assault and witnessed part of it, the incident began when residents of the settlement of Asael accused Abu-Kirash of setting a field alight a few hundred meters away from their homes. more.. e-mail
Jerusalem attacker had son with Jewish girlfriend
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/5/2008
Israeli online daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported that the Palestinian man who carried the attack in Jerusalem on Wednesday had a relationship in the past with an Israeli Jewish woman, and they had a 7 year old child. At least three Israelis were killed and 30 others were wounded, two seriously, as the attacker drove a bulldozer into an Israeli bus and a number of cars on Jaffa Street in West Jerusalem on Wednesday midday. Israeli sources said a Palestinian from Jerusalem, identified as Tayyser Dowikat, 31, carried out this attack, and was shot by Israeli policemen who were in the area. The attacker according to an Israeli police source had a criminal record as he was sentenced on February 2001 to 12 months imprisonment for assaulting his girlfriend. Yedioth Ahronoth report stated that Dowikat was involved with a Jewish woman from a settlement in Jerusalem. more.. e-mail
Middle East Press Views Jerusalem Bulldozer Attack
BBC News, MIFTAH 7/5/2008
Wednesday’s attack by a Palestinian who went on a bulldozing rampage in west Jerusalem, killing three people and wounding dozens, has provoked comment in the Israeli, Palestinian and regional press. The attack raised questions in right-wing Israeli media on the partition of Jerusalem and whether retaliatory measures should be taken, while other titles called for a continuation of the peace process. Further afield, regional press in the Middle East suggested the attack was a result of frustrations felt by many Palestinians over issues surrounding the West Bank and Gaza. RAFFI MANN IN ISRAEL’S MA’ARIV We must fight terrorism but not allow the bulldozer’s rampage to trample down the peace process and efforts for compromise. more.. e-mail
Hizb Ut-Tahrir claims Palestinian Preventive Security arrested activist near Salfit
Ma’an News Agency 7/5/2008
Nablus Ma’an The Hizb Ut-Tahrir (Islamic Liberation Party) said on Saturday that Palestinian security seizedone of the party’s activists in the northern West Bank village of Bidya west of Salfit on Friday evening. According to a statement released by the party, members of the Palestinian Preventive Security service seized the Hizb Ut-Tahrir activist without an arrest warrant. The statement did not name the man arrested, and the preventive security have not confirmed the arrest. [end]
Israeli forces abduct two teenagers from Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency 7/5/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an Israeli forces raided the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem on Saturday morning, arresting two Palestinian teenagers. Palestinian security sources said several Israeli military vehicles stormed the Wadi Ma’ali and Wadi Shaheen neighborhoods, detaining 18-year-old Mahmoud Nawawra and 18-year-old ’Alaa Zreiq. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an that invading soldiers damaged furniture while searching the arrestees’ homes. [end]
Israeli forces kidnap two young men from Bethlehem city
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/5/2008
Israeli troops invaded the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem on Saturday at dawn and kidnapped two civilians. [end]
Egypt uncovers three tunnels on border with Gaza strip
DPA, Ha’aretz 7/6/2008
Egyptian police uncovered three tunnels near the Rafah crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip Saturday and seized weapons and explosives in the strategic Sinai peninsula, according to security sources. Police uncovered two tunnels in Barahma north of the Rafah border crossing and a third tunnel south of the crossing, the sources said. Quantities of fuel were found in the tunnels, the sources added without giving further details. Police also found TNT explosives in Hilwa near the town of Arish in northern Sinai, and nine automatic rifles and ammunition in Muqdaba, in the centre of the peninsula. The Sinai desert in north-eastern Egypt is strategically important because it borders Israel and the Gaza Strip and has been the scene of several wars between the two countries. more.. e-mail
Palestinian dies of wounds from mysterious explosion
Ma’an News Agency 7/5/2008
Gaza Ma’an A Palestinian man, 23-year-old Tariq ’Udwan, died on Saturday of wounds he sustained several days ago in a mysterious explosion in the Suokat As-Sufi area south of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Muawiya Hassanain, the director of ambulance and emergency servicse in the Palestinian Health Ministry said ’Udwan was taken to Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah about a week ago, and he died of his wounds on Saturday morning. [end]
Israel in Jerusalem Dilemma After Bulldozer Attack
Jeffrey Heller, MIFTAH 7/5/2008
A deadly rampage in a bulldozer by a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem left Israel grappling on Thursday with the dilemma of how to maintain security in the city along with the premise it is undivided. Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it along with nearby villages in a move that is not recognized internationally, granting Palestinian residents Israeli identity cards that gave them wide freedom of movement. In issuing the same documents used by Jews, Israel was sending a signal that East Jerusalem -- which Palestinians want as the capital of a future state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip -- was part of the "indivisible capital" of the Jewish state. But Wednesday’s attack on Jerusalem’s busy Jaffa Road in which three Israelis died and a shooting spree, also in Jewish west Jerusalem, which killed eight Israelis in a religious seminary in March have combined to raise particular concern. more.. e-mail
Barak okays construction of dormitory at Hebron seminary
Uri Blau, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
Defense Minister Ehud Barak last week authorized construction of a dormitory at a religious school in the Beit Romano neighborhood of Hebron. The yeshiva was surprised to learn it had gained approval, having only heard of it after a Haaretz inquiry on the matter. The yeshiva said construction had been delayed for years due to a defense ministry ban. The interim head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Hananel Etrog, said Barak’s predecessor, MK Amir Peretz, had refused to approve the request. "We’ve been working on this for years," said Etrog. The Beit Romano neighborhood was built in the 1980s and is home to the Shavei Hebron yeshiva and its 250 students. The area was returned to Jewish control after six Israelis were killed near the Beit Hadassah stronghold in 1981. more.. e-mail
Gazans prohibited within 300 meters of Israeli border
Ma’an News Agency 7/4/2008
Jerusalem- Ma’an Israeli daily newspaper Maariv reported on Friday that Israeli security sources announced that Palestinians are not allowed within 300 meters of the Gaza-Israel border. Israel justified this decision by referring to the reported increase in the number of Palestinians who have attempted to get close to the separation wall constructed on the border. [end]
Jerusalem ’Bulldozer Terrorist’ was Palestinian Father-of-Two Hossam Dawiath
Sheera Frenkel, MIFTAH 7/3/2008
A Palestinian construction worker at the wheel of a digger went on a rampage in central Jerusalem today, killing at least three people and injuring 45 in an act that brought terror back to the streets of Israel. Hossam Dwayyat, a 31-year-old Arab resident of East Jerusalem, wrought havoc on one of Jerusalems main thoroughfares, driving into oncoming traffic and leaving a trail of mangled vehicles in his wake. He was caught on film as onlookers saw him take a digger from his construction site and plough through cars queuing on Jaffa Street. The bulldozer overturned one bus and struck another before Dwayyat was shot dead by security officers. He had driven more than 200 yards towards Jerusalems bustling Mahne Yehuda souk before he was stopped. I saw him coming towards me and I froze, said Chava Shimoni, a 24-year-old student who was making her way to lunch in the market. I could see his eyes and he looked so focused. A man shoved me out of the way. It was a miracle that I survived. more.. e-mail
Israeli Settlers Fire Two Rockets on Palestinian Village in West Bank
Kuwait News Agency, MIFTAH 7/3/2008
Israeli settlers fired two rockets toward Boreen village near Nablus city north of the West Bank, Palestinian security sources said on Tuesday. The source said two settlers from Baraka settlement near the village fired the two rockets targeting Palestinians, but caused no injuries. The rockets dubbed (Sharon-1, Sharon-2) fell in a deserted area causing fire only, the sources said. Couple of days ago, settlers fired a rocket without causing injuries, and Israeli military said an investigation into the incident was opened, noting that the rocket was locally made inside the Israeli settlement. In response, a spokesman for the Palestinian authority blamed the rocket attacks on Israeli authority and military. Source: , 2 July. more.. e-mail
One Palestinian wounded, 4 missing in a tunnel collapse in Rafah
IMEMC & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/5/2008
Palestinian sources reported on Friday at night that one Palestinian was wounded and four others went missing went a tunnel on the border between Rafah and Egypt collapsed during evening hours. Medical sources reported that Mohammad Al Basthteeny, 23,was moved to Abu Yousef Al Najjar Hospital in Rafah after suffocating while trying to save four residents who went missing under the rubble of the collapsed tunnel. Al Bashteeny is in a serious condition while the fate of the four missing residents remains unknown. So far, armed groups in Gaza did not make any statements regarding the incident. It is worth mentioning that some tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt borders are dug by smugglers while others are dug by fighters in order to smuggle arms and ammunition into the coastal region. more.. e-mail
Gaza tunnel collapses
Ma’an News Agency 7/4/2008
Gaza Ma’an Four Palestinians were injured when a tunnel between Egypt and Gaza collapsed on Friday. Dr Muawiya Hassanein, director general of ambulences and emergencies for the Ministry of Heath told Ma’an that Mohamad al Bashteeni- 23- arrived at the local hospital of Abu YousefAn- Najjar breathing with immense difficulty. He had attempted to rescue four Gaza residents trapped in a tunnel between Egypt and Gaza. Al Bashteeni was almost suffocated by the collapsing tunnel, said Dr. Hassanein, and the fate of the four Gazans is unknown. [end]
Five explosive devices launched at Israeli forces near Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 7/4/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an - Five locally manufactured explosive devices were launched at an Israeli force in a field north east of Nablus on Friday morning, Israeli sources said. The sources added that there were no casualties among the soldiers. [end]
Reconstruction of South is still far from complete
Zeynep Goksel and Eugene Yukin, Daily Star 7/5/2008
BINT JBEIL: Reconstruction efforts in Lebanon’s South seem to be in full swing after the havoc wrought by the 2006 summer war with Israel. In general, progress is being made in the villages that were most devastated during the summer of 2006. But while work appears intensive, vast piles of debris linger in village after village as reminders of the nightmare that gripped this region two years ago. Workers continue to slave away, renovating buildings and restoring basic infrastructure. Recovery in a place like Bint Jbeil, quite close to the border with Israel, is a rather blurred image. Much of the town - especially its central commercial area - was leveled during the conflict, with about 2,800 houses either destroyed or damaged. Reconstruction efforts are certainly under way, but far from complete. Life seems to have stalled in this Southern town, whose market was once the biggest. . . more.. e-mail
Egyptian Police Injured in Gaza Border Clash
Reuters, MIFTAH 7/3/2008
Palestinians clashed with Egyptian police at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday when some of the Palestinians tried to force their way across, witnesses said. Dozens of Palestinians from the territory, controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas, pelted Egyptian border police with stones, injuring at least six of them, Egyptian security and medical sources said. Live television footage showed Egyptian forces firing water cannon and hurling rocks in response as they sealed the gates to the crossing, the only corridor between Gaza and Egypt. It has mostly been closed since Hamas’s takeover of Gaza in 2007. Palestinian officials and witnesses said Hamas had beefed up security at the site after the violence and was restoring control, ordering people to leave and forcing the crowd back across the Palestinian border. more.. e-mail
This Week In Palestine - Week 27 2008
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/4/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 16 m 0s || 14. 6 MB ||This Week In Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. IMEMC. org, for June 28th, through July, 4th, 2008. As Hamas calls for the permanent opening of the Rafah crossing, two Palestinian patients died in Gaza due to the Israeli siege. These stories and more, coming up, stay tuned. Nonviolent Resistance We begin our weekly report with recent nonviolent actions in the West Bank. IMEMC’s Sam Orwell has the details: Bil’in Three activists were injured by Israeli forces on Friday in the weekly protest against the separation wall in Bil’in; near the West Bank city of Ramallah: two of them are French activists and the third one is Mohamad Ali Abo Sa’di 65 years old. Additionally dozens of protesters were treated for tear gas inhalation. more.. e-mail
Group claiming bulldozer attack warns Israel against retaliation in East Jerusalem
Ma’an News Agency 7/4/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an The Ahrar al-Jalil Brigades, which claimed the 2 July "bulldozer attack" in Jerusalem, have advised the Israeli army a statement released that they should not seek out targets in East Jerusalem in response to the bulldozer incident. The Brigades added in a statement made Thursday that yesterday we taught you [Israel] a new lesson," the statement continued saying that if the army attacks residents in East Jerusalem, "there are more to come. " Ahrar Al-Jalil is a self-proclaimed militant group based inside Israel. Witnesses to the Wednesday attack say a bulldozer from a Yaffa Road construction site broke through barricades onto the major street, injuring pedestrians and motorists, as well as attacking a single-decker Egged bus. The attack left four people dead and more than 70 injured. The driver of the bulldozer, shot by a nearby soldier, was identified. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli forces arrest 24 Palestinians from two Nablus families
Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 7/3/2008
Nablus -- Before dawn on Thursday Israeli forces invaded the northern West Bank’s Nablus and arrested 24 Palestinians, most of whom are Fateh members. The massive round-up and raid targeted the Dawabsheh and Salowdeh families in a village to the southeast of the city. Residents report said that dozens of Israeli military mechanisms stormed the village this morning. Soldiers raided several houses, wreaking havoc, before withdrawing and taking 24 people with them. Most of the arrested are from the Dawabsheh family: Zudhi, 19, his 16 year old brother Farraj, 20 year old Sohd, 21 year old Montasir, 22 year old Ahmed, 24 year old Ahmed Zuhair and his 25 year old brother Aysar, 42 year old Qasam and his sons: 25 year old Mortasam and 23 year old Mohammad. Arrested from the Salowdeh family are 27 year old Fadi, 22 year old Hasan, 19 year old Baha, 18 year old Amin and his teenaged brother Thahmeen. more.. e-mail
One injured, three kidnapped, during separate Israeli attacks targeting Hebron
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/3/2008
One Palestinian man was injured and three others kidnapped during morning attacks the Israeli army did in Hebron city in the southern part of the West Bank on Thursday. Abed Al Azzez Nahro, 17, was injured during clashes that took place between invading Israeli troops and local youth in Al Fowar refugee camp near Hebron. The clashes erupted when soldiers stormed the refugee camp and searched homes, witnesses said. Meanwhile the Israeli army kidnapped Mussa Al Tawil, aged 28, after searching homes in downtown Hebron city on Thursday morning. In the nearby Beit Omer village, Israeli forces attacked a number of homes there on Thursday at dawn, soldiers left the village after kidnapping Mohamed Awwad, 42, who works at a local NGO. Witnesses said that troops also took Awwad’s Camera. more.. e-mail
Soldier invade a Palestinian town near Nablus
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 7/4/2008
Palestinian sources in Kuful Hares village, north of the West Bank city of Salfit, reported that Israeli soldiers invaded the village on Thursday evening and installed tents on its entrances in order to enable a group of settlers visit some religious sites. The sources added that soldiers divided the village into several "security sectors" and barred the residents from entering these sectors or even walk in the streets. Thousands of settlers are expected to visit the area this night until 6 a. m on Thursday morning. Soldiers topped several Palestinian homes and installed roadblocks on the entrances of the village, local sources reported. [end]
The Israeli army attacks a village near Nablus and kidnaps 24 civilians
Ameen Abu Wardeh- Nablus, International Middle East Media Center News 7/3/2008
The Israeli army invaded on Thursday the village of Duma, south of Nablus city in the northern part of the West Bank, troops kidnapped 24 civilians during the attack. Local sources said that soldiers and jeeps stormed the village on Thursday at dawn, during the attack that lasted for several hours, Israeli troops searched and ransacked a number of homes, witnesses said that soldiers did cause some damage to the homes they searched. On Thursday morning the Israeli army left Duma village taking the 24 men to an unknown detention camp. Sources in the village said that most of those taken by the army are Fatah supporters. The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas heads the Fatah party, who are now leading the peace talks with Israel. Translated by Ghassan Bannoura- IMEMC News Room more.. e-mail
Israeli officials mull demolition of Jerusalem attacker’s family
Charly Wegman, Daily Star 7/4/2008
Agence France Presse OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities on Thursday were considering demolishing the home of a Palestinian man who went on rampage with an earthmover in Occupied Jerusalem and killed three people before he was shot dead. A previous military inquiry found that the practice was ineffectual, but much of the political establishment has come out in favor of destroying the house of any Jerusalem Palestinian who carries out an attack in Israel. "Following a request by the government, Attorney General Menahem Mazuz will look today into the legal problems that might be involved in demolishing the houses in East Jerusalem," justice spokesman Moshe Cohen told AFP. Israeli law distinguishes between Arab East Jerusalem, which Israel illegally annexed after the 1967 war, and the rest of the Occupied West Bank, which remains under military rule. more.. e-mail
Jerusalem terrorist’s family told to take down mourners’ tent
Jonathan Lis Avi Issacharoff and Eli Ashkenazi, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
The family of the East Jerusalem Palestinian who killed three peoplein an attack in the capital on Wednesday was told by Border Police on Thursday to remove a mourning tent it had set up to mark his death. Hussam Duwiyat, 30, from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Zur Baher, was shot dead by security forces after stealing a bulldozer from the construction site where he was working and driving it into a bus and a number of cars on Jaffa Street in downtown Jerusalem. Three people were killed and dozens were wounded. The family lawyer said Wednesday that Duwiyat was not a terrorist and therefore the attack could not be described as terror. "This is a tragic event, the family and I send our condolences to the bereaved families and wish the wounded a speedy recovery,": said Shimon Kokush. more.. e-mail
Qassam hits Negev, sixth since start of Gaza truce
Reuters, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
Militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Qassam rocket the western Negev on Thursday, putting further strain on a fragile ceasefire deal in the Hamas-controlled territory. An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said the rocket hit an open field near the Gaza border town of Sderot and caused no casualties. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket fire, the sixth such attack since an Egyptian-brokered truce took effect on June 19. Israel will close its border crossings with Gaza on Friday in response to the attack, an Israeli official said. "Because of the rockets being fired today, the crossings will be closed tomorrow," said Peter Lerner, a defense official. The crossings are generally closed from Friday afternoon to Sunday. Israel has responded to previous rocket salvoes by closing border crossings. . . more.. e-mail
Homemade shell fired at a Kibbutz in the Negev
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 7/4/2008
Israeli sources reported on Thursday that one Palestinian homemade shell was fired from the Gaza Strip at a Kibbutz in the Sha’r Ha-Negev Regional Council; no injuries were reported. So far, armed groups in Gaza did not issue any release claiming responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile army sources said that sirens were sounded in the area and several settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip. The sources added that the shell landed in an open area in the Western Negev area causing no damages or injuries. This is the second time homemade shells are fired since the beginning of this week. A homemade shell was fired this week by a group calling itself the Hawks, one of the armed groups of Fateh movement. The truce was declared two weeks ago, it was achieved via Egyptian mediation between Hamas, which rules Gaza, and Israel. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 070308
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/3/2008
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 Thursday July 3ed, 2008. The Israeli army attacks a village in the West Bank and kidnaps 24 civilians while in Jerusalem demolishes two Palestinian homes, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The News Cast One Palestinian man was injured and three others kidnapped during morning attacks the Israeli army did in Hebron city in the southern part of the West Bank on Thursday. Abed Al Azzez Nahro, 17, was injured during clashes that took place between invading Israeli troops and local youth in Al Fowar refugee camp near Hebron. The clashes erupted when soldiers stormed the refugee camp and searched homes, witnesses said. Meanwhile the Israeli army kidnapped Mussa Al Tawil, age 28, after searching homes in downtown Hebron city on Thursday morning. more.. e-mail
A junkie and a martyr
Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 7/3/2008
Sur Baher. The home of bulldozer driver Hussam Duwiyat, who killed three Jerusalem residents and injured dozens more in the heart of the capital on Wednesday, is located opposite the Jewish neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv. On the slope of the adjacent hill lies Jabel Mukaber, the hometown of yet another terrorist, Ala Abu-Dahim, who murdered eight students at Jerusalem’s Merkaz Harav Yeshiva just four months ago. The reactions of the residents were very subdued; no flags of any organizations were flown. One neighbor said softly that the killer had had a serious drug problem. "A drug addict, you know. He’d shoot up all the time. "One of the neighbor’s friends scolded him: "Why don’t you keep quiet? He’s dead, may Allah have mercy on his soul. "But the neighbor continued. "Had they checked his blood, they would have found drugs, he was doing that all day. more.. e-mail
Terror victim’s family mourns in silent seclusion
and Staff, By Anshel Pfeffer, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
The family of Bat-Sheva Unterman, who was killed in the bulldozer terror attack in Jerusalem on Wednesday, stayed closed in their home on the capital’s Sokolow Street yesterday. They have been refusing to talk to journalists, or even to provide a photograph of Unterman to publish in the newspapers. Unterman, 33, had been driving with her 5-month-old daughter when Hussam Duwiyat plowed into their car. He had been shot, but rallied despite his injuries and launched a second rampage, taking her life. "They have nothing against anyone; they’re simply very quiet, reserved people," said a relative who refused to give his name. "The worst thing for them would be to see Bat-Sheva’s picture in the newspaper. ""Bat-Sheva married Ido, who was born in London, four years ago at the age of 29, which is considered very late for a religious, ultra-Orthodox girl," a relative said. more.. e-mail
Senior officers laud response to bulldozer frenzy
Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
Senior Jerusalem police officers are pleased with the way the police forces conducted themselves during Wednesday’s chase and takeover of the bulldozer driven by a terrorist on the capital’s Jaffa Road. The police’s improved performance was particularly noticeable when compared with their conduct during the attack on the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in March, when officers opted to wait outside the building, allowing the terrorist to continue his killing spree. The officers involved in Wednesday’s incident were keen to point out during interviews that they had "sought to make contact" with the terrorist, professional jargon for taking the offensive. Police sources have said that the negative Mercaz Harav experience prompted major changes in the way terrorist incidents are approached. Meanwhile, in the autopsy carried out on the corpse of the terrorist, six or seven bullet wounds were identified. more.. e-mail
Bulldozer driver on downtown J’lem rampage leaves 3 dead, 80 injured
Barak Ravid and Jonathan Lis and Agencies, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided to act swiftly to resume the demolition of homes of East Jerusalem terrorists who hold Israeli ID cards, following yesterday’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem. Olmert said the attack "must be answered harshly" as a deterrent. Shortly after the attack, Olmert ordered ministers to examine the possibility of razing the terrorist’s home in East Jerusalem. In talks with Barak, Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog and Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, Olmert also ordered the ministers to consider revoking National Insurance Institute stipends from the terrorist’s family. The ministers promised to examine the legal guidelines and report back by the end of the day, so that the cabinet could begin the proceedings. After the terror attack on the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem a few. . . more.. e-mail
Foreign reporters converge on nearby terror attack site
Asaf Carmel, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
The bulldozer terror attack in Jerusalem yesterday took place right in front of the Jerusalem Capital Studios Group (JCS) building, housing the offices of several foreign television and news agencies. Numerous reporters and photographers rushed out of the building to cover the attack in real time. BBC photographers filmed the plainclothes Yasam (SWAT) officer shooting the terrorist point blank and the footage was broadcast by the Israeli media and around the world. BBC reporter Tim Franks broadcast an emotional report from the site minutes after the attack. "One of our editors saw what happened from her window," said Agence France Presse’s Patrick Aniger. "She grabbed a camera and filmed one of the overturned buses with the bulldozer rampaging in the background. This quickly became the main picture on the New York Times site. more.. e-mail
Young recruit left his bike, felled bulldozer terrorist
Yuval Azoulay Jonathan Lis and Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
An 18-year-old recent conscript from Jerusalem, who had just completed basic training this week, was having a day off in town yesterday. Riding his bicycle on the way home, he saw a bulldozer overturning a bus. He says he immediately realized this was a terrorist attack. "I approached the bus on my bicycle, and then began to run to the site, looking for a weapon to use against the terrorist," he told reporters yesterday. The military censor imposed a gag order on his identity. Near the bulldozer the young soldier found a civilian, Oron Ben-Shimon, 28, a regional manager of a security firm in Jerusalem, who was armed. "Together we tried to neutralize the terrorist, at least to lift his feet off the pedals. "He shouted ’Allah Akbar. ’ At that moment I pulled the pistol that Oron carried and shot the terrorist three times in the head. more.. e-mail
Family believes killer was drug addict
Avi Issacharoff and Eli Ashkenazi, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
The terrorist who carried out the attack in Jerusalem Wednesday was Hussam Tayisir Duwiyat, 30 from the village of Sur Baher, southeast of Jerusalem. Duwiyat was married and a father of two children, aged four and five. The security forces raided his home Wednesday and arrested several family members. According to his family, Duwiyat had been employed as a bulldozer operator in recent years. He was not known to be involved in political activism in his community. However, the Battalions for the Liberation of the Galilee claimed responsibility for the attack, saying Duwiyat was recruited several months ago. Security sources said that the claim was likely false. The family, through attorney Shimon Kokush, maintained that Duwiyat was not a terrorist, and that the attack was not terror-related. more.. e-mail
Police prepare for clashes in E. J’lem neighborhood
Jonathan Lis Shahar Ilan Avi Issacharoff and Eli Ashkenazi, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
Immediately after Wednesday’s terror attack, Jerusalem police sent reinforcements to the Sur Baher neighborhood in East Jerusalem due to concerns violence could erupt in the area. District commander Aharon Franko instructed police to suppress signs of mourning in the village and prohibit symbols of the Palestinian Authority, Hamas or Palestinian nationalism altogether. Police were also ordered to prevent the erection of a mourning tent. District police officers yesterday were quick to enforce those orders and instructed the bulldozer driver’s family to take down its mourning tent. Based on past experience and intelligence gathering, the police are preparing to prevent violence by local Sur Baher residents as well as clashes with right-wing activists who could come to Sur Baher to protest the terror attack. more.. e-mail
ANALYSIS / Terrorist or petty criminal run amok?
Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Ha’aretz 7/4/2008
During the years prior to the Six-Day War, divided Jerusalem was rife with the phenomenon of the "mad Jordanian": A soldier from the Arab Legion suddenly and with no apparent reason began taking shots at civilians on the Israeli side of the borders. The Jordanians said that the man was crazy and in that way absolved themselves from any responsibility for his acts. Hussam Duwiyat, the terrorist who ran amok with a bulldozer in the middle of Jerusalem - and his neighbor, Ala Abu-Dahim, who murdered eight students at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva four months ago - appear to be a Palestinian incarnation of the same modus operandi. The Shin Bet security service agents who arrived at the home of the terrorist’s family in Sur Baher in East Jerusalem, are now looking for clues as to the motive behind the deed. more.. e-mail
Viewers complain after BBC News broadcasts Jerusalem shooting
Tara Conlan, The Guardian 7/3/2008
BBC News has received 61 complaints after its 10pm bulletin on BBC1 showed police shooting dead a man who drove a bulldozer into vehicles in Jerusalem. Viewers last night saw shots being fired at the man in the cab of the bulldozer and his final moments. It was shown a minute into the programme. The film was shot by the BBC, which has a bureau office on the busy road in downtown Jerusalem where the attack took place. Tim Franks, the BBC’s Jerusalem correspondent, was sitting in his office overlooking the Jaffa Road when the attack took place. He warned viewers of BBC1’s 10pm news at the start of his report that the cameraman had captured the shooting on film. He said: "I should tell viewers that in the report you are about to see, we did film the moment when the attacker was shot dead. "The footage was also shown on the 6pm news but frozen just before the man was shot. more.. e-mail
Three dead in Jerusalem after bizarre attack
Ron Bousso, Daily Star 7/3/2008
Agence France Presse OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: A Palestinian man killed three people and injured 45 more as he rammed a payloader into buses and cars in Occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday before being shot dead by Israeli police, who branded the incident a terror attack. National police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld described the as a "terrorist" act by a 30-year-old man from Occupied East Jerusalem who worked for an Israeli company at a nearby construction site. Chaos erupted as the heavy vehicle barreled along the busy Jaffa Road, smashing into two crowded public buses, using its shovel to overturn one of them, and ramming other vehicles, reducing one car to a mangled wreck. Police officers climbed onto the payloader and shot the man dead. The attack was the first in Occupied Jerusalem since a Palestinian gunman killed eight students at a Jewish seminary in March. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces seize 15 Palestinians in the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 7/2/2008
Bethlehem - Maan Israeli forces seized fifteen Palestinians during raids in the West Bank cities of Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem on Wednesday morning, Israeli sources said. In Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, 20 Israeli military vehicles arrived. Israeli troops ransacked several Palestinian homes before seizing Khadir Wishahi and Abdul-Latif Atiq, security sources said. Atiq is from the nearby village of Birqin, and he was in the camp visiting relatives at the time. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an’s reporter that Israeli troops fired randomly at houses in the camp, and detonated sonic bombs inside homes during house-to-house searches. In Nablus, Israeli forces detained six young Palestinian men from the Ad-Dahiya area south of Nablus after storming several houses. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an’s reporter that among the arrestees was a physically disabled man, 27-year-old Uthman Al-Khalili. more.. e-mail
Jerusalem Mayor responds to this afternoon’s attack
Taylor Bray, International Middle East Media Center News 7/2/2008
After this afternoon’s attack in Jerusalem by a Palestinian man driving a bulldozer and killing at least three Israelis and injuring about 30 more, the Jerusalem Mayor responded in his own way. "My daughter was in the next bus, but she wasn’t hurt," Lupolianski told reporters. "To our regret the attackers do not cease coming up with new ways to strike at the heart of the Jewish people here in Jerusalem. " Along with the Jerusalem Mayor, the Deputy Prime Minister and Shas Chairman Eli Yishai also responded to the attack, stating, "Israel should demolish the home of the perpetrator’s family. If the perpetrator was an Israeli citizen, the law must be changed so that when an Israeli Arab carries out an attack his citizenship is revoked and he is deported," Yishai stated. The Shas leader added that even with the attack, he still wants the talks over the release of Gilad Shalit,. . . more.. e-mail
Olmert, Barak: Demolish terrorists’ homes
Roni Sofer, YNetNews 7/2/2008
Prime minister, defense minister call to reverse 2005 decision to suspend policy of razing homes of terrorists after attacks as means of deterrence -After the shooting rampage at Mercaz Harav seminary in March left eight students dead, Defense Minister Ehud Barak called for the demolition of the terrorist’s home in east Jerusalem. It was never carried out. Following Wednesday’s deadly terror attack in Jerusalem which left three Israelis dead and dozens more wounded, Barak reiterated his position. In a letter released by his military secretary, Brig. Gen. Eitan Dangut, Barak wrote that the defense establishment and government must not fail to respond to a situation wherein a terrorist bearing an Israeli ID carries out a nationalistically- motivated attack in the heart of Israel. Earlier in the day Prime Minster Ehud Olmert issued a similar call to raze. . . more.. e-mail
Islamic Jihad: Bulldozer attack is natural Palestinian reaction
Ma’an News Agency 7/2/2008
Gaza Ma’an Islamic Jihad and its military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, on Wednesday applauded the bulldozer attack in Jerusalem, saying it was "a natural reaction to Israeli criminal acts. " "The Gaza ceasefire should not mean Israelis can do whatever they like in the West Bank," they said in a statement. "The operation is a clear message to the occupation and the attacker did it on behalf of all of the Palestinian people and the Arab nation," the statement added. Furthermore, the statement said Israel should expect more attacks if they retaliate. In a separate statement, the Al-Quds Brigades threatened to retaliate to any Israeli violation of the ceasefire, calling on all Palestinian factions to take part in joint operations whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. more.. e-mail
VIDEO: Policeman shoots and kills Jerusalem terrorist during rampage
Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 7/3/2008
A policeman and an off-duty Israel Defense Forces soldier were being hailed as heroes Wednesday after they climbed up on the cab of the bulldozer driven by a terrorist and shot him dead. The terrorist - an Arab resident of East Jerusalem - had smashed the bulldozer into a series of vehicles, including a commuter bus, killing three people and wounding dozens more. Policeman Eli Mizrahi said he was at the Mahane Yehuda open-air market when he heard over his radio that the bulldozer was rumbling in his direction. Speeding to the scene on his motorcycle, Mizrahi arrived just after a policewoman shot the Palestinian driving the vehicle. But then, unexpectedly, the attacker stepped on the gas pedal once more and ran over a police car, Mizrahi said. "He started to drive like crazy and held the steering wheel, pressing against it, and. . . more.. e-mail
Two teachers among the dead in Jerusalem attack
Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 7/3/2008
Three Israelis were killed and dozens more wounded on Wednesday when aPalestinian construction worker driving a bulldozer plowed deliberately into a crowded bus and a string of cars in downtown Jerusalem. Jerusalem residents Bat Sheva Unterman, 33, Elizabeth Goren-Friedman, 54, and Jean Raloy, were named as the fatalities in the attack. Unterman was a resident of Jerusalem’s Rehavia neighborhood, and worked as a nanny in a religious kingergarten in the city’s Har Homa quarter. She was killed when the car she was driving was crushed by the oncoming bulldozer. Unterman’s 6-month-old daughter, Efrat, was evacuated from the car just before the vehicle was hit. Her husband, Ido, was notified only hours after the attack that his wife had been killed. more.. e-mail
Mother crushed to death in rampage, baby girl saved
Ronen Medzini, YNetNews 7/2/2008
Paramedic Eyal Zehavi rushed to scene of murderous Jerusalem terror attack with his pregnant wife, found himself treating infant extracted from crushed car her mother died in - Six-month-old Efrat Onterman is left motherless after the murderous terror attack on Wednesday evening in Jerusalem. From the time her mother Batsheva Onterman was crushed to death right next to her during the terrorist’s tractor rampage, Efrat was already placed in the hands of a foster family "that first and foremost embraced her. " Afterwards, she was placed in her aunt’s care. This heart-wrenching story started with the trampling of one of the vehicles during the terrorist’s lethal massacring campaign. Batsheva did not survive, but small Efrat who was by her side was miraculously left untouched. Disloyal CitizensKnesset votes in favor of stripping citizenship from families. . . more.. e-mail
Bulldozer turns over bus in Jerusalem terror attack
Globes' correspondent, Globes Online 7/2/2008
There were at least 3 killed and about 36 wounded in the attack. A bulldozer, apparently driven through Jerusalem by an Arab man who went on a rampage, overturned cars and other vehicles, including a bus. One woman was killed and dozens were wounded in the attack. The wounded have been evacuated to hospitals. The police confirmed that a terrorist drove a bulldozer on Jaffa Road. The bulldozer had been used in work on the Jerusalem light rail. The incident began near the Israel Broadcasting Authority Building on Jaffa Road. A policeman saw the bulldozer approaching the bus with the intention of hitting it with the blade. The policeman fired at the bulldozer’s driver and hit him. Jerusalem District Commander Police Maj. -Gen. Aharon Franco told Channel 2 News, "The driver overturned two buses. The driver was killed by a policeman. more.. e-mail
VIDEO - Man shot dead after Jerusalem bulldozer rampage
Mark Tran, David Batty and agencies, The Guardian 7/2/2008
A man seized control of a bulldozer and overturned a bus on a main road in Jerusalem today, killing at least three people before he was shot dead, Israeli police said. Officials identified the man as a Palestinian resident of east Jerusalem who had an Israeli identification card and a criminal record. He was shot by an off-duty soldier and then by an anti-terrorism officer, Eli Mizrahi. "I ran up the stairs [of the vehicle] and, when he was still driving like crazy and trying to harm civilians, I fired at him twice more and, that’s it, he was liquidated," Mizrahi said. A TV camera captured footage of the caterpillar bulldozer crushing a vehicle and an off-duty soldier shooting the driver in the head several times at point-blank range. more.. e-mail
Lightning operation in Jenin: Israeli forces take man at gunpoint without explanation
Palestine News Network 7/2/2008
Jenin / Ali Samoudi - An Israeli special unit abducted a man from his home in Jenin City, late afternoon Wednesday. The quick operation lasted just 15 minutes. The eyewitness from beginning to end is just 12 years old and arrests such as this are common. A 12 year old nephew, Ala’ Abu Barmiil, describes the Israeli special forces as disguised in civilian attire when they hit his neighborhood overlooking Jenin Refugee Camp. They drove a white Subaru with Palestinian license plates. Ala’ reports, "I was standing in from of our house when the car arrived and then within minutes a larger car, jeeps and a bus followed, screaming through loudspeakers. Immediately four armed soldiers jumped out and burst into our house. Exactly after that 10 jeeps and three trucks loaded with soldiers arrived. "The 12 year old described the soldiers surrounding his father’s home and that of his uncle, while preventing cars from passing. more.. e-mail
Witness says settlers’ rockets were third attack in three weeks
Ma’an News Agency 7/2/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an A Palestinian civilian who witnessed the homemade rockets launched from and Israeli settlement of Bracha near Nablus said that this was the third projectile attack in as many weeks. Jamal Najar, a resident of the village of Burin, where the rockets landed, told the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) that he was sitting on his veranda on Tuesday when saw a projectile launched from near the settlements mobile phone tower. The homemade projectiles made international headlines due to their resemblance to the rockets fired by Palestinian fighters from the Gaza Strip. It looked like a rocket, he said. The projectile landed on his land, amongst his olive trees, just 150 meters from his house. A second projectile followed two minutes later, coming from the same direction. The rockets made a loud sound, and a small fire. more.. e-mail
The Israeli army invades several areas in the West Bank and kidnaps 10 Palestinian civilians
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 7/2/2008
Palestinian sources said that the Israeli army has conducted at least 11 attacks targeting a number of West Bank cities and towns on Wednesday at dawn. The sources said that during those attacks 10 Palestinian civilians were kidnapped. The invasions were reported in Nablus city were five civilians were kidnapped. In addition to Jenin where troops took two civilians while three were kidnapped from Hebron city and nearby villages. The Israeli army stated that all those kidnapped were on what the army calls a "Wanted List" Palestinian sources confirmed all those kidnapped are civilians. [end]
Palestine Today 070208
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 7/2/2008
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 July 2nd, 2008. A Palestinian patient died in Gaza due to the Israeli siege, and an attack in Jerusalem leaves three Israelis killed, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The News Cast Spokesman of the popular committee against the Israeli blockade, Rami Abdo, announced on Wednesday that patient number 200 Mazen Arrar, aged 20 a cardiac patient, died after having been unable to go for treatment outside of Gaza as Israel continues to close border crossings for more than one year now. Arrar’s death is the second in 24 hours, as well as the eight-month-old infant Ayat Dhaik, after she was unable to go outside of Gaza on Tuesday. more.. e-mail
75 children and 23 women killed, the harvest of Israel’s terrorism in the first 6 months of 2008
Iqbal Tamimi, Palestine Think Tank 7/2/2008
The Israeli occupying forces have killed 75 children and 23 Palestinian women during the first half of this year, says a report published yesterday by the National and International Relations Department of the PLO in Ramallah. The report informs us that the Israeli military occupation authorities continued their violations of the rights of the Palestinians, showing no respect to international protests and Palestinian efforts to secure peace in the region, and to end the conflict. The report highlighted the main violations against the Palestinian people during the first half of 2008, most important of all the violation of the right of living … The report pointed out that the occupation army killed 466 Palestinian citizens during military operations carried out in the Palestinian territories during the first half of this year, including 75 children under the age of 18 and 23 women. more.. e-mail
Hamas: 41 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during June
Ma’an News Agency 7/2/2008
Gaza Ma’an - Hamas announced on Wednesday that during June Israeli forces killed 41 Palestinians, including 16 Al-Qassam brigades affiliates, in addition to four children. Another 28 died as a result of the embargo imposed on the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of victims to 199 since the start of the crippling siege on the coastal sector in June 2007. In a statement sent Ma’an the Hamas information office said that during June, 194 Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces, 179 of whom are from the West Bank. They also asserted that Israeli forces staged 136 incursions into the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the month. Hamas added that despite the invitations for dialogue but still the security services in the West Bank launch the political arrests of Hamas members and other Palestinian resisters and they are still detained in the Palestinian jails. . . more.. e-mail
Report: Israel killed 29 Palestinians in June including four children
Palestinian Information Center 7/2/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Quds Press reported that the IOF troops killed last June 29 Palestinians including four children which means that the total number of the victims murdered during the first six months of 2008 rose to 449 Palestinians, mostly killed in the Gaza Strip. According to the report, Israel during June killed 24 Palestinians in Gaza alone due to its military escalations while five were murdered in the West Bank. The report also pointed out that the IOF troops have killed since the beginning of this year a total of 66 children. Most of the victims were killed before the calm took effect on 19 June and after that date the IOF killed four others in the West Bank taking advantage that the truce had not yet been activated in the West Bank. In a new development, a 20-year-old Palestinian young man called Mazen Arrar was proclaimed dead due to the closures and the Israeli siege. more.. e-mail
Jerusalem bus driver: Terrorist looked me in the eye and drove at me
Haaretz Service and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 7/3/2008
Bus driver Assaf Nadav never got a chance to tell the Palestinian at the wheel of a 20-ton bulldozer to drive more carefully. "I saw a bulldozer coming towards me and initially there was a small bang on the left side," Assaf said about the initial moments of an attack on Wednesday on Jerusalem’s main Jaffa Road in which the bulldozer ploughed into vehicles and pedestrians. "I opened the window to tell him to watch his driving. He looked me in the eye and drove towards the bus and then lifted it and turned it on its side," Assaf told reporters. He said his No. 13 commuter bus was full, and some of the passengers werestanding. After it was flipped over, a policewoman broke the back window and people streamed out. Asked to describe what it had been like inside the bus, Assaf replied: "Screaming would be too mild a word. more.. e-mail
Three dead, dozens hurt in Jerusalem terror attack
Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz 7/3/2008
A Palestinian from East Jerusalem deliberately plowed a bulldozer he was driving into a passenger bus on Jaffa Street in the capital shortly after noon Wednesday, killing three people and wounding dozens more. One of the fatalties in the attack was named as Elizabeth Goren-Friedman, 54, of Jerusalem. She had been driving her car at the scene of the attack, and was crushed by the oncoming bulldozer. She will be laid to rest at 10:30 P. M. on Wednesday at the Givat Shaul cemetery. The second woman killed was named as Bat-Sheva Unterman, 33. The name of the third fatality has not yet been released. Police shot and killed the driver of the bulldozer, who held an Israeli identification card, and who had a criminal record. Footage of the attack shows the policeman and an off-duty soldier climb up to the cab of the moving bulldozer, reach in through the window and shoot the driver dead. more.. e-mail
Teachers killed in terror attack laid to rest
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 7/3/2008
Elizabeth (Lili) Goren-Friedman, 54, dedicated her life to teaching the blind. Preschool nanny Bat Sheva Unterman, 33, managed to save her daughter’s life before being crushed to death - Hundreds of relatives and friends attended the funeral of Elizabeth (Lili) Goren-Friedman who was killed in the deadly terrorist attack in Jerusalem. Goren-Friedman, 54, was laid to rest at the Har HaMenuchot cemetery at Givat Shaul. Elizabeth, a resident of Jerusalem, was killed when the massive bulldozer operated by the terrorist crushed her to death. She was a teacher at a school for the blind in the city. "Lili was a veteran teacher, in charge of the syllabus, an educator and at one point the vice principal," Principal Rachel Sakrovish told Ynet. "It is hard to talk about Lili in the past tense, she’s an amazing person. more.. e-mail
Four dead in West Jerusalem 'bulldozer rampage'; Ahrar Al-Jalil Brigades claim responsibility
Ma’an News Agency 7/2/2008
Bethlehem Ma’an/Agencies Ahrar Al-Jalil, a self-proclaimed militant group based inside Israel, claimed responsibility for the bulldozer attack in Jerusalem that left four people dead and more than 70 injured on Wednesday afternoon. In a statement Ahrar Al-Jalil named the attacker as 30-year-old Husam Tayseer Dwayat from a village in east Jerusalem. They said he was married and had two children. The statement also said he was recruited to the Ahrar Al-Jalil on 5 February 2008. Ahrar Al-Jalil also calls itself the "Imad Mughniyya Group" after the slain leader of the military wing of Hizbullah. During the attack the bulldozer overturned a bus on Jaffa Road in West Jerusalem in what Israeli media have labeled a deliberate attack. The bulldozer left a nearby construction site and plowed into a crowded single-decker Egged bus, colliding with other vehicles and pedestrians on the way.