The Israeli government decides to deport aid workers and hands over more demolition orders to Palestinian families in Jerusalem, these stories and more coming up stay tuned.

News Cast

Israeli authorities informed on Wednesday 7 families in the Silwan neighborhood of East-Jerusalem on its plans to demolish their houses. Ever since the Jerusalem municipality made known that it would freeze 70 % of the demolition orders, earlier this week, not a day has gone by without events that demonstrate the opposite.

Yesterday a house on the Mount of Olives has been demolished. Together with today’s events, serious doubts arise on whether the Israeli authorities will live up to their claims. Palestinians in Jerusalem come to fear that the authorities only make these pledges to diminish US pressure on Israel.

In other news The Israeli High Court of Justice ordered on Wednesday the Israeli military to press stronger charges against a an officer that shot a bound and blindfolded Palestinian civilian in the West Bank. The court decision came after a petition by Israeli human rights organizations B’Tselem, and Yesh Din on behalf of the victim Ashraf Abu Rahmeh, 27

The petition, stated that the decision of the Military Prosecutor to charge the soldier and commander with “unbecoming conduct”, an offense which does not appear on criminal records, is highly unreasonable and conveys an alarming message of disrespect for human lives, laying the foundation for future incidents of abuse.

Last September Abu Rahmeh , from the village of Bil’in, scene of weekly protests against the Israeli wall, sustained critical wounds in his leg and was left to bleed for some time until the soldiers allowed an ambulance to take to a nearby hospital in the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

The victim was in a solidarity peaceful protest in the nearby Nil’ in village. On the 17th of April, 2009, Abu Rahmeh’s brother Bassem was shot and killed with a tear gas canister by an Israeli soldier at a peaceful demonstration against the wall in Bil’in.

Elsewhere The Israeli Authorities decided on Wednesday to deport 21 international peace activists who were kidnapped by the Israeli Navy while sailing to Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and medical supplies to the besieged Gaza Strip.

The activists will be deported in the coming days. The Israeli immigrant police will transfer the activists to the Ben Gurion Airport to deport them out of the country.

On Tuesday afternoon Israeli Naval Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, 23 miles off the coast of Gaza while being in international waters, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries.

Conclusion

Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you by Ghassan Bannoura.