As U.S President Obama produced his two-year-frame proposal for a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel, seven Palestinians were reported dead this week in the Gaza Strip. These stories, and more, coming up, Stay tuned.

Nonviolent Activities

Let's begin our weekly report with the nonviolent activities in the West Bank with IMEMC's Jane Smith:

Bil'in

Two protesters were injured and dozens suffered from gas inhalation when Israeli troops attacked the weekly protest in Bil'in village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday afternoon.

Residents of Bil'in and their international and Israelis supporters marched from the village center after the Friday midday prayers. They were joined by 40 members of the American group "Code Pink Women for Peace".

The protesters demanded the halt of the Israeli illegal settlements and the construction of the wall. As the protesters arrived at the wall, Israeli troops at the gate nearby fired a barrage of sound bombs, tear gas and rubber-coated bullets.

Nil'in

Also on Friday near Ramallah, Israeli soldiers attacked Palestinian and international peace activists during the weekly non-violent protest against the wall in Ni'lin village.

After the midday prayers the villagers, along with their supporters, marched towards the village lands where Israel is building the wall. Among those who took part in the Friday protest was the family of Aqel Sadeq Srour, 36 who was killed by the Israeli soldiers during last week’s protest.

As soon as the crowd reached the lands, troops attacked them with tear gas. Scores were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. Later Israeli soldiers attacked the protesters with batons, then clashes erupted between local youth and the armed soldiers, no injuries were reported.

Bethlehem

Elsewhere Israeli and international supporters joined the villagers of Al-Ma'sara near Bethlehem on Friday; and protested the Israeli illegal Wall being built by Israel and the continued expansion of settlements on villagers lands.

Carrying a large Palestinian flag, the protesters marched right up to the razor wire which the Israeli soldiers used to block the exit road from the village.

Following the speeches, some protesters tried to open the wires and pass through. The demonstration dispersed peacefully shortly after.

For IMEMC.org this is Jane Smith


The Political Report

As the U.S President produced his two-year-frame proposal for a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel, Obama's representative to Middle East peace process, George Mitchell arrived in the region to prepare the atmosphere for resumed peace talks.

Internally, representatives of Hamas met this week in Cairo with Egyptian mediators over a pending national unity agreement with Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. IMEMC’s Katherine Orwell with the story:

Early this week, Washington's peace envoy , George Mitchell, met with Israeli and Palestinian officials in order to prepare ground for peace negotiations between the two sides.

Washington seeks to halt Israeli settlement activities on occupied Palestinian lands in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. From the Palestinians it demands a consensual agreement to the basic principles, declared by the international community after the Islamist Hamas party's victory in the 2006's parliamentary elections.

Israel responded to these U.S efforts by declaring willingness to dismantle some scattered settlement outposts and not to build new settlements, but doesn’t want to freeze what it calls natural growth in existing settlements. Approximately, there are 120 settlements, populating more than 480,000 Israeli settlers. Settlement activities are illegal according to international law and United Nations resolutions.

In Damascus, former U.S President , Jimmy Carter, called on the ruling Hamas party in Gaza to accept the Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for a comprehensive peace with Israel, in exchange for a Palestinian state on lands, occupied by Israel in 1967.

However, even though Hamas welcomed Washington's accelerated efforts for peace, it reiterated a previous stance that it would not recognize Israel or renounce violence, two of the three demands that the international community has put forward to Hamas, since the latter has won the elections.

In related developments, Palestinian president , Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, said Palestinians can not resume peace negotiations with Israelis unless Israel stops settlement activities and commit itself to the U.S-backed Road Map to Peace of 2003.

According to the Road Map, the Palestinian Authority should halt any resistance attacks against the Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas has always distanced itself from such agreements, as it feels that Israel should also be demanded to halt its attacks and occupation in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Coincidently, mediation talks with representative of both Fatah and Hamas were held in Cairo this week. The talks came ahead of an expected round of dialogue talks next month. Cairo wants to guarantee a national unity agreement that returns the situation back to June 2007, before Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip.

The negotiations have yet to achieve any progress as Hamas wants a power-sharing government, whose agenda does not honor recognition of Israel or acceptance of previously-signed peace accords with the Israel.

Fatah insists that any deal with Hamas should be based on what the secular party considers Palestinian commitments at the international level, mainly peace agreements with Israel that were signed by the Mahmoud Abbas-led Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993.

For IMEMC.org this is Katharine Orwell.

The Gaza Strip Report

Seven Palestinians were reported dead this week in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military siege and attacks continue, from Gaza, IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari reports:

Four Palestinian men were reported dead another ten injured in an Israeli shelling targeting the border areas near Gaza city on Monday. The Palestine information center in Gaza reported that the men were part of a group of fighters that clashed with Israeli soldiers at the borders in an attempt to capture Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli military told media that soldiers clashed with armed men on the borders close to Gaza city then an army helicopter attacked the group killing four.

On Tuesday morning a Palestinian fighter managed to disable an armored Israeli military bulldozer near the Nahal Oz Crossing, east of Gaza City.

Eyewitnesses reported that the bulldozer was directly hit by an explosive device while the army was invading the area. Israeli troops fired tank shells at areas surrounding the explosion site, troops also uprooted farmlands and destroyed greenhouses.

30 Palestinians were injured on Tuesday afternoon when a gas tank exploded at a gas station located in the town of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses said that nearby houses were damaged by the fire caused by the explosion. No official statement has been released about the cause of the explosion.

One Palestinian man was killed on Wednesday midday as a tunnel collapsed at the southern Gaza-Egypt boarders.

Earlier two men were killed in the Gaza strip on Wednesday morning during two different incidents, Palestinian sources reported. A Palestinian man who works at the Palestinian Authority was found dead in his house in Dier Al Balah town in the central Gaza Strip. Local sources said that the man was found shot in his head, no further details were issued.

Meanwhile an Egyptian man was shot and killed by the Egyptian troops at the southern Gaza-Egypt borders. The man managed to cross into the Strip but was spotted by an Egyptian unit at the borders and was gunned down while he was on the Palestinian controlled side of the borders.

On Thursday evening, Israeli soldiers shelled several homes in Al Fahareen Area, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Several residents were treated for shock.

For IMEMC.org this is Rami Al Meghari in Gaza.


The West Bank Report

This week, the Israeli military conducted at least 24 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During those attacks troops kidnapped 24 civilians, including six children. IMEMC's George Rishmawi reports:

This week attacks were focused on the southern West Bank cities of Hebron and Bethlehem and the central West Bank city of Ramallah and Nablus in the north.

Settlers have stepped up their attacks in the West Bank since the start of this week. The Israeli military kidnapped a Palestinian farmer from the village of Awarta in the northern West Bank on Monday afternoon, after settlers had destroyed his lands.

In related news, Israeli settlers attacked and destroyed Palestinian-owned farm lands on a number of locations in the West Bank on Thursday. Local sources reported that the attacks took place near the southern city of Hebron and the northern city of Nablus.

Scores of olive trees were damaged when Israeli settlers set them on fire near Hebron city. The owners told media that the settlers came from the nearby Kharsina settlement. Witnesses said that Palestinian firefighters managed to stop the fire but at least two dozen trees were destroyed.

Meanwhile another group of Israeli settlers set fire to farm lands that belong to Palestinians from the villages of Aqraba and Yanoon, near Nablus city. The farmers said that settlers set fire to their crops while being protected by the Israeli military. The fire destroyed two acres of farm land before the farmers were able to extinguish the fire.

In Jerusalem this week, clashes were reported on Thursday night between a group of settlers and Palestinians in the Al Tour Neighborhood, in East Jerusalem; several injuries were reported.

Local sources reported that clashes started when a settler harassed a Palestinian young woman in the neighborhood. A number of Palestinian youths chased the settler and beat him up. Later on, the Israeli police arrived at the scene and clashed with the Palestinian youths inflicting several injuries.

A group of Palestinian residents managed on Thursday afternoon to stop Israeli settlers from taking over their lands located east of Jerusalem's old city. The land, of 1,75 acres, is owned by two Palestinian families from East Jerusalem. Witnesses said that the settlers arrived at the locations along with Israeli city planners but the residents were at their lands and stopped the process.

The Israeli municipality plans to use the land to expand the nearby illegal settlement of Beit Oret.

Earlier in the week, the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem demolished two Palestinian-owned houses located inside the walls of Jerusalem’s old city.

Since Israel occupied the city of Jerusalem in 1967 it rarely gave Palestinians permissions to built on their lands or add structures to their homes. On the other hand Israel continues to expand and build settlements in and around the city.

For IMEMC.org this is George Rishmawi.


Conclusion

and that's just some of the news of this week in Palestine. For constant updates, please check out our website, www.IMEMC.org. Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. This week's report has been brought to you by Ghassan Bannoura.