Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas branded Israeli settlement activities on occupied Palestinian land as an obstacle to peace with Israel, while Israeli attacks in the West Bank and Gaza leave two dead. 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 Ghassan Bannoura:

Bil'in

Dozens suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation on Friday during the weekly protest in the village of Bil’in central West Bank.


Villagers along with international and Israeli peace activists marched from the village after the midday prayers.

When the demonstrators approached the closed gate in the barrier, they tried to open it and access to their land, but Israeli soldiers who were hiding behind concrete blocks, launched teargas and sound bombs causing tens of cases of suffocation.

Israeli military attacks continued this week to target the organizers of the weekly nonviolent protests.

On Tuesday troops attacked and searched the house of Abdullah Abu Rahmah Coordinator of the popular committee in the village.

During the attack troops assaulted local journalist Imad Burnat and destroyed his camera. Bil’in has been the scene of weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the Israeli wall for four years.

Nil'in

Also in the central West Bank on Friday scores of civilians suffered effects of teargas inhalation and nausea as Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly protest against the Wall in the village of Nil'in.

International and Israeli peace activists joined the villagers in conducting the Friday prayers at the land where Israel is building the Wall.

Later on local youth set old car tires on fire near the concrete wall. Soldiers showered the protesters with water mixed with chemicals and teargas causing scores of cases of teargas inhalation and nausea.

Some of the youth managed to hang a Palestinian flag on top of the concrete blocks of the wall before the army stopped them. The demonstration ended as local youth hurled stones at attacking soldiers who fired rubber coated steel bullets at them. No injuries were reported.

For IMEMC.org this is Ghassan Bannoura.


The Political Report

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas branded Israeli settlement activities on occupied Palestinian land as an obstacle to peace with Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, refused findings of a UN-led investigative report on the January Israeli war on Gaza. IMEMC’s Jessica Hulsey reports:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to meet on Saturday with Egyptian President Husni Mubarak This week, the President expressed his concern over continued Israeli settlements being built on occupied West Bank land and forceful eviction of Palestinian residents from occupied East Jerusalem.

Abbas' remarks came this week after he met with U.S Middle East special envoy, Gorge Mitchell in Ramallah.

Mitchell also met with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Natanyahu, with no concrete progress reported; particularly concerning halt of settlement activities in the occupied West Bank. Washington has always demanded that Israel stop such activities before peace talks with the Palestinians can resume.

Palestinian Authority has made it clear that it would not embark on negotiations with Israel, unless settlement activity, including those for natural growth purposes, are halted completely.

In another issue, national unity between the Gaza-based Hamas and the West Bank-based Fatah parties is yet to be achieved. Egyptian-mediated efforts continued over the week. The rival parties initially responded to an Egyptian-produced reconciliation document.

The document primarily calls for holding general Palestinian elections by mid 2010, while Fatah insists that elections be held in due time on January 25, 2010. Hamas says no elections can be held before a unity agreement is reached.

In the meantime, Richard Goldstone, chairman of a UN fact-finding mission in Gaza, accused Israel of wantonly killing Gaza civilians during the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in January of 2009. Israel refused Goldstone's report, as its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the report “kangaroo court".

The said war rendered at least 1400 Gazans killed; almost half of them were women and children.

For IMEMC.org this is Jessica Hulsey.


The Gaza Strip Report

Israeli attacks on Gaza were reported this week as a child dies due to the siege imposed in the costal region, from the Gaza Strip, IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari Reports:

A three year old child was announced dead in Gaza on Monday as she was unable to leave the region for life saving medical care. Huda Qandil was suffering from cancer. Her family had completed all the needed documents to leave Gaza but the military refused to allow the child to leave, doctors reported.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the number of patients who died because of the Israeli siege has now reached 356. The Israeli siege started in June 2007, leaving Gaza hospitals unable to treat most patients effectively.

Also in Gaza on Monday, The Israeli military kidnapped three Palestinian civilians from the central Gaza strip during an invasion targeting the border areas.

Witnesses said that troops kidnapped the three civilians as tanks opened fire at nearby homes, damage was reported but no injuries. Meanwhile Palestinian fighters attacked the invading forces and fired a number of homemade shells at the Israeli tanks. The Israeli military said that troops came under fire during the invasion but reported no injuries.

Two Palestinian civilians were reported injured by Israeli military fire near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday midday.

Doctors said that Fadi Abu Mo’amer, 28, and his brother Mohamed, 26, were injured by fragments of a tank shell that exploded near them. Both sustained moderate wounds, doctors added. Witnesses said that Israeli tanks opened fire on residents near Khan Younis without any reason. Since last week Israeli tanks have been attacking border areas of the Gaza Strip on a daily basis.

At least 40 Palestinian civilians were lightly injured as a cooking gas tank exploded inside a restaurant at Jabailia refugee camp in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Medical sources said that all 40 injured were moved to hospitals for treatment.


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


The West Bank Report

This week the Israeli military conducted at least 24 invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Troops kidnapped at least 30 Palestinian civilians, including a child. IMEMC’s Luke Peterson Reports:

On Saturday 'Obaida al-Dwaik, 25, from the southern West Bank city of Hebron, died of wounds caused by the Israeli military last month . Israeli troops shot Dwaik in August at Hebron old city claiming that he tried to attack them with a knife. He was wounded by several gunshots to the abdomen and the legs. Soldiers did not allow Palestinian ambulances to attend him. They evacuated him to an Israeli hospital.

Five Palestinian civilians were reported injured on Thursday at dawn during attacks by the Israeli military targeting a number of west Bank communities. Local sources reported attacked in Bethlehem and Hebron cities, southern West Bank, as well as Jenin in the north.

Four men were attacked by soldiers at a military checkpoint out side Bethlehem city while one man was beaten up by troops inside the old city of Hebron, sources added.

On Tuesday, a group of armed Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, injuring one of them. Local sources said that the settlers attacked the farmers as they worked on their lands in the village of Einabos near Nablus.

Witnesses said that settlers opened fire at them injuring Nader Hashim, 37, and also killing a number of sheep. Doctors said that Hashim sustained wounds to his chest but he is in a stable condition. The farmers said that the settlers from the illegal Yitsaher settlement have attacked them on a number of occasions this week.

In June the Israeli military said it would stop its invasions into the cities of Ramallah and Qalqilia, as well as Bethlehem and Jericho. However, to date, attacks targeting those cities have continued.

In other news this week, eight cases of H1N1, better known as swine flu were discovered on Wednesday in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the city announced that with the eight cases the total number of H1N1 cases has reached 15 since Tuesday.

On Tuesday the Palestinian Authority closed down a school in Nablus after discovering seven cases of H1N1 among students there. The Palestinian Ministry of Health added that six of the eight cases were from students of the same school closed on Tuesday while the other two were parents of a student from the same school.

For IMEMC.org this is Luke Peterson.


Conclusion

And that's just some of the news from this week in Palestine. For regular updates, please visit our website at www.IMEMC.org. Thank you for joining us from Occupied Bethlehem. This week's report has been brought to you by Dina Awwad.