Palestine Today 031809

Israeli troops demolish homes in Jerusalem and kidnap civilians in morning invasions; these stories and more coming up - stay tuned.

The News Cast

One house, two bedouin huts and an animal shed owned by Palestinians near Jerusalem city were demolished on Wednesday by the Israeli authorities. All the demolitions took place in al-Eziryiah, a Palestinian town just outside East Jerusalem.

The home, owned by Rabie' Al Qamari, was demolished on Wednesday midday Israeli says the home is built on an Israeli area without the needed documents while the other structures are close to the Israeli wall being built there.



"My house is legal I have all needed document, anyway the house is built a Palestinian controlled area not and Israeli area, when my son asked them for the demolition order they beat him up"

Palestinian sources in Jerusalem city said on Wednesday that Israel have handed out 80 new demolition orders to homes owned by Palestinian in Jerusalem city. Israeli has intensified its campaign of demolishing Palestinian-owned homes in the city since the start of 2009. The Jerusalem municipality handed out demolition orders to 96 Palestinian families in the first week of March. While another 88 such orders in February.

Since Israel occupied the city of Jerusalem in 1967, the authorities have rarely given Palestinian residents permission to build homes. The Israeli government has continued to build Jewish settlements in and around Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank, an act which violates the international law and all peace agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians since the 1993 Oslo Accords.

In other news, Israeli troops have kidnapped at least 15 Palestinian civilians during morning invasions, targeting a number of West Bank areas on Wednesday.

Israeli Army radio reported that the army took all those kidnapped to detention camps for questioning. The radio added that all are on the army's wanted list.

Palestinian sources said that Israeli soldiers kidnapped seven men from the northern West Bank city of Nablus and nearby refugee camps. Witnesses said that Israeli troops searched and ransacked homes before taking the men away. The other eight were taken by the Israeli Army during a similar attack targeting the village of al-Shouikh, located near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

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 Mary Arthur and Ghassan Bannoura.