Palestine Today 03 17 2011

The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported that the Israeli Air Force bombarded, on Wednesday morning, a location of the Palestinian National Security Forces, north of Al Mighraqa village in central Gaza, killing two Palestinians and wounding two others. The bombardment targeted three buildings that were completely destroyed by the Israeli military air strike.

Furthermore, Israeli soldiers fired, on Wednesday evening, several artillery shells at an area surrounding the eastern Al Shuhada Graveyard, east of Gaza city; damage was reported, no injuries.

Palestinian medical sources reported that a local fisherman was shot and wounded on Wednesday at noon by Israeli navy fire near the Gaza shore. The sources added that the navy opened fire at a number of Palestinian fishing boats close to the shore wounding one, and causing damage to a number of boats.

The Israeli military withdrew, on Wednesday, from the village of Awarta, near Nablus following it’s imposition of four days of curfew. During the four days of curfew harassed residents and caused repeated damage to property, and also repeatedly prevented medical services from entering the village.

Villagers from at-Tuwani, in the southern West Bank region, discovered, on Wednesday, that olive groves belonging to residents of the village had been attacked, with six trees destroyed. Residents believe that the attack was carried out by settlers from the outpost of Havat Ma'on.

Around twenty Jewish organizations, and a number of prominent Jewish individuals, including several Holocaust survivors, have co-signed a letter published by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network this week endorsing a boycott of Israeli goods and institutions, and calling for divestment and sanctions of Israel. The letter was a response to a statement by liberal Zionist organizations on February 15th condemning the boycott of all Israeli goods.

A Palestinian Facebook activist from Sakhnin, north of the country, was kidnapped by the Israeli police on Wednesday and was placed under interrogation on charges of “inciting violence, and humiliating a public employee”. Mohammad Ghanayim was accused of “inciting violence” through his Facebook page, and for publishing “incitement materials” on the Arabs48 website, according to the police.

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated Wednesday that Israel always rushes to blame the Palestinians, and rushed to blame them for the brutal murder of a Jewish family in Itamar settlement, even before the truth is known. The Palestine News and Info Agency reported that Abbas made this comment during the opening session of the Central Council of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

Egypt announced Wednesday that it managed to uncover a spy network working for Israel on Egyptian soil, and that its intelligence services are trying to locate two Israelis and one Egyptian reportedly involved in spying on Egypt’s Armed Forces. The Egyptian paper, Al Masry Al Youm, reported that one of the suspects is currently being held by the army forces in the country.

That sums up our news for today, thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today, from International Middle East Media Center. For more updates, please visit our website at www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you by Husam Qassis and Circarre Parrhesia.