This Week in Palestine, June 14th, 2013

Israeli remarks on prospects of peace trigger outrage among Palestinians while Israeli military invasions into West Bank communities at an increase, these stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.


The Nonviolence Report

Let’s begin our weekly report as usual with the nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank. This week protests against the wall and settlements were organized in the village of Kufer Qadoum in northern West Bank, the villages of al Nabi Saleh, Bil’in, Nil’in, central West Bank, and Al Ma’ssara village in southern west Bank. IMEMC’s Salam Qumsiyeh reports:

Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Friday a 10 year old child after attacking the weekly anti wall and settlements protest at the village of Kufer Qadoum.

After the midday prayers residents and their supporters marched up to the army road block, at the village entrance. Soldiers stationed there attacked them with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Many were treated for the effects of the tear gas inhalation.

Soldiers later invaded the village and kidnapped the 10 year old boy and took him to unknown location, local sources reported.

At the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin and the nearby al Nabi Saleh Israeli soldiers used tear gas and sound bombs as well as chemical water to attack the weekly anti wall and settlements protests.

Al Nabi Saleh protesters were attacked by Israeli soldiers before leaving the village while in Bil’in and Ni’lin, Israeli soldiers attacked the protesters as soon as they reached the gate of the wall that separates local farmers from their lands. Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.

also on Friday Israeli troops attacked the villagers of at al Ma’ssara and their supporters at village entrance then forced them back using rifle buts and batons to bush people back, no injuries were reported.

For IMEMC News this is Salam Qumsiyeh


The West Bank and Gaza Report

This week Israeli forces conducted at least 67 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza. During these attacks, Israeli troops kidnapped 44 Palestinians. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura has more:

Israeli army invasions and kidnappings were focused this week in the southern West Bank districts of Hebron and Bethlehem in addition to Ramallah in central West Bank and Nablus in the north. Among those kidnapped by Israeli soldiers this week was two children and Palestinian lawmaker Abdul Jaber al-Foqaha’.

On Tuesday one Palestinian man was shot and injured by a live round fired by a guard of the Oranit illegal Israeli settlement, built on lands that belong to residents of Azzoun Al-‘Atma village, south of the northern West Bank city of Qalqi lia. Eyewitnesses have reported that the guard fired several rounds of live ammunition at Palestinian day laborers trying to cross into the Israel.

Five Palestinian civilians were injured when Israeli soldiers invaded on Wednesday the Al-Far’a refugee camp, in the central West Bank district of Tubas, and clashed with local youths who hurled stones at the invading soldiers.

Eyewitnesses have reported that the soldiers broke into dozens of homes in the camp, and interrogated the residents while asking them about several youths allegedly wanted by the army.

Dozens of local youths hurled stones and empty bottles at the invading soldiers; the army fired rubber-coated metal bullets and gas bombs leading to five injuries.

In the Gaza strip this week, Palestinian medical sources reported Monday that a farmer was seriously injured after being targeted by Israeli army fire while working in his land, in southern Gaza. The sources said that Amer Abu Hadayda, 22, suffered a serious injury after he was shot by a live round in the chest, exiting from his back, as he worked in his land in Khan Younis.

On Thursday, Israeli military vehicles, stationed across the border with Gaza, opened fire at Palestinian farmers and homes in Abasan Al-Kabeera town, east of the southern Gaza strip district of Khan Younis.

Eyewitnesses have reported the soldiers, stationed on the eastern border of Abasan, fired several rounds of live ammunition in an attempt to force the residents out of their lands, close to the border.

The farmers left lands, and their agricultural equipment, as they ran for their lives. The area is one of many border areas, subject to frequent similar attacks targeting the farmers, their lands and their homes.

Also On Thursday, a number of armored Israeli military vehicles invaded an area east of the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, in central Gaza. Damage was reported but no injuries.

For IMEMC News this is Ghassan Bannoura.


The Political Report

Palestinians expressed outrage over latest Israeli remarks on prospects of peace with the Palestinians. Meanwhile, Washington decried new Israeli colonial settlement projects in occupied Palestine, the details with IMEMC's Rami Al Meghari

Palestinian prime minister of Hamas in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, reiterated his party's willingness to reach a unity deal with the Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. Haniya was speaking Friday, shortly before; he headed for Cairo for more talks with Egyptian officials about possible conciliation with the Fatah party.

Earlier, a Hamas delegation left for the Egyptian capital for the same purpose. Conciliation talks have been deadlocked due to each party's own interpretation of previous Egyptian-mediated agreements. While Hamas insists that presidential and parliamentary elections should come after reconciliation, President Abbas insists on what he said the need for elections before any reconciliation proceeds.

In the meantime, former Palestinian negotiator and prominent academic , Hanan Ashrwaw, condemned recent remarks by an Israeli defense official, in which he believed that a two-state solution is far from reaching and that Israel might transfer Palestinians to some parts of nearby Jordan as their future state.

Ashrawa was quoted as saying that statement by Israeli deputy-defense minister, Dany Danon, is vehemently rejected and that Israel has no right to determine the fate of Palestinian people and that Jordan is not a part of Israel but rather a sovereign Arab state.

Danon's remarks come on the heels of stalled peace process between Israel and Palestinians and amidst growing Israeli settlements building on occupied Palestinian lands and claim for a Jewish state on historical Palestine, known now as Israel.

She also called on the international community to reject what she termed reluctance of United States to forge a two-state solution in this part of the world. Also this week, Washington voiced out concern over a new Israeli settlement plan in the West Bank, aimed at building 100 more housing units in two West Bank Israeli colonial settlements.

Palestinians insist that resumption of peace talks with Israel is conditioned with immediate Israeli halt of all settlements building on West Bank and East Jerusalem, UN-recognized boundaries of future Palestinian state.

In related news, Swedish minister of development and international cooperation Gonilla Carlson, hinted at the possibility of cutting off financial aid to the Palestinian Authority, unless the two-state solution is promoted. Carlson had recently visited the West Bank city of Ramallah and met with high-ranking PA officials including President Mahmoud Abbas. She was then quoted as wondering, “has the two-state solution failed".

For IMEMC News, I am Rami Almaghari in Gaza.


And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine this was the Weekly report for June 8 to the 14th 2013 from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please keep visiting our website at http://www.imemc.org. Today’s report has been brought to you by Husam Qassis and me, George Rishmawi