This Week in Palestine, July 8th, 2016

International and regional countries criticize new Israeli wave of buildings in settlements, in the meantime Israeli attacks leave one killed Palestinian and a dozen others injured. 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. On Friday scores of protesters were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as Israeli forces attacked nonviolent protests organized in West Bank villages.

Many villagers were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when soldiers attacked the weekly protest in the central West Bank village of al Nabi Saleh on Friday.

Troops attacked the protest at the village entrance using live rounds, tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Later troops stormed and fired tear gas at residents homes, many residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as a result.

At the nearby villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin, Israeli soldiers attacked the protesters as soon as they reached the gate in the wall that separates local farmers from their lands. Many protesters suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation and were treated by field medics at both locations.

In the meantime many civilians were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as Israeli troops attacked the weekly protest organized by the villagers of Kufer Kadum in northern West Bank.


The Political Report

This week, Jordan says Israeli settlements construction blocks peace in the region. IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari has more:

Kingdom of Jordan SAID THAT Israeli settlements construction on occupied Palestinian territories, would block peace in the region. Jordan believes that those settlements are illegal and would stand an obstacle, ahead of any workable solution, mainly the long-envisioned two-state.

In the meantime, Palestinian Authority president’s spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rudaina, stated that 1967 border lines should be the borders of future Palestinian state. These include the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel had earlier turned down an Arab States’ initiative for peace, involving full normal Arab-Israeli relations, in return for full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories.

On related note, France is still hoping to hold an international peace conference , soon, to which many international key players will be invited, excluding the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

In other news, Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamist Hamas party, are yet to meet again in Doha, following a failed round of unity talks, last month in the same Arab capital.

For IMEMC News, I am Rami Almeghari in Gaza.


The West Bank and Gaza Report

Fighter dies in Gaza due to earlier wounds this week, meanwhile in the West Bank Israeli invasions leave at least 12 injured civilians. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura Reports:

The al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas movement, has reported, Thursday, that one of its fighters, Nael Salah, 19, who was shot and seriously injured by Israeli army fire, last year, died of his wounds.

On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers opened fire on a number of Palestinian homes, east of the al-Qarara town, northeast of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Damage was reported but no injuries.

Also this week. The Israeli air force carried out, on Saturday at dawn, a series of air strikes targeting a number of sites, believed to be run by armed resistance groups, in different parts of the besieged Gaza Strip. The army said a shell was fired from Gaza, on Friday at night.

Media sources in Gaza have reported that the air force fired several missiles into two sites, run by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, south of Gaza city, and a blacksmith workshop in Gaza’s Zeitoun neighborhood.

In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers invaded, on Thursday at dawn, Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, and kidnapped a young wounded Palestinian man.

Local sources in Qalandia said the soldiers broke into the home of Salah Lutfi Hamad, 21, and kidnapped him, after violently searching the property.

Hamad was shot by the soldiers, last Monday, when the army invaded the camp and demolished the homes of Anan Abu Habsa and Issa Assaf, who were killed on December 24, 2015, after carrying out a stabbing attack in Jerusalem.

A number of extremist Israeli settlers destroyed, Monday late night, several grapevines, a shed and uprooted plants, belonging to Palestinian farmers near the illegal settlements of Daniel and Eliezer, built on Palestinian lands, in al-Khader town near Bethlehem.

Moreover, a number of Palestinians sustained injuries in extremist settler attacks against their cars, to the west and south of both Nablus and Hebron on Sunday of this week.

For IMEMC news this is Ghassan Bannoura.


Conclusion

And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for July 2, to the 8, 2016.. From the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www-dot-imemc-dot-org, This week’s report has been brought to you by Maher Qassiss and me Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.