This Week in Palestine, May 22nd, 2015

This week the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterate his commitment to the two states solution, meanwhile Israeli attacks targeting Palestinian communities leave one killed civilian. 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. One youth was injured, scores were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli troops attacked nonviolent protests organized in West Bank villages on Friday. IMEMC’s Majd Batjali with the details:

In the village of Kufer Kadum in northern West Bank, many residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as Israeli troops attacked the weekly protest there. Troops later stormed the village and fired tear gas into residents homes,

Meanwhile in the villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin, in central West Bank, 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 Bil’in soldiers arrested one resident during the protest.

At the nearby al Nabi Saleh village, one youth was injured after troops attacked protesters at the village entrance. Israeli soldiers fired several rounds of rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at protesters and nearby homes. Many residents suffered effects of tear gas inhalation as a result.

Also on Friday, at the village of al Ma’ssara near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, soldiers attacked villagers and their international supporters as soon as they reached the entrance of the village and forced them back. No injuries were reported.

For IMEMC News this Majd Batjali.


The Political Report

Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, says that Palestinians are committed to a two-state solution. Meanwhile, Washington is concerned that current Israeli policies might affect US's external policies. IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari with the story;

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, opposed a provisional state on parts of the occupied Palestinian territories. He said that the Palestinian Authority is still committed to the two-state solution, envisioned by Washington, long ago.

Abbas's remarks came during a public speech before the world summit economic forum, known as Davos, and held this year, in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

The western-backed president asserted on the PA's determination to look into ways to reconstruct the war-torn Gaza, despite the fact that international community has not lived up with last year's pledge to fund that reconstruction.

Meanwhile, World Bank issued a report , suggesting that the Gaza Strip is on the brink of collapse , unless the international community intervenes.

In other news, the ruling Hamas party in Gaza rejected some media leaks that the party has been in indirect contacts with Israel , over political solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

A number of Hamas's spokespersons in Gaza, were quoted as saying that there have been some sort of merely chatting with foreign delegations, which have recently visited the coastal region.

Ahmad Bahar, deputy-speaker for the Hamas-dominated parliament in Gaza, told media outlets that his party is a resistance party that never believes in negotiations with the Israeli occupation.

For IMEMC News, I am Rami Almeghari in Gaza.


The West Bank and Gaza Report

This week Israeli attacks left one man killed and one boy critically injured in Jerusalem, moreover Israeli navy continued to attack fishermen in Gaza. IMEMC’s Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura reports:

A Palestinian child was critically injured, on Thursday evening, after Israeli forces shot him with a rubber-coated steel bullet near the Shu'fat refugee camp, in occupied east Jerusalem. Yahiya Sami al-Amoudi, age 10, was walking near a checkpoint by the occupied East Jerusalem refugee camp when he was shot by the bullet. The boy had a fractured skull, jaw and left ear, and had surgery to remove his left eye.

Also in Jerusalem, Israeli police officers shot and killed, on Wednesday morning, a Palestinian driver, in occupied East Jerusalem, after he allegedly rammed two police officers with his car. The deceased driver has been identified as 'Omran Abu Dheim, 41 years of age, from Jabal al-Mokabber in occupied East Jerusalem. A female and a male officer sustained light wounds due to the accident and were moved to hospitals in Jerusalem, Israeli sources reported.

Palestinian eyewitnesses said the incident was an ordinary traffic accident, while the Israeli police is claiming its initial investigation indicates that the driver “deliberately attacked the officers, and "tried to confirm the kill by reversing back over them,” Israeli sources added. The incident led to clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli police officers.

Earlier in the week, a Palestinian woman from the southern West Bank city of Hebron suffered a miscarriage on Monday after a number of Israeli fanatics assaulted her, in the center of the city,

Palestinian medical sources reported. Mirvat Sa’ad Abu Romeila, 37 years of age, was moved to the Hebron Governmental Hospital suffering various cuts and bruises, and she also suffered the miscarriage as a result of being repeatedly beaten. The assailants came from the illegal Ramat Yishai outpost, in the center of Hebron city.

On Sunday, Israeli soldiers and police officers used excessive force against hundreds of Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, as they marched to counter a provocative Israeli procession marking the so-called “Jerusalem Day,” wounding at least 29 Palestinians, and kidnapping five.

In the Gaza strip this week, Israeli navy ships attacked, on Friday morning, several Palestinian fishing boats in the Sudaniyya area, northwest of Gaza City, causing significant property damage. On Wednesday, Israeli military ships opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats in the al-Waha and as-Sudaniyya areas, in Gaza, causing excessive property damage but no injuries.

For IMEMC News this is Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.


Conclusion

And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for May 16th, to the 22nd, 2015. From the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at http://www.imemc.org. This week’s report has been brought to you Ghassan Bannoura and me Camila Benson.