News in Palestine Brought to U by The Palestine News Network

Israeli military continues West Bank arrest campaign
Forces arrest four Palestinians from Hebron

Israeli forces arrested four Palestinian citizens today during an early morning raid on the southern West Bank towns of Hebron and Bani Naim.
Palestinian security sources told PNN that the Israeli military invaded the two towns at dawn and stormed a number of houses. The Israeli forces then carried out inspections in the homes which lasted several hours.
Officials sources at the Office of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society in Hebron report that those arrested included 35 year old Khalil Na’el, 28 year old Muhammah Na’el, 30 year old Falah Chaouiki, and Mohammed Ahmed Abu Maria. Reasons for the arrests are unknown, and all of the men were taken to an unknown location.

Southern Hebron villages face emerging water crisis

According to officials sources from the Hebron Municipality, about 22,000 Palestinian citizens living in the villages just south of Hebron will face a water crisis in the upcoming weeks. This alarming news comes as a result of the breakdown of the major pumping wells adjacent to Hebron, which serve as the main source of water for the area.

A mayor of one of the nearby villages, Jamal Abu Aljdail, appealed to Hebron Municipality officials to find a solution to the acute problem of water shortage before it turns into a humanitarian crisis.

Abu Aljdail told PNN that the villages are less than a month away from suffering from a severe lack of access to water for all citizens. While the Hebron Municipality is considering buying water from nearby towns, officials fear that such a move will lead to higher prices to water. Higher prices, Aljdail states, are simply not an option for the village’s citizens, especially in light of the current situation of economic hardship.

In an act of nonviolent resistance, student activists demonstrate against Israeli aggression in front of the Canadian Parliament

Hundreds of members of the Palestinian, Lebanese, and Arab communities in Canada, along with Jewish Canadians and other activists, demonstrated in front of the Canadian Parliament in the capital of Ottawa Monday. Demonstrators carried posters and banners condemning Israeli aggression against the Palestinian and Lebanese people.

Student demonstrators also gathered to protest statements made by the Canadian Prime Minister regarding “Israel’s right to defend itself.” The students demanded that the government condemn the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip and intervene to help stop the military aggression that is claiming the life of innocents, including women and children, and destroying infrastructure. The students also appealed to the Canadian government to call for the release of Palestinian ministers and members of the Legislative Council.
At the end of the demonstration, participants delivered a letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Canada. The letter indicated that what Israel calls “self-defense,” is really a “flagrant violation of human rights and international law,” which calls for the preservation of infrastructure and innocent lives.