Thursday, January 3

Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines January 3, 2008 ~

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IDF kills Islamic Jihad commander, his mother and sister
Sources in Gaza report IDF fires shell at house of al-Quds Brigades commander near Khan Younis, killing him along with his mother, sister and another family member. Palestinian sources say 16 people wounded in strike, and some are in critical condition.


Israeli army attacks on Gaza leaves
eight people dead, 30 injured

As the Israeli army continued its offensive, which started on Thursday morning, targeting Khan Younis town located in the southern part of the Gaza strip, Palestinian sources reported that the army has killed seven Palestinians.

Report: Palestinian baby critically wounded
in IDF operation in Nablus

Palestinian sources reported that a three-year-old Palestinian infant was critically wounded Thursday during an IDF operation in the old city of Nablus.

Egyptian bedouin shot dead near Israel border
An Egyptian bedouin man was found shot dead outside his home near an Israeli-controlled border junction between Egypt, Israel and the Gaza Strip on Thursday, residents of the area and security sources said. "We have a person killed in the border area. ... Investigations are ongoing into the reasons for the killing," one of the security sources said.

Report: 25 Palestinians wounded in IDF operation in Nablus

Palestinian sources report IDF operation in Nablus results in 25 people wounded, including infant, one man critically injured. 'Operation meant to undermine PA's security efforts in the city,' says Palestinian source.

Militant leader injured in Israeli airstrike in Gaza
Gaza City - Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a car travelling in northern Gaza City Wednesday evening, moderately injuring a senior commander in the Popular Resistance Committee's (PRC) militant faction, hospital officials said.

Israeli troops kill six gunmen in Gaza

Israeli forces today killed six Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip, Hamas and Palestinian medical officials said. Four of those killed were affiliated with Hamas, including a local field commander, and two came from a coalition of militant groups, known as the Popular Resistance Committees, Hamas said. Five other gunmen were wounded.

Israeli army continue to attack Nablus city,
25 injured among them four critical

Palestinian medical sources in Nablus city located in the northern part of the West Bank reported on Thursday midday that the Israeli army had injured 25 Palestinian civilians among them four critically injured, during the continuing military offensive targeting the city.

Israeli military invades Jenin city, Silat al Harthia and al Yamoun towns
Israeli forces invaded the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Jenin camp, the towns of Silat al Harthia and al Yamoun early Wednesday morning.

Israeli army kidnaps 28 Palestinians from several parts of the West Bank
Palestinian sources reported on Thursday morning that there had been at least 28 Palestinians kidnapped in pre-dawn invasions in several parts of the West Bank. According to sources four Palestinians were kidnapped from the central West Bank city of Ramallah and one from Bethlehem, while the remaining arrests were made between the West Bank cities of Nablus and Hebron.

Troops invade Nablus, impose curfew
Palestinian sources in the northern West Bank city of Nablus reported on Thursday at dawn that Israeli troops, supported by dozens of armored vehicles and jeeps, invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus and imposed a curfew in the Old City and the surrounding neighborhoods. Two youths were kidnapped.

Palestinian forces arrest gunmen in
Nablus after attacking a Hamas leader's home

Palestinian sources revealed on Wednesday that unknown gunmen were arrested in Nablus as they opened fire on Sheikh Fayyad Al Aghbar's home and injured his wife. Sheikh Fayyad Al Aghbar is a Hamas leader and a member in Nablus Municipality.

Palestinian security forces continue
to arrest Hamas members in the West Bank

The Hamas movement stated on Thursday that the security forces of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah had arrested 15 Hamas members on Wednesday night from several parts of the West Bank.

Hamas urges Abbas to stop talks with Israel
Islamic Hamas movement on Thursday called on President Mahmoud Abbas of rival Fatah to stop meeting Israeli officials and return for dialogue with the Islamic movement.

Qassam rocket hits N Ashkelon, furthest distance ever

A Qassam rocket fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning fell at an open field in northern Ashkelon, the furthest distance a rocket has struck yet, local media said.

Settlers throw their trash at Hebron residents

At approximately 10:30 AM, Human Rights Workers (HRWs) received a call that settlers from the Beid Hadassah settlement were throwing objects at Palestinian business and onto the Al Shallalah street. HRWs arrived on the scene too late to film the settlers in action but followed a shopkeeper around the area as he pointed out the objects thrown onto the street: a brick, a mostly empty can of paint, some white powder, and a full can of what appeared to be varnish or polyurethane.

J'lem seeks Bush okay for IDF free hand in W. Bank

Israel is seeking to reach an understanding with the U.S. administration that would safeguard Israel's security interests in a future final-status agreement with the Palestinians and during current negotiations, government sources have said.

Mosque near Bethlehem burned down by Israeli settlers
A group of Israeli settlers torched an historic mosque in the town of Al-Khader, near Bethlehem, on Tuesday. The settlers used 20 beehives as fuel for the fire, after stealing the beehives from a Palestinian farm located near the mosque.

Israelis and Palestinians organize
a non-violent protest against Israeli settlement near Bethlehem

On Wednesday afternoon a group of 50 Palestinians, Israelis and international Human Rights activists gathered at Har Homa settlement, known to Palestinians as Abu Ghinim settlement, which is built on land illegally taken by the Israeli army from the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Israeli Apartheid deepens as building continues in Har Homa
Today a group of Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists gathered at the entrance to the illegal settlement Har Homa, not far from Bethlehem, to protest against Israel's ongoing expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. The demonstrators lined up at the settler road with banners, flags and speeches about peace, justice and a settlement freeze. Settlers passing by answered the demonstrators with verbal abuses and obscene gestures.

Three Palestinians injured as settlers of Mattityahu attack Bil'in

Abdullah Abu Rahama, coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlement reported on Wednesday that a group of settlers attempted on Tuesday night to establish two mobile homes on Bil'in's lands, a village located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah,in spite of the decision made by the Israeli Supreme Court in September 2007 ruling that land must be returned to Bil'in residents. The Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlement used the loud speakers to inform Bil'in villagers about the settlers attack.

Highway 443: Israel's forbidden road
It runs straight through the heart of the occupied West Bank, but Palestinians are not permitted even to set foot on the asphalt their ancestors laid.

Israel's Jews-only Land Policy
The Zionists were not satisfied with the removal of eighty-five percent of the native Palestinians within the nascent Israeli state and the plunder and destruction of their homes.

Illegal construction / Words won't dismantle outposts

Occupants of the illegal outpost of Shvut Ami were evacuated seven times, and returned to resettle the site on each occasion. However, the Yesh Din-Volunteers for Human Rights group refused to surrender to the settler thugs that took over the stone house belonging to Palestinian Bdariyah Aamar. The group sent 15 letters to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the GOC Central Command, the deputy attorney general, Judea and Samaria District police offices and state prosecutors. In addition, scores of telephone calls were made from Attorney Michael Sefarad's office, the group's legal advisor.

Palestinian official says Israel's construction of settlements block negotiation
Palestinian Information Minister Riyadh al-Maliki said on Wednesday that negotiations with Israel can not move forward as long as settlement activities in West Bank continued.

Abbas says Bush must speak out on Israeli settlements
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Wednesday that US President George W. Bush must speak out against Israeli settlements during his visit to the region next week, because they were making peace talks impossible. "When he arrives in the region President Bush must speak clearly about eliminating all obstacles which are hindering negotiations and settlement activity is the main obstacle," Abbas said.

Israeli Defense Minister: We will not remove any checkpoints or roadblocks
Responding to a call by the United Nations that Israel remove some of the 700 roadblocks and checkpoints that are in place all over the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank, the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated Tuesday that Israel will leave all the checkpoints in place.

Our violent presence
There is no Israeli whose presence in the West Bank is neutral. Civilian or armed, soldier or woman settler, resident of a quality-of-life settlement or a nearby outpost, MahsomWatch activist or guest at a settlement, Bezek worker or client at a Palestinian garage. All of them, all of us, are in this Palestinian territory, in the West Bank, because our state occupied it in 1967.

Wife of jailed Fatah leader: Release is closer than ever
Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti's wife, attorney Fadwa Barghouti, told a Nazareth radio station on Wednesday that her husband's release from an Israeli prison is closer than ever. She maintained that although her husband's release has been debated for years, this time it can carefully be said that he will be released soon.

PA security forces restore public order in turbulent W. Bank city
NABLUS - Four young women from the Nablus neighborhood of Rafidiyeh went into a shop Wednesday near the clock square in the center of Nablus. Dressed in the trendiest jeans and blouses, they were looking for fashionable leather bags. Two minutes later they came out empty-handed, disappointed at not finding what they wanted.

Gaza sewage, water disaster looms
More than 1.4 million Gaza Palestinians are facing an impending health disaster from decaying sewage and water systems that lack vital spare parts, fuel, and maintenance work, due to an Israeli economic siege on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians in Syria to host counter regional summit this month
Syria-based Palestinian factions opposed to peace with Israel decided Wednesday to hold their regional conference later this month in the Syrian capital, a Palestinian official said.

'Unclear how, if at all, Egypt can explain this'

Jerusalem officials say Israel wants Cairo to explain why Palestinian pilgrims were allowed to return to Gaza without going through security inspections, as was agreed between Barak and Mubarak. 'They've essentially handed Hamas a victory,' say State officials.

PCHR: Gaza Pilgrims Remain on Board of Ferries and in the Open in El-Arish Waiting for their Return Home

PCHR strongly condemns the continuation of the crisis of the return of Gaza pilgrims to their homes. The pilgrims are stranded on the back of a transport ship in the Red Sea and in Egyptian city of El-Arish. The Centre condemns denying these pilgrims of their right of safe return to their homes, noting that all Muslim pilgrims returned to their homes one week ago. The Centre calls upon the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949), to pressure Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) cease violating the freedom of movement rights of the civilian population, and to allow the safe return of the pilgrims to the Gaza Strip. In addition, the Centre warns of the deterioration of the humanitarian conditions of the pilgrims, many of whom are elderly and ill persons, as they are under harsh conditions lacking minimum basic needs such as water, food, medicine, and housing.

Border politics leaves Palestinians stranded
Hundreds of Palestinians still remain stranded on the Egyptian side of the border following last summer's closure of the Rafah crossing between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Their uncertain circumstances have come to reflect the complex politics between Cairo, Tel Aviv, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Palestinian resistance faction Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas thanks Egypt for ensuring return of Palestinian pilgrims
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday thanked Cairo for ensuring the return of hundreds of Palestinians to the Gaza Strip, ending a five-day standoff that left them stranded in Egypt after following an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca.

Israel Protests Pilgrims' Return to Gaza
Egypt allowed hundreds of Palestinian pilgrims stranded for five days along the border to enter the Gaza Strip on Wednesday over the objections of Israel, which had sought to keep out suspected members of the militant group Hamas. Two people, one carrying a large cloth bag, were the first to pass through the Rafah terminal, greeted by green-vested representatives of Hamas. The two were followed by a flood of returning pilgrims walking across the border.

Baghdad Palestinians hope for passage through India
"Incredible India" may have drawn millions of visitors to the Indian subcontinent in one of the most successful tourism campaigns ever, but a small group of visitors is hoping that the country is more a transit point than a destination in itself. Some 200 Palestinian refugees from Iraq started arriving in India in March 2006. Under the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, they had received protection and assistance and enjoyed a relatively high standard of treatment that some segments of the Iraqi population considered unfair.

IDF soldier charged with aggravated assault against Palestinian
An IDF combat soldier was indicted Wednesday on charges of aggravated assault towards a Palestinian detainee under his care. The soldier is charged with injuring the Palestinian, who was handcuffed and blindfolded at the time.

Right-wing rabbi calls for PM's death
Government leaders should be hanged for negotiating with the Palestinians, Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe told an audience of rabbis in Tel Aviv, according to Channel 1 report aired Wednesday night. "The terrible traitor, [Prime Minister] Ehud Olmert, who gives these Nazis weapons, who gives money, who frees their murderous terrorists, this man, like Ariel Sharon, collaborates with the Nazis," Wolpe told a conference of rabbis who oppose transferring parts of the West Bank or Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority.

Jerusalem bishop objects to conservative Anglicans' planned Holy Land pilgrimage

A group of conservative Anglican leaders, including several Primates, who met in Nairobi in December, have announced that they will invite bishops, senior clergy and laity from every province of the Anglican Communion to attend a June 15-22 Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in the Holy Land. But the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, the Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani, has objected, saying that he was not consulted about the planned conference that is set to be held in his diocese. "I am deeply troubled that this meeting, of which we had no prior knowledge, will import inter-Anglican conflict into our diocese, which seeks to be a place of welcome for all Anglicans," Dawani said in a January 2 statement urging the organizers to "reconsider this conference urgently

More Israelis relinquish citizenship in 2007

Interior Ministry makes public that 867 Israelis decided to give up citizenship in 2007; represents 12% rise from 2006. Most requests from Israelis living abroad in Germany and Holland.

No more clay on the potter's wheel
Gaza, January 2008 - Sabri Mostafa Attallah's family is well-known in Gaza for producing beautiful Palestinian pottery. Sabri's father set up his workshop when Sabri was a child. At the age of seven, Sabri was already learning the skills of the pottery trade and by the time he was 16 he had started working together with his father. 24 years later, Sabri set up a pottery business of his own, finding the money for the start-up costs by trading in the share he had owned in his father's workshop.

Bush sees Israeli-Palestinian peace deal in 2008: report
US President George W. Bush believes an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal will be reached this year, according to excerpts of an interview published on Thursday ahead of his visit to the region.


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