This Week in Palestine Oct. 6-12

By Husam Qassis and George Rishamwi for IMEMC News

HAVANA TIMES — Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for October 6 to 12, 2012.

The Palestinian Authority concerned about frequent Israeli settlers attempts to storm the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, meanwhile, Israeli military conducts 46 military incursions into Palestinain communities, these stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.

The Nonviolent Report

Let’s us begin our weekly report with nonviolent activities organized in West Bank. on Friday Israeli troops violently suppressed anti wall protests across the West Bank. As a result three civilians were injured and many more were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.

This week anti wall protests were reported in the central West Bank villages of Bil’in , Nil’in and Al Nabi Saleh and in the southern West Bank village of Al Ma’ssara near Bethlehem city.

Two young men were injured, one in the back and other in the leg when troops fired rubber-coated steel bullets at Nabi Saleh villagers and their supporters.

Protesters marched today in solidarity with the Palestinian political prisoners and farmers who are under constant attacks by settlers. Soldiers stopped the march at the village entrance and fired rubber-coated steel bullets as well as tear gas and chemical water at protesters injuring the two young men. Later troops invaded the village and fired tear gas at residents’ homes. Many, mostly children, suffered effects of tear gas inhalation.

At the nearby village of Nil’in soldiers attacked the protest as soon at reached the annexation wall with tear gas. The protest ended with clashes between local youth and troops; four civilians were slightly injured due to the soldiers attack among them one German man.

In the nearby Bil’in village many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. this week villagers and their international and Israeli supporters reached the wall before Israeli soldiers attacked them with tear gas.

Elsewhere in southern West Bank, at the village entrance of Al Ma’ssara Israeli troops forced anti wall protesters back into the village using rifle-buts and batons. No injuries were reported.

The West Bank & Gaza Report

This week Israel escalated its attacks on the Gaza Strip by aerial and land bombardment as a result one man was killed and total of14 civilians were wounded including 6 children. Meanwhile in the West Bank Israeli forces conducted at least 46 military incursions into Palestinian communities. During these incursions, Israeli troops arrested at least 8 Palestinians, including the wife of a Palestinian prisoner.

A Palestinian man was pronounced dead on Monday evening due to Israeli shilling which targeted Rafah city southern Gaza Strip last night. Ten civilians were wounded on Sunday evening, when the Israeli Air Force fired several missiles into Rafah. Some of the wounded residents sustained serious injuries; an infant is among the wounded.

Also on Monday five civilians were wounded in an Israeli tank shelling which targeted the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. later in the week Israeli gunboats positioned off al-Waha resort, northwest of Beit Lahia, opened fire on Wednesday, at the Palestinian fishing boats, damage was reported but no injuries.

From its part Egyptian leadership this week contacted the Israeli side and informed the government of Benjamin Netanyahu that Egypt is completely against an Israeli military offensive against Gaza, and held Netanyahu personally responsible for further escalation. Egypt also contacted armed resistance groups in Gaza demanding them to be committed to a truce with Israel in order to prevent Tel Aviv from dragging the entire region into war.

In the West Bank this week settlers escalated their attacks against Palestinian farmers who started this week the olive harvest season.

On Monday a Palestinian young man was injured when Israeli settler opened fire at him near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. A Palestinian child suffered moderate wounds on Thursday when he was rammed by a settler’s vehicle near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the old city of Hebron, southern West Bank. while two Palestinians were injured, on Wednesday evening, after being attacked by several extremist Israeli settlers in Burin village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The settlers attacked several Palestinians, including women, who were harvesting their olive trees in the village.

Since the start of this week settler’s managed to cut of around 450 olive trees in different parts of the West Bank, local sources reported. Settlers uprooted around 300 olive trees that belong to residents of Al-Mogheer village, east of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. The settlers carried their attack out during the early dawn hours, and fled the scene, local sources reported. Another 150 trees were cut-off by settlers in southern West Bank.

The Political Report

Palestinian Authority voiced out concern over repeated attempts by Israeli settlers to storm the Alaqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamine Natanyahou dissolved the cabinet and announced an early elections of the parliament.

PA officials voiced out concern over Israeli settlers’ attempts to storm the Alaqsa mosque of Jerusalem. The attempts have been repeatedly reported over the past few weeks. Some believe that such attempts are meant to threaten the existence of the mosque and rebuild the temple mount, said to be a Jewish legacy.

On a similar note, agricultural officials in the PA pledged to fight back Israeli settlers’ attempts to uproot olive trees in the West Bank by planting 1000 olive tree in replacement of any uprooted tree. Such concerns were reported amidst this year’s olive trees picking season in the occupied Palestinian territories.

On another issue, some Palestinian political leaders, including Fatah MP , Mohammad Dahalan and political leader for the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine , Qais Abdelkarim, considered latest remarks by resigned political leader of Hamas, Khaled Mash’al as a proof to Hamas’s failure in running the Gaza Strip unilaterally , following the division between Hamas and Fatah back in 2007.

Recently, Hamas’s political leader, Khaled Mash’al resigned from his post and elections within the Islamist party are to be held soon to select a new leader. Mash’al has lived in exile for decades.

At the Israeli level, Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, dissolved his government coalition and called for early elections. The decision came after Natanyahou’s government failed to produce fiscal plans.

Israeli parties engaged this week in election campaigning for a period of six months, in which Netanyahu will remain in post as caretaker.

And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine this was the Weekly report for October 6th to 12 2012 from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www.imemc.org.