This Week in Palestine Feb. 15-21
HAVANA TIMES — Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for February 15th to the 21st, 2014.
As deadlock in the peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis continues, Israeli attacks targeting Palestinians this week leave 12 injured civilians.
The Nonviolence Report
Let’s us begin our weekly report with nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank. Protests this week were reported in the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin and al Nabi Saleh in central West Bank, as well as Al Ma’ssara village and Hebron old city in southern West Bank in addition to Kufer Kadum, in the north.
Fifteen Palestinian civilians were injured on Friday when Israeli troops attacked a nonviolent protest in Hebron old city, in southern west Bank. Residents and their international supporters march in commemoration of those killed by an Israeli armed settler inside the Ibrahim mosque in the old city part 20 years ago.
Moreover Israeli soldiers kidnapped five youths during the protest. Witnesses said that troops attacked the unarmed protesters with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas as soon as the protest started.
Elsewhere in southern West Bank, Israeli troops stopped the weekly anti wall protest at Ma’ssara village entrance. Soldiers forced people back into the village using rifle buts and batons to bush people back, no injuries were reported.
Elsewhere, scores of protesters were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation, on Friday, when Israeli troops attacked the weekly anti wall and settlements’ protest at the village of Kufer Kadum.
Residents along with their international and Israeli supporters marched after midday prayers. as soon as they reached the roadblock the Israeli army installed at the village entrance 10 years ago; soldiers stationed their attacked protesters with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets.
In central West Bank, Israeli soldiers attacked the anti wall protesters organized also on Friday at the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin and al Nabi Saleh. Israeli troops used tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets to suppress the three protests.
In al Nabi Saleh protesters were stopped by Israeli soldiers at the village entrance, while Bil’in and Ni’lin protesters managed to reach the Israeli wall. In Bil’in, a Palestinian medic and a teenager were lightly wounded by Israeli troops’ attack, meanwhile many civilians were treated from the effects of tear gas inhalation at the three protests.
The Political Report
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is scheduled to meet with US President Barak Obama, by early next month, amidst slow peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis.
Top Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Eriqat, says any talks with Israelis will be stopped once the deadline set by United States , April2014, is near with no concrete progress.
Eriqat’s remarks come as US mediator Jhon Kerry, has relentlessly mediated between Palestinians and Israelis since last June, when the talks were resumed.
Secretary of State , Kerry, told Israeli TV channels 2 this week that he has not given up hope and that he still foresees possibility for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians.
Kerry is presenting a framework agreement for 9 months, to be followed by arrangements for a final peace deal.
Some American official sources believed that the framework agreement would be accepted by Palestinians eventually.
Palestinians have not yet agreed to a clause that would give Israel a status of Jewish state. Palestinians refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
On a different front, meetings between Fatah leaders and Hamas counterparts in the Gaza Strip have not yet come out with any concrete progress towards a national Palestinian unity.
Both parties have been split since 2007 and are now engaged in much more efforts for a long-awaited unity.
The West Bank and Gaza Report
The Israeli army this week conducted at least 74 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza. During invasions targeting West bank communities, Israeli troops kidnapped 28 civilians, including 4 children.
In the Gaza strip this week, 10 Palestinian men were shot and injured on Friday by Israeli army fire, east of Jabalia town, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Local sources announced that residents and famers protested near the border fence against the Israeli ongoing attacks targeting the famers in the area.
Also on Friday, Israeli navy boats fired rounds of live ammunition at Palestinian fishing boats in Palestinian territorial water, less than three nautical miles away from the shore of Gaza City. Damage, but no injuries, were reported. The navy chased the fishermen to the shore, local sources said.
In the West Bank this week, a Palestinian child was injured on Wednesday after being rammed by an Israeli settler’s vehicle near the Ibrahimi Mosque, in Hebron city, in the southern part of the West Bank. Local sources said that the child was moved to the Hebron Governmental Hospital suffering a mild-to-moderate injury. The settler fled the scene.
Also on Wednesday, settlers attacked a Palestinian man in Burin village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, causing various cuts and bruises. Local sources said that the settlers assaulted the Palestinian farmer while working in his land close to the Yitzhar illegal settlement.
On Thursday Israeli soldiers injured one youth, and kidnapped four others during an invasion targeting the village of Madama near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Earlier in the week, The Palestinian Society for Political Detainees announced on Monday that four hunger-striking political prisoners held by the Israeli army have been moved to hospital after their health deteriorated. All four are on hunger strike since 40 days in protest of administrative detention policy the Israeli army is using to detain them.
Under administrative detention orders, the Israeli army can keep Palestinian political detainees for long times without charges or being sent to court.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for February 15th to the 21st 2014 from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www.imemc.org. This week’s report has been brought to you by George Rishmawi, and Ghassan Bannoura.