This Week in Palestine (Feb. 8-14)
HAVANA TIMES — Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for February 8th to the 14th, 2014.
The Palestinian leadership retreated is rejection to recognize Israeli as a Jewish state, meanwhile the Israeli army boarded the Gaza Strip this week killing a Palestinian civilian. These stories and more, coming up.
The Nonviolence Report
Let’s us begin our weekly report as usual with nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank on Friday Israeli troops attacked anti wall protests organized at a number of West Bank communities, many civilians were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Palestinians organized protests against the settlement activities and the construction of the wall on their land in the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin and al Nabi Saleh in central West Bank, as well as Al Ma’asara village in southern West Bank.
Several protestors were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when soldiers attacked the villagers and the International and Israeli supporters in the villages of Bil’in Ni’lin and al Nabi Saleh.
Israeli troops stopped the protestors at the entrance of Nabil Saleh village before they reach the confiscated land. They forced them to the retreat as they showered them with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets.
In the village of Al Ma’ssara near Bethlehem, residents and international and Israeli human rights activists gathered on Friday morning on lands the Israeli settlers are trying to occupy by force.
The villagers planted some 60 olive trees to protect the land and demonstrated their rejection to the settlers takeover of the land. Israeli soldiers arrived at the village and forced people back, however, no injuries were reported.
The Political Report
This week, the Palestinian leadership rejected a US proposal that a Jewish state be recognized by the future Palestinian state; meanwhile Israeli top negotiator Tsibi Livni, signaled possibility that Palestinians would finally accept such an Israeli condition.
A Framework agreement, submitted by US Secretary of State, John Kerry, would include a reciprocal recognition between Palestinians and Israelis, based on Palestinian acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state and an Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state on 1967 border lines.
The agreement also refers to a land swap that would take into account some demographic and geographic facts on the ground in the past two decades.
According to media reports this week, Palestinians reject the recognition of a Jewish state, despite Israeli negotiator Tsibi Livni’s belief that Palestinians would finally comply.
In an unrelated news, Turkish prime minister, Rajab Tayeb Ordoghan, conditioned that Israel should lift the blockade imposed on Gaza, before Turkey goes ahead with conciliation and normalization of ties with Israel.
Turkish-Israeli ties have been severed since Israel navy has killed 10 Turks on-board of an aid ship to Gaza in 2010. Israel rejected Ordoghan’s condition and offered financial compensations to victims’ families.
At the internal Palestinian level, spokespersons of the rival Hamas and Fatah parties traded this week blame for deadlocked unity deal.
Hamas had welcomed a number of Fatah leaders into Gaza, but reported to have raised some more points of discussions. Fatah said those points are unnecessary and that national unity should be realized.
The West Bank and Gaza Report
The Israeli army this week conducted at least 72 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Moreover two Palestinians were killed one in Gaza and one in the west Bank this week.
On Thursday a Palestinian man was killed, another injured due to an Israeli army shelling targeting Gaza city. Local sources reported that Israeli tanks station near the borders of Gaza bombarded Al Shojayia area in Gaza city killing Ibraheem Mansour, 26.
Meanwhile Israeli air force fired several missiles, on Tuesday, into two areas in the besieged Gaza Strip, causing property damage but no casualties, local sources reported. The Israeli army claimed the first strike targeted what it called “a rocket launcher” hidden in an area in central Gaza, while the second targeted a training center used by an armed resistance group in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Staying in Gaza, Israel has agreed this week to allow a shipment of goods to enter the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said on Tuesday. Israel has agreed to allow 52 trucks carrying food, cargo, gas, and other fuel to enter Gaza.
Additionally, Israel approved a shipment of supplies to develop a new chain of eye clinics in Gaza, which will be associated with Jerusalem’s St. John Hospital Group. The Gaza Strip has been under a severe economic blockade imposed by the State of Israel since 2007.
The blockade has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans.
In the West Bank this week Israeli invasions and kidnappings were focused in the cities of Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron.
On Thursday, a Palestinian man was gunned down in the village of Beit Fourik, in northern West Bank by unknown gunmen. The Palestinian police announced that they opened an investigation into the incident and vowed to bring the attacker to justice. Its not clear wither the attack was political or criminally motivated.
Elsewhere Three Palestinian teenagers were injured on Wednesday by Israeli army gunfire in the village of Muthalath, near the northern west Bank city of Jenin.
Local sources reported that soldiers invaded the village and searched a number of homes then clashed with local youth. Troops fired live rounds and tear gas at the angry residents inuring the three teens. Medical sources announced that the three injured sustained moderate wounds; meanwhile many others were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
At the start of the week Israeli police demolished on Monday morning two Palestinian homes in Silwan and Jabal al-Mokabber areas, in occupied East Jerusalem. Also in Jerusalem on Monday, a number of Israeli settlers invaded the Wad Yasoul area in Silwan town, punctured tires of 30 Palestinian vehicles, and sprayed racist graffiti on residents homes
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for February 8th to the 14th 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 Samir Jaber, and Ghassan Bannoura.