This Week in Palestine (Jan. 5-10)

by IMEMC News

HAVANA TIMES — Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for January 5th, to 10th 2013

Palestinian President meets with Hamas leaders in Cairo to discuss the implementation of the National Unity agreement, meanwhile Israeli assaults against Palestinian civilians intensify as Israeli elections near, these stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.

The Nonviolence Report

Let’s begin our weekly report with nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank. four arrested and many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli soldiers attacked the anti wall and settlements protests across 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’sara village in southern West Bank in addition to Kufur Qaddoum, in the north.

Four international supporters were arrested and many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli troops attacked the villagers of the Nabi Saleh and their supporters. Soldiers stopped the protest at the village entrance and fired tear gas and chemical water at protesters.

Moreover at the villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin Israeli soldiers also used tear gas to suppress the weekly protests there, many residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. Israeli troops attacked the protests as soon as it reached the Israeli wall built on local farmers’ lands.

At the village of Kufur Qaddoum many villagers were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when troops attacked the weekly anti wall protest at the village entrance.

At al Ma’ssara village, southern West Bank, Israeli troops stopped the weekly anti wall protest there at the village entrance. Soldiers forced people back into the village using rifle buts and batons to bush people back, no injuries were reported.

The Political Report

Gaza-based political factions including Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, met this week with Palestinian Prime Minister of Hamas, hours after Abbas met with Hamas’s political leader, Khaled Mash’al in Cairo.

The Haniya-factions meeting tackled latest efforts for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah and possible unified agenda for one Palestinian Authority under the leadership of Abbas.

Nothing concrete did come out of the meeting but all agreed that there needs to be more concentrated efforts by the parties concerned in the hope of reaching an agreement.

Last December, Mash’al of Hamas asserted on the need for a unity with Fatah and pldeged crowds of supporters in Gaza that a unity is upcoming soon and that five years of political split will be realized.

Some political leaders of Hamas in the territory have previously stated that any unity between Hamas and Fatah should be based on one main principle, resistance against the Israeli occupation.
Hamas’s officials continue to affirm that a reconciliation should proceed any political agreement of elections across the occupied Palestinian territories.

Also this week, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas met with Hamas’s senior officials in exile, including Khaled Mash’al. The two sides have not yet a greed on any concrete steps towards ending current division.
Abbas has always stressed on the need for general elections as the first step towards reconciliation.

The West Bank and Gaza Report

Israeli attacks targeting Palestinians left at least five injured this week. Moreover Israeli forces conducted at least 54 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Moreover three Palestinians died due to extreme weather conditions.

During the Israeli army invasions this week Israeli troops kidnapped at least 26 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children. Invasions were focused this week in northern West Bank cities of Nablus and Jenin.

On Monday a 17-year old boy was wounded during clashes in Beit Ummar village, southern West Bank. Israeli force s moved into the village, deployed between the houses and started firing sound bombs and tear gas canisters. A number of boys gathered and threw stones at the Israeli soldiers. Israeli soldiers in return fired rubber-coated metal bullets. As a result, a child was wounded by a bullet to the right hand.

Later in the week, three Palestinians were killed as extreme rain, snow, causes Floods, casualties and destruction in the West Bank and Gaza. On Wednesday the Palestinian Civil Defense reported that 2 women drowned and died in Tulkarem city, another man died in Jenin city and about 15 people were reported injured due to the storm which hit Palestine since Sunday.

Four Palestinian youth were injured on Thursday as dozens of extremist Israeli settlers attacked, Palestinian villagers enjoying snow in northern West Bank. Local sources reported that settlers attacked a Palestinians playing with snow in Burin village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

At least one resident was injured. Another Palestinian was shot and injured by settlers fire in the nearby village of Qasra, two others were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. Residents reported that Israeli soldiers arrived at the two villages and attacked them with the settlers as well.

Also on Thursday Israeli soldiers violently attacked and arrested several Palestinians playing with snow, in Sheikh Jarrah, in occupied Jerusalem,

In the Gaza Strip, on Saturday a dustman was wounded when the Israeli Forces stationed at the border fence, north of the landfill, north of Beit Hanoun, opened fire at a waste truck in the landfill. The truck was 150 meters away from the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Besides, the truck sustained material damage.

Later in the week In the Gaza strip heavy rainfall, that started several days ago, caused the collapse of a number of siege-busting tunnels in Rafah, across the border with Egypt. Egyptian security source stated that “most of the tunnels collapsed due to the rain, and the tunnels that did not collapse, are now completely flooded.”

And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine this was the Weekly report for January 5th to 10th 2013 from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please keep visiting our website at www.imemc.org.