This Week in Palestine Week Nov. 9-15
HAVANA TIMES — Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for November 9 to the 15th, 2013.
This week Palestinian-Israeli talks faced hardship due to Israeli continued construction in Israeli settlements while army and settlers attacks targeting Palestinian communities in the west Bank and Gaza escalated.
The Nonviolence Report
Let’s begin our weekly report as usual with the nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank. On Friday Israeli troops shot an injured 17 civilians among them children and journalists during anti wall and settlements protests that were organized at a number of West Bank communities.
Fourteen residents among them six children and a journalist were injured when troops attacked the weekly anti wall protest at the northern West Bank village of Kufer Kadum. Troops attacked protesters at the village entrance. All the injured were hit by rubber-coated steel bullets fired by Israeli soldiers.
In central West Bank, protests were organized in the villages of Bil’in, al Nabi Saleh and Nil’in. Residents and their international supporters from Bil’in and Nil’in villages managed to reach the Israeli wall before they were attacked by Israeli soldiers.
Meanwhile Israeli troops attacked the protest in al Nabi Saleh before even leaving the village and later invaded residents homes and fired tear gas inside.
Three residents and a journalist were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets fired by Israeli troops in the village of Bil’in. In al Nabi Saleh and Nil’in many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation due to Israeli soldiers attack.
Earlier on Friday morning in central West Bank, local activists managed to demolish parts of the Israeli wall near the village of Bier Nibala. The international court of Justice in 2004 deemed the Israeli wall built around the West Bank as illegal and should be demolished.
Elsewhere, at al Ma’ssara village, Israeli troops stopped the villagers and their supporters at village entrance then forced them back using rifle buts and batons, no injuries were reported.
The Political Report
Washington voiced out concern over non-stop Israeli illegal settlements building in occupied east Jerusalem, as Palestinian top negotiator, Saeb Eriqat reiterated the Palestinian leadership’s commitment to peace talks with Israel. IMEMC’s Rami Al Meghari with the story:
United Nations’ office for Palestine passed a number of decisions in support of Palestine, mainly committing to backing United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees.
Meanwhile, Palestine’s observing mission at the UN called on United Nations to work on pressuring Israel to halt ongoing illegal Israeli settlements building on occupied Palestinian lands.
The mission warned of growing illegal settlement construction on occupied Palestinian territories, dubbing them as impediment to peace-making in the region.
United Nations recognized last year a Palestinian UN non-member state on the borders of 1967 including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has accelerated settlements plans on the occupied Arab city of East Jerusalem.
In the meantime, Washington criticized this week such settlement activities, considering them as source for tension in the region.
Washington has patronized peace negotiations between Israel and Palestinians for two decades, yet since then no genuine progress has been made towards a US’s goal, two-state solution.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah, top Palestinian negotiator , Saeb Eriqat, further adhered this week, to peace negotiations with the Israel state.
The West Bank and Gaza Report
The Israeli army and settlers attacks targeting Palestinian communities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have escalated this week. Those attacks left 15 Palestinians injured. Moreover Israeli troops kidnapped 46 civilians this week during invasions targeting communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Among those kidnapped this week were eight children. The Israeli army invasions and kidnappings were focused this week in the cities of Ramallah, Jenin, Bethlehem and Hebron.
On Sunday evening two Palestinians were Injured, during an Israeli army invasions targeting Silwan area in East Jerusalem. local sources said that youths hurled stones and empty bottles at the invading soldiers. Local sources said that a young Palestinian woman and a man were injured close to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Five more civilians among them two children were injured on Monday of this week when Israeli troops attacked protests organized in central and southern West Bank in commemoration of the 9th anniversary of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Later in the week a Palestinian teenager was injured on Wednesday evening during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. Local sources said that the clashes erupted near the Wall gate Israel built to separate Bethlehem from Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem on Wednesday a Palestinian man identified as Kamel Basseela, 48 , was seriously injured after two Israeli extremists dropped a stone on him as he was heading to work.
Five Palestinian children, their father and mother were injured on Thursday at dawn when Israeli settlers attacked the village of Siengeil near the central West Bank city of Ramallah. The settlers invaded the village and set a home on fire; the family fled the flames to the roof top and was rescued by Palestinian firefighters who were called in by the residents of the village.
Medical sources said that the family was all moved to hospital in Ramallah surfing from light burns and suffocation.
In the Gaza strip this week Two Palestinian workers were injured after being shot by Israeli soldiers near the Israeli borders with Gaza on Thursday. Local sources said that one of the men was injured near the central Gaza Strip and the other one was shot in southern Gaza strip.
Moreover also on Wednesday a number of armored Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers carried out a limited invasion into Palestinian lands near khuza’a town, east of Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The bulldozers then uprooted Palestinian farmlands.
On Thursday Israeli jetfighters implemented two air raids targeting areas in central Gaza and northern part of the Strip. The attack targeted areas in the northern part of Gaza city and the southern part of Beit Hanon town in northern Gaza, local sources reported. No injuries were reported in both attacks.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for November 9, to the 15th 2013 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 me, Ghassan Bannoura.