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This Week in Palestine – Week 15 011

Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for April 9th to 15th 2011

Palestinians going forward with preparations for their request for a UN recognition of a Palestinian state in September, meanwhile Israeli military steps up attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, these stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.

Nonviolence

As we begin our report this week, we remember Vittorio Arrigoni, who was murdered in the Gaza Strip by unknown assailants. On behalf of the members and administrators of the Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People and the staff of the International Middle East Media Center, we condemn this crime and call on the Palestinian Authority in the west Bank and Gaza to bring the murderers to justice, and we pay our warm condolences to Vittorios parents, family and friends, and to all the members of the International Solidarity Movement.

And now we continue with the nonviolent activities in West Bank with IMEMC’s Fredricka Kallstrom,

On Friday Five civilians were injured and three arrested when Israeli troops attacked the weekly anti-war protests taking place in Bil’in, Nil’in, al-Nabi Salleh, central West Bank and al-Ma’ssara village in the south. Protestors this week demanded the release of all political prisoners and carried pictures of the Italian peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni, who was killed in Gaza on Friday.

In Bil’in, three civilians were wounded and many were treated for the effects of tear gas during the weekly protests. As has been the case for the past six years, international supporters joined the villagers after their daily prayers and marched up to the wall to protest. Upon arriving at the gate of the wall, troops stationed there fired tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets at protesters, leading to their injuries.

In the nearby village of Nalin, villagers along with their Israeli and international supporters, marched up to the wall where soldiers fired tear gas and sound bombs at them. Many were treated for the effects of tear gas.

In al-Nabi Salleh, in central West Bank, Israeli troops attacked the weekly anti-war and anti settlements protests there. International and Israeli supporters gathered after midday prayers and marched up to the land where Israeli plans to build a new settlement. Troops there attacked the activist with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas. The troops then chased people back to their homes and sprayed them with chemical water. One villager was injured in the foot; another in the abdomen and one international activist was arrested.

In Al-Ma’sara village in the southern West Bank, international and Israeli supporters joined the weekly protest against the wall and settlements in the area. Israeli troops stopped villagers from reaching the construction-side of the wall and used rifle butts and batons to push people back into the village. Israeli troops also arrested two French activists before the weekly protest had ended.

For IMEMC.org this is Fredrika Kallstrom

Political

Palestinian President said he has ordered halt of all media propaganda that further fuel tension between his Fatah party and the Islamist Hamas in Gaza. Such a position comes in the backdrop of Palestinian Authority’s willingness to ask the UN for recognition of a Palestinian state on 1967 border lines IMEMC’s Rami Al-Meghari has more.

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Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas wants an end to the Palestinian division. Such a wish was expressed by the president almost one month ago, when said he would visit the Gaza Strip and embark on forming a non-politically-affiliated government ahead of next September of general presidential and legislative elections.

In Gaza, Hamas is yet to respond clearly to the Abbas’s call.

Meanwhile, Palestinian foreign minister, Riyad Almalki, of the Abbas’s government, said yesterday that it is not time for the Palestinian Authority to resume peace talks with Israel. Almalki and other PA officials voiced the hope that the PA would be able to get UN recognition of a Palestinian state by September.

Israel, from its part, said it would block such a UN recognition by whatever means at its disposal, while Washington said it would use Veto right against a possible UN vote on a Palestinian state within 1967 borders.

This comes as the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are still stalled over continued Israeli settlements building ob occupied Palestinian lands, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

In other news, Chief of Arab League, Amr Mousa, signaled the possibility to request the UN to debate enforcing a No-fly zone over the Gaza Strip to prevent further Israeli attacks on the area.

Mousa’s call amidst Gaza-based factions’ unilateral ceasefire this week that put an end to Israeli military attacks on the region last week. The attacks claimed the lives of 19 Palestinians including 7 women, elderly men and children and wounded 67 others including 40 civilians.

Rami Almeghari. IMEMC.ORG. Gaza

The Israeli Attacks Report

At least 18 Palestinians killed and 70 were wounded in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip and Israeli military renew raids against Awarta village in the West Bank, the details and more with IMEMC’s David Steele.

On Saturday morning, the army killed one fighter and seriously wounded another in a renewed wave of air strikes targeting northern Gaza. The slain fighter was identified as Ahmad al-Zeitouna. Also on Saturday, the army bombarded an area west of Jaballiya, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip; two residents were wounded, one seriously.

The Israeli Air Force bombarded on Saturday evening the al-Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, killing one member of the Salah Ed Deen Brigades. Eighteen Palestinians were killed and nearly 70 were injured by Israeli fire and shells between Thursday 7th and Saturday 9th April.

Medical sources reported on Saturday evening that Raed Zuheir al-Bir, 30 years old, of the Salah Ed Deen Brigades of the Popular Resistance Committees, died of wounds sustained after the army bombarded an area in al-Zeitoun neighborhood; several residents were injured.

Three residents were wounded when the army fired at least one missile at an area near the car market in al-Zeitoun. One of the wounded residents died later on, medical sources reported.

Israeli military forces demolished a water well designed to collect rain water and an agricultural structure in al-Khader village southwest of Bethlehem on Monday.

On Monday, the Israeli Navy opened fired on Sunday evening at Palestinian fishing boats near the Khan Younis port, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip; damage was reported, but no injuries. Local sources reported that the fishing boats came under Israeli navy fire while still in the area allocated for fishing before chasing them to the shore.

The Israeli military abducted, on Tuesday morning, seven citizens from the West Bank city of Hebron. Furthermore, Israeli troops abducted on Tuesday at dawn three residents from Awarta village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, after surrounding and breaking into their rented apartment in Betunia, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah

Also on Tuesday, a group of extremist Israeli settlers uprooted and destroyed more than 45 olive trees that belong to the residents of Beit Ummar village, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Palestinian sources in Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reported on Wednesday morning that several residents were injured, one seriously, while one resident was taken to an unknown location by Israeli soldiers and policemen following clashes that took place in the town.

In addition, Israeli soldiers abducted 14 Palestinians, including children, on Wednesday at dawn in several West Bank areas.

On Thursday, the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center reported that Israeli soldiers violated a ruling issued by the Israeli High Court, and demolished six tin-houses and barns that belong to Bedouin residents living in Al Nwei’ma area, near the Jericho City.

The Center sent an urgent letter to the Israeli Prosecution, the Legal Councilor and the High Court demanding them to stop the violation.

The Center added that the Israeli army recently demolished several tin-houses and barns in the same area, also in direct violation to a ruling issued by the High Court earlier this year.

The Court ordered a delay of the demolishing of the structures but the army demolished barns and tin-houses anyway, without even obtaining the approval of the so-called Civil Administration Office. Even with Civil Administration approval, such demolitions are illegal under international law. They are expressly prohibited by article 53 of the 4th Geneva convention except in cases of absolute military necessity.For IMEMC.org this is David Steele.

And that was just some of the news from this week in Palestine, for more updates; please visit our website at www.imemc.org. Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem, This report has been brought to you by Husam Qassis and me George Rishmawi.