This Week in Palestine, December 3rd, 2016

This week Israeli government announce more settlements in the occupied territories, meanwhile army attacks leave two Palestinians injured, one critically. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.


The Nonviolence Report

Let’s begin our weekly report as usual with the nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank. This week protests were organized in the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin and al Nabi Saleh in central West Bank, and in the northern West Bank village of Kufer Kadum. IMEMC’s Majd Batjali has more:

Protests were organized this week marking the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.

At the village of Kufer Kadum, residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as Israeli soldiers attacked the protest there with live rounds, and tear gas.

In central West Bank, at the villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin, Israeli soldiers attacked the protesters as soon as they reached the gate in the wall that separates local farmers from their lands. Many protesters suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation and were treated by field medics at both locations.

At the nearby Al Nabi Saleh village troops attacked protesters as soon as they reached the village entrance. Later Israeli forces invaded the village and fired tear gas into residents homes causing damage and many residents to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.

For IMEMC news this is Majd Batjali.


The Political Report

While Fatah holds its seventh congress in Ramallah, Israel plans a new huge settlement expansion in the Golan Heights, IMEMC’s George Rishmawi with the details::

After a two-year delay, Fatah’s seventh congress kicked off in Ramallah, this week, where the movement has re-elected the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as its president to a new five-year term. Fatah is the largest Palestinian political party and is a main founder of the Palestinian liberation Organization (The PLO). The congress was attended by hundreds of Fatah members including members who live in 28 countries around the world.

Head of the Palestinian National Council, Salim Zanoun asked Fatah congress to elect Abbas “by consensus.” The five-day conference is expected to cement Abbas’ control of Fatah and lock out his chief rival, the exiled Mohamed Dahlan.

In his three-hour speech to the congress after being reelected as Fatah chief, Abbas sought to show a sense of unity to the crowed and to the public and proposed a unity government with Hamas. He Thanked Khaled Mash’al chief of Hamas for a supportive message that he delivered to Abbas during their meeting in Qatar over a month ago. In the meantime, while Palestinians are busy with internal disputes, Israeli authorities are planning one of the biggest settlement expansion plans in the occupied Golan Heights.

Al-Marsad, the Arab Human Rights Center in the Golan Heights announced, in a press release, that it has written to the European Union, European governments and the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council regarding Israel’s plans to expand Katzrin settlement and establish ‘Hermon National Park’ in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

The Israeli Finance Ministry approved plans to build 1,600 additional settlement units in Katzrin in October. About 8,000 settlers live in Katzrin atop the destroyed Syrian villages of Qasrin, Shqef and Sanawber. It is the largest settlement in the occupied Syrian Heights.

Al-Marsad also calls attention to the plan to build Hermon National Park in the occupied Golan Heights. The park depends on appropriating 25,000 acres of agricultural land used by residents of Majdal Shams and Ein Qynia. Majdal Shams stands to be particularly devastated by the plan as the park would surround the village from the north and west, thus prohibiting any future expansion and essentially besieging it. According to Al-Marsad, about 800 families living in Majd al-Shams are in urgent need of housing, but cannot secure an Israeli construction permit to build.

The organization calls on the international community to strongly condemn plans for the construction of 1,600 settlement units in the illegal settlement of Katzrin and the planned expropriation of Syrian land under the guise of the ‘Hermon National Park’ plan; and obtain binding commitments from Israel that it will stop these activities. In 1967, Israel forcibly transferred 130,000 Syrians from the Golan and destroyed 300 of its towns and villages to clear the way for its ongoing illegal occupation.

For IMEMC News, this is George Rishmawi


The West Bank and Gaza Report

Israeli attacks targeting the West Bank and Gaza leave one worker and a youth injured, meanwhile navy attacks are reported of Gaza shoreline. IMEMC’s Ghassan Bannoura reports:

On Thursday, Israeli troops shot and injured a Palestinian worker near the village of Numan, to the east of Bethlehem, while he was on his way to work in Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers opened fire at Mousa Dababseh, aged 28, injuring him in the left foot. He was then handed over to the Palestinian Red Crescent who transferred him to Beit Jala hospital for treatment.

Earlier in the week, Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday evening, Abu Dis town, southeast of occupied East Jerusalem, and clashed with many Palestinians near Abu Dis University, leading to the injury of 50 Palestinians, including ten who were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets.

The soldiers fired many gas bombs, rubber-coated steel bullets and concussion grenades, into the university campus. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its medics provided the needed treatment to 39 Palestinians, who suffered the severe effects of teargas inhalation, 10 who were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets, and one who suffered burns in his arm.

Also this week, Israeli forces conducted at least 65 military invasions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and in occupied Jerusalem. During these invasions, Israeli troops kidnapped 68 Palestinian civilians, including 19 children.

In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian youth was critically injured, many others were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli troops attacked protesters at the border fence east of Gaza City. Medical sources said that one youth was hit with a live round in his head when soldiers opened fire at youth protesting in the area. The youth was moved to Gaza city hospital for treatment where doctors described his wounds as life threating.

Earlier in the week, Israeli navy attacked on Monday Palestinian fishing boats near the northern Gaza shoreline. The attack was reported three nautical miles offshore from the town of Beit Lahyia. Palestinian fishermen are allowed to nine nautical miles but the Israeli navy keep attacking them. On Sunday another attack by the Israel navy targeting Palestinian fishermen off of Gaza city shoreline was reported. Moreover the navy attacked fishermen of Gaza city shore on Wednesday of this week.

Moreover, Several armored Israeli military vehicles, and bulldozers, invaded on Tuesday morning Palestinian agricultural lands, close to the border fence, in Rafah, in the southern part of the coastal region. Bulldozers then uprooted Palestinian farmlands causing damage.

For IMEMC News this is Ghassan Bannoura.


Conclusion

And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for November 26, to December 3, 2016, 2016. From the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www-dot-imemc-dot-org, This week’s report has been brought to you by Saed Naji and me Eman Abedraboo-Bannoura.