Palestinian youth killed another injured during clashes with Israeli soldiers

Date: 13 / 09 / 2008  Time:  16:25
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

A young Palestinian was killed and another injured during clashes that erupted in the village of Tuqu south east of the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Palestinian medical sources affirmed that 16-year-old Hassan Muhammed Hmid was killed by a bullet wound in his chest. The bullet was fired by an Israeli occupation soldier in the middle of the village. Twenty-year-old Abed Khaled Hmid was injured when hit in the leg by a bullet.

An ambulance with the Palestinian Red Crescent had moved Hassan to the local hospital in Bethlehem, but the boy died before arriving. Abed Khaled was taken to a local clinic where he is being treated; his condition is described as mild.

Reports say Israeli occupation soldiers entered the village and confrontations erupted between village youth and soldiers. Clashes escalated and shots were fired.

Israeli occupation forces kill a 17-year old Palestinian boy near Bethlehem

Saturday September 13, 2008 15:14 by IMEMC Staff

A Palestinian child was killed by Israeli occupation forces gunfire in the Tiqu'a village east of Bethlehem in the West Bank Saturday afternoon.

The boy, Hassan el-Abed, 17 died immediately after being struck in the chest with an Israeli occupation army bullet at a short range, local sources reported. The sources added that Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire at stone-throwing children in the village after they invaded the village. One soldier from the border police shot at the group of young boys and killed al-Abed on the spot.

Israeli occupation forces invade several villages near Nablus

Saturday September 13, 2008 14:09 by Amin Abu Wardeh

Residents in the villages south of the city of Nablus report dozens of Israeli occupation army vehicles invading the area. The Israeli Yitzhar Settlement is nearby, where some houses were reportedly recently burned and a resident stabbed by unknown assailants.

The Israeli occupation army invaded southern Nablus villages. Eyewitnesses report the invasion began in the early hours of Saturday morning. Israeli forces raided homes and carried out invasive searches claiming they were looking for wanted men. Village residents stated it is part of the collective punishment inflicted on them in retaliation for an incident at the nearby illegal Israeli settlement (built illegally on Palestinian lands).

Throughout the last week settlers have stepped up their attacks and provocations against the residents of the villages. Last weekend the Israeli settlers from Zitzhar burned the crops of several farmers.

The Israeli military has imposed curfew on southern Nablus towns.

Israeli Minister pushes for assassination campaign against Palestinians

Saturday September 13, 2008 04:52 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli occupation government Transportation Minister, stated Friday that Israel should reinstate a policy of massive extrajudicial assassinations in the occupied Palestinian Territories, much like the policy under former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Mofaz made the statement in an interview with Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv.

While extrajudicial executions of Palestinians have not ended under the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, there are not as many as there were under Ariel Sharon, who was Prime Minister from 2000 – 2006 until he fell into a coma.

Extrajudicial assassinations are a direct violation of international law and of signed agreements, as they target 'wanted' individuals without giving them a right to a trial.  They have also caused significant additional "collateral" civilian casualties in most instances. Israel carries out these assassinations through missile strikes from airplanes, usually targeting cars carrying 'wanted' individuals. Given that the Gaza Strip (one of the two Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories) is one of the most densely populated places on earth, this nearly always results in the killing of bystanders, often children.

In response to the statement by Mofaz, the spokesman for the Islamic Jihad, Ibrahim Al-Najjar stated that this indicates a coming “wave of assassinations and aggression” against the Palestinian people. Al-Najjar told the Palestinian news agency Ma'an News that "Israeli leaders are competing for our blood and all Palestinian parties should unite to prepare for the next wave of Israeli violence”.