2 Palestinians Killed, Dozens Injured, 200 Kidnapped by Israeli Occupation Forces, According to September 20, 2008 News Reports

Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

14-year-old boy killed near Nablus by Israeli gunfire

Saturday September 20, 2008 18:05 by IMEMC News

Israeli occupation government security guards killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy on Saturday morning near the Israeli settlement of Yitzhar as he approached the settlement, Palestine News Network (PNN) reported.

The boy later was identified as Suhaib Saleh from the village of Asseera Al-Qibliyeh, near the West Bank city of Nablus. Eyewitnesses said the boy died immediately upon receiving a fatal bullet. Suheib’s brother was killed in the same place in 2002.

The sources said that the boy was only 100 meters away from his home, but since the settlement had been built on land belonging to the villagers, so was adjacent to villager's houses.

Israeli sources claimed that the boy was in procession of a Molotov cocktail and a knife. Allegedly, he kept walking despite orders from soldiers telling him to stop. Soldiers opened fire and killed him.

This claim was strongly rejected by the head of the village council Hosni Sharif.

Sharif said, "The boy was not armed at all. The killing comes in a series of deliberate attacks on our houses and people."

The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service was able to take the boy's body after Israeli occupation forces kept it for several hours.

Settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar have escalated attacks against residents and their property for over a week. Settlers threw rocks at residents homes, and burned their olive groves.

Israeli occupation forces shoot to death a Palestinian on Gaza-Egypt border lines

Sunday September 21, 2008 03:07 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli occupation forces shot and killed late on Saturday night a Palestinian man, the army says he was infiltrating, along with two others, on the Gaza-Egypt border lines.

The army added that its troops, manning the borders with Egypt and Gaza, spotted late on Saturday night three Palestinian men, attempting to sneak into the border lines in southern Gaza Strip.

The soldiers opened fire at the three, killing one instantly, while the other two managed to escape the scene, the army explained, confirming the corpse of the slain was held for security reasons.

Almost three months ago, the Israeli occupation troops shot and killed a 21-year-old man on the southeastern Gaza Strip border lines, claiming the man was attempting to infiltrate into Israel to seek work.

For more than 15 months now, Israel has been closing all Gaza's border crossings, as Egypt keeps the Rafah crossing terminal in southern Gaza sealed off before Gaza's 1.5 million residents.

Noteworthy, the Israeli occupation army evacuated a 15-kilometer-long border lines with Egypt, following Israel's disengagement from Gaza in 2005. In 2007, a democratically-elected Hamas government took control of Gaza after ousting Fatah-allied security forces.

Free Gaza activist injured by Israeli naval water canon while accompanying fishing boat

Date: 20 / 09 / 2008 Time: 12:33
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

A Free Gaza activist who remained in Gaza to monitor the actions of the Israeli occupation Navy was injured on Wednesday after being shot by the Israeli occupation Navy with a high powered water cannon while accompanying Gazan fishermen 8 miles off the Gaza coast.

The activist, Italian Vittorio Arrigoni, was taken to hospital where he was treated for multiple lacerations to the back as the result of the glass windshield of the boat being shattered by the cannon blast, according to reports from the International Solidarity Movement.

A handful of Free Gaza activists, who sailed into the area from Cyprus and symbolically broke the siege on the Gaza Strip, have been working to monitor the sea border of the area, and ensure Israeli non-intervention. The group has reported, however, that Israeli occupation naval ships have prevented fishermen from heading into waters even 3 nautical miles off the coast.

The presence of international activists on fishing boats was announced to the world shortly after the 28 August departure of the ships for Cyprus. Reports say fishing boats have been able to head up to 8 nautical miles off shore, where the better fishing waters are, since the presence of the activists was announced.

The group has documented some of the attempts of the Israeli occupation navy to prevent fishing boats from moving freely in Gaza waters on video, and makes all such action public knowledge, in cooperation with local Gazans.

Ni’lin: 7 protesters 4 soldiers injured in anti-wall march

Date: 19 / 09 / 2008 Time: 20:21
Ni’lin – Ma’an –

Six Palestinians and an international peace activist were shot by live Israeli ammunition and dozens others choked on tear gas during a protest in the village of Ni’lin on Friday afternoon.

Sheikh Murad A’meera delivered the Friday sermon to locals and demonstrators before the march, in which he called for unity among Palestinians in the name of resistance to occupation. He congratulated those who participated in the event, and called for more actions to continue the struggle against the wall and settlements.

The non violent protest began after the Friday prayers, and saw demonstrators march from the village center to the lands confiscated by the construction of the separation wall.

The Israeli occupation army had placed barbed wire around the lands confiscated for construction of the wall, and prevented protesters from reaching the area by firing live bullets and tear gas at protesters. The group tried to disable the bulldozers working at the site, and succeeded for a short while.

Four Israeli occupation soldiers were injured when a group of village youth threw stones at soldiers firing live bullets.

Media spokesperson of the anti wall popular campaign in Ni’lin Salah Al- Khawjah said that there were seven local children who had been arrested ten days ago for throwing stones.

Military courts ordered the families pay 3,000 shekels (850 US dollars). Six of the seven arrested are under the age of eleven and should not have been charged. The seventh is 14-year-old Abed Ar- Rahman Al-Khawajah , whose parents the court ordered to pay 6,000 sheleks for his temporary release, after which he will be brought to trial for throwing rocks at a soldier.

Teargas injures dozens at weekly Bil'in protest; new route for wall rejected

Date: 19 / 09 / 2008 Time: 16:18
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

Protesters at the popular resistance demonstration in Bil’in on Friday were hosed with water mixed with tear gas this week, as Israeli occupation soldiers tried again to halt the procession of demonstrators as they made their way towards the construction site of the separation wall.

The weekly protest marked the 26th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacres, which saw the death of thousands of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The camps were then under Israeli control, since the army had invaded Lebanon as part of an ongoing war. It is alleged that Israeli troops coordinated or at least allowed Lebanese Phalangist forces into the camps, knowing they were about to carry out a massacre.

Carrying banners and chanting slogans lamenting the Israeli actions against Palestinians in the past and present, demonstrators tried to access village lands confiscated by the separation wall.

When the group got close to the area, Israeli occupation soldiers fired tear gas and sound bomb canisters, then sprayed water mixed with blue dye and tear gas, causing it to be absorbed into the skin.

On Wednesday, a third plan for the separation wall route was presented to the high court, which has ruled the current path an illegal violation of the rights of village residents. Since the High Court verdict, plans for a new route have consistently infringed on court orders to respect the agricultural lands belonging to the village.

The Popular Committee Against The Wall, who are participating in the legal proceedings, have requested that the latest plan also be rejected.

Israel kidnapped 200 Palestinian workers during Ramadan

Saturday September 20, 2008 00:56 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC

Haidar Ibrahim, Secretary General of the General Union of Palestinian Workers, reported on Friday that Israeli occupation forces have kidnapped more than 200 Palestinian workers in Israel since the beginning of the Holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Dozens of workers were abused then released later on.

Ibrahim stated that while Israel claims to implement measures that ease restrictions on movement, the army is doing the exact opposite. Israeli claims have become pure propaganda for media consumption and delude the International Community.

He added that Palestinian workers are not granted work permits in Israel and are being chased and harassed while trying to work and feed their families.

During the current month of Ramadan, the army has arrested 200 workers, including several women, and Israeli courts have imposed high fines on them.

Ibrahim also stated that the soldiers punched and clubbed at least 20 workers even though they carried the required work permits. In several cases soldiers tore the permits and threw them away.