Gaza children rally against Israeli blockade, fishing boats surrounded by Israeli warships, 18 Palestinians Kidnapped

At Egypt border, Gaza children rally against Israeli blockade

Date: 04 / 06 / 2009 Time: 15:29
Gaza – Ma’an –

Palestinian children rallied in protest of the siege of Gaza at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt as US President Barack Obama spoke in Cairo on Thursday.

The demonstration, under the banner “A message from Palestine children to Obama” was organized by the High National Committee to celebrate Jerusalem as Capital of the Arab Culture for 2009 and the local Ata’a society.

The director of the committee that organized the protest Izz Ad-Din Al-Masri said the demonstration “coincides with the speech that US President Obama is expected to deliver in Cairo, so that we will be able to deliver a message to the new world regime that the children of Palestine are still under Israeli siege and killing.”

Palestinian children carried banners in English and Arabic urging Obama to work to lift the Israeli-Egyptian siege of Gaza.

Organizer Al-Masri pointed out that the ongoing blockade has claimed the lives of Palestinian patients who have been unable to travel abroad for treatment, and hampered efforts to rebuild following the Israeli offensive in December and January.

Gaza fishing boats surrounded by Israeli warships

Date: 04 / 06 / 2009 Time: 10:15
Gaza – Ma’an –

Israeli occupation forces warships surrounded two fishing boats off the coast north of Gaza City on Thursday morning.

The boats belong to Omar Al-Habil and Omar Al-Hissi, according to sources in Gaza. No arrests or injuries have been reported.

There have been frequent reports of Israeli gunboats harassing Palestinian fishermen along the Gaza coast in recent weeks. In February Israel imposed a three-mile limit for Gaza fishermen, far short of the 20 miles guaranteed by the Oslo peace agreement.

Israeli occupation forces kidnap 18 Palestinians overnight

Date: 04 / 06 / 2009 Time: 09:41
Bethlehem/Nablus – Ma’an –

Israeli occupation forces kidnapped 18 Palestinians during overnight raids across the West Bank, the military said on Thursday.

According to the Israeli occupation army, four were detained in the Nablus area, one in the Ramallah area, three in the Bethlehem area and four near Hebron. The Palestinians are being held in unknown locations.

Ma’an identified three of those taken from the Nablus area. The three were from the villages of Aqraba and Qasra, south of Nablus, among them a young man who was only released from prison the previous day.

Anwar Odeh from the village of Qasra told Ma’an: “Israeli troops detained my brother Akram Dawood Odeh, 36. He is a father of five children and he was detained after eight hours of his release and after paying an 8,000 shekel penalty.”

Odeh also said that the troops invaded their house at 1:30am and abducted Akram Dawood Odeh.

Meanwhile Palestinian security sources said Israeli occupation soldiers detained Musa Muhammad Hussein Abu Reida, 16, from the village of Qasra, and Mahmoud Ghaleb Bani Jaber, 28, from Aqraba, after raiding their houses.

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