Israeli military kidnaps 11 civilian during pre-dawn invasions targeting the West Bank

Monday March 16, 2009 15:03 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

During pre-dawn invasions targeting West Bank communities, the Israeli military kidnapped 11 Palestinian civilians on Monday, local sources reported.

The attacks were reported in Nablus, Jenin, Ramallah and Bethlehem, sources said. The Israeli Army radio said that those kidnapped have been taken to military interrogation camps; the army added that they are political activists. Palestinian sources said that all those kidnapped are civilians.

One injured and one kidnapped during Israeli military and settler attacks in Hebron

Monday March 16, 2009 14:59 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

One Palestinian civilian was reported injured and another kidnapped during Israeli military and settler attacks on Monday in the southern West Bank city of Hebron and a nearby village.

Ayaat al-Ja'bari, age 24, sustained moderate wounds after she was attacked by settlers, medcial sources reported. Her family reported that she was on her way back home in Hebron city, when settlers from a nearby illegal settlement threw stones at her. The residents say that the settlers attack them frequently, and some times they are aided by the military.

Meanwhile, Fadi Mohamed, age 19, was kidnapped by Israeli forces that invaded the village of Dura, near Hebron on Monday morning. Witnesses said that Israeli troops searched and ransacked a number of homes before taking the young man to an unknown location.

Settlers attack 22-year-old woman; vandalize homes in Hebron

Date: 16 / 03 / 2009  Time:  15:05
Hebron – Ma’an –

Illegal Israeli settlers injured a young West Bank woman during their attacks in the Wadi Al-Hussein neighborhood in Hebron Monday.

Ayat Abd Al-Karim Al-Ja’bari, 22, was hit in the head with a stone and taken to the Al-Ahali Hospital for treatment. She was described as suffering light wounds.

As settlers stormed through the area attacking several homes in Ar-Ras and Wadi Al-Hussein they vandalized buildings and caused material damage to the homes of Abd Al-Hay Matariyah and Jamil Matariyah.

Earlier Monday Israeli forces stormed town of Dura, south of Hebron, and took 16-year-old Fadi Suleiman Ash-Sharawnah from his home before sunrise. Troops withdrew after raiding several homes in the town.

Two Israeli police officers killed by Palestinian fighters

Monday March 16, 2009 05:23 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

A new Palestinian resistance group, the 'Imad Mougniyeh Brigades', has claimed responsibility for the killing of two Israeli police officers Sunday in the eastern part of the West Bank.

Jordan Valley, showing settlements and Palestinian towns - arrow shows Massuah (phot from ARIJ)

The officers were killed near the illegal Israeli settlement of Massuah, which was originally built in 1970 on confiscated Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley, and has grown to over 3,000 inhabitants.

Recently, Israeli forces have closed many parts of the Jordan Valley, preventing Palestinian farmers from reaching their land, and preventing the free passage of movement. This has greatly exacerbated tensions in the area.

The attack on the officers is the first of its kind in several months, although Israeli attacks on Palestinians have been commonplace in the same time period – including a massive 3-week long assault on Gaza that left over 1,300 dead.

The Imad Mougniyah Brigades took their name from the assassinated fighter Imad Moughniyah, who was part of the Hezbollah resistance group in Lebanon until his murder in 2008. Hezbollah claims no connection to the Palestinian group.

The two police officers were apparently driving on an isolated stretch of road near the settlement when they were shot and killed.