Israeli Occupation Forces Invade Northern Gaza Strip, Destroy Farm Lands, Injure, Detain Palestinians in West Bank

Israeli Tanks Invade Northern Areas Of The Gaza Strip And Destroy Farm Lands

Wednesday April 07, 2010 16:38 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies

A number of Israeli occupation forces tanks and bulldozers invaded on Wednesday midday farm lands close to the northern Gaza Strip boarders with Israeli and destroyed farm lands.

The lands are privately owned by Palestinian farmers from the nearby town of Jabalya, local sources reported.

Witnesses said that tanks advanced 500 meters inside the border area and opened fire at residents’ homes while bulldozers destroyed crops and trees. No injuries were reported.

Israeli Troops Detain Eight Palestinians, Among Them Two Injured, From The West Bank

Wednesday April 07, 2010 16:12 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies

Israeli occupation soldiers detained on Wednesday eight Palestinians during separate military invasions targeting West Bank communities.

Four Palestinians were detained during a military operation targeting the southern West Bank village of Bitta.

Undercover Israeli soldiers using a Palestinian car opened fire at a group of men at the village iterance injuring 33 years old Hitham Odah before detaining him and other three men. Troops later allowed a Palestinian ambulance crew to examine Odeh before he was taken away by the military.

Medics told media that Odeh sustained moderate wounds due to gunshot wounds. Another man who was detained with Odeh sustained cuts and broses after being beaten up by the soldiers, medics added.

Earlier on Wednesday four other Palestinian civilians were detained by Israeli soldiers during military invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.

Local sources reported military invasions in Nablus, southern West Bank, and Ramallah central West Bank in addition to Jericho city in the Jordan valley.

Illegal Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinians In Northern Wet Bank

Wednesday April 07, 2010 15:31 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies

Illegal Israeli settlers attacked on Wednesday midday Palestinians and their cars near the southern West Bank city of Nablus.

Ghassan Duglass, Palestinian government’s head of Settlements affairs department in northern West Bank, told local media that the settler gathered at the road connecting Nablus with nearby villages and hurled stones at Palestinian cars and residents.

No injuries were reported in the attack but some cars sustained damage.

Duglass added that the settler attacks on Palestinian famers and their property in increasing in northern West Bank.

There are nearly half a million Israeli settlers living in West Bank settlements which all are illegal under international law.

Illegal Israeli Settlers Aim To Evict Two More Palestinian Families in Sheikh Jarrah

Wednesday April 07, 2010 11:42 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Illegal Israeli settlers are trying to have two more Palestinian families evicted from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in occupied East Jerusalem, in order to allow the construction of Jewish-only homes in their place.

Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that the settlers want to build 200 units only designated for Jews in Sheikh Jarrah.

The settlers claim having documents that date back to the Ottoman empire, and that these document “prove that Jews owned the structures more than a 100 years ago.

Haaretz stated that the homes “belong to Jews of the Sephardic Community Committee” which is a settler organization that was granted power of attorney to administer the homes.

Israel claims that the Palestinians who live in those homes were regarded as protected tenants, and that the evicted residents were forced out of their homes “because they did not pay their rent”.

But after settlers organization headed to court, several Israeli judges decided to evict the Palestinians from their homes.

The Israeli High Court issued three rulings leading to the eviction of three Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. The Palestinians were replaced by Jewish settlers leading to ongoing clashes between the settlers and the residents who installed a protest tent nearby.

But the settlers are now eyeing on other Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah, and filed a petition to the Magistrate’s Court demanding the Palestinians to leave.

An Israeli peace activist said that the Israel removed the Palestinians from their homes and replaced them “with thugs and fundamentalists who are abusing the residents and threading them”.

The activist added that while the International Community is focused on Jerusalem, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is cooperating with the fanatic settlers in order to foil the chances of any peace deal with the Palestinians.

He also stated that Israelis who love peace and want stability must act and protest against settlements and ongoing violations in Sheikh Jarrah.

On Sunday, two Palestinians and three international activists were wounded after the army and the settlers attacked nonviolent protestors in Sheikh Jarrah.

The Israeli police also kidnapped one Palestinian of the Al Ghawi family, member of one of the families that were evicted and replaced by fundamentalist settlers.

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