Witnesses: Israeli tanks operating in Gaza

Published today (updated) 05/01/2010 14:38

 Gaza – Ma’an –

 Israeli occupation forces tanks and bulldozers advanced into the Khuza’a area east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, witnesses said.

Four tanks and two bulldozers razed farmland in the area, residents reported. Farm workers were seen fleeing the advancing forces for fear of being shot.

Israeli occupation troops regularly operate in the border areas of the Gaza Strip.

On Monday night, Palestinian fighters said they narrowly escaped a missile fired by an Israeli warplane in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) reported the airstrike.

In a statement received by Ma’an, the group said that they fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli military watchtower along the border in northern Gaza.

An Israeli military spokesman said based on an initial investigation, officials were unaware of any airstrikes.

Israel occupation forces kidnap six Palestinians

Published today (updated) 05/01/2010 15:27

 Jerusalem - Ma'an -

Israeli occupation forces kidnapped two Palestinians in the Old City of Hebron, Ma'an's reporter in the city said on Tuesday.

Local sources identified the kidnapped as Ibrahim Abu Fara, 21 and Aahid Hamdan, 22, both from the village of Surif, northern Hebron.

Additionally, Israeli occupation forces detained Jamal Az-Zeir, 21, from Dura, southern Hebron, and took him to an unknown location, the sources added.

Israeli media reported on Tuesday that three Hebronites were detained Monday evening near Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

According to the Israeli website Ynet, the suspects told investigators that they planned to carry out a stabbing attack against "a Jew or a security officer."

The three Palestinians were taken away for investigation, the daily reported, adding that a knife was found in the vehicle they were travelling in.

The Israeli military kidnaps 11 civilians from the West Bank

Monday January 04, 2010 16:10 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies

11 Palestinian civilians, amongst them 3 children, were kidnapped by Israeli occupation troops on Monday during invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.

Four men were kidnapped by Israeli troops that invaded down town Jenin city, northern West Bank, local sources reported.

Elsewhere Israeli occupation troops attacked and searched homes at the Al-Aroop refugee camp near Hebron city, southern West Bank. Soldiers kidnapped four men and then left, witnesses told local media.

Meanwhile three children were kidnapped by Israeli troops in Hebron's Old City districy. The children were released several hours later.

Also in Hebron's Old City, a group of Israeli settlers living in illegal settlements in the old city, hurled stones and glass bottles at Palestinians passing by. Witnesses reported no injuries in the attack.

The Israeli occupation army radio announced that all those kidnapped by troops were taken to military detention camps for questioning.

FPLP Fighters Survive An Assassination Attempt in Gaza

Monday January 04, 2010 21:09 by IMEMC News

The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine, reported Monday that a group of its fighters survived an assassination attempt when an Israeli drone fired a missile at them.

It stated that its fighters were on their way back from a mission when they were targeted by the Israeli drone, no injuries were reported.

The Brigades said that its fighters targeted, on Monday morning, a military tower in the central Gaza Strip by firing an RPG shell at it.

The Brigades added that on Monday evening a group of its fighters fired another shell at a military tower in northern Gaza.

It stated that its fighters will continue their resistance against the Israeli occupation, and called on all of its fighters to intensify their attacks against the occupation and its aggression.