Israeli Occupation Army Kills a Palestinian Citizen and Injures Three in Gaza

Wednesday October 27, 2010 14:41 by Sandy Khair - IMEMC & Agencies

On Wednesday afternoon, a Palestinian man was killed by shrapnel fragments from an exploded artillery shell fired by Israeli tanks stationed in the town of Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip.

Medical sources at Kamal 'Adwan Hospital reported to the WAFA Palestine News Agency, that the citizen was identified as Jehad 'Afana, 20, who was transferred to the hospital following extensive injuries throughout his body from fragments of the exploded shell. The source added that another two citizens from the town of Beit Hanoun arrived at the hospital after being injured with shrapnel shells. A worker who was injured by Israeli troops positioned in military towers near Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, was also injured while he was collecting ballasts.

Israeli Occupation Gunboats Attack Palestinian Fishermen in Gaza

Wednesday October 27, 2010 13:14 by Sandy Khair - IMEMC & Agencies

On Wednesday at dawn, Israeli occupation forces gunboats opened fire at fishing boats off the shoreline in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

A WAFA correspondent reported that an Israeli gunboat opened fire randomly at Palestinian fishing boats, preventing them from fishing freely. In related news, Israeli war planes, flying at low altitudes over the Gaza Strip, carried out an intensive mock air attack and released small hot air balloons.The Authorities consider it a continuation of the aggressive actions targeting citizens living in the Gaza Strip.

Traditionally, many people in the Gaza Strip depend on fishing as the main source of their livelihood. However, the Israeli occupation and the illegal restrictions keep Gaza fishermen from fishing in their own waters and earning a livelihood. Therefore, fish from the Gaza Strip is sold at high prices that few people can afford, and has a negative effect on their economy.

Israeli Police Car Kills Palestinian Child

Wednesday October 27, 2010 12:03 by Sandy Khair - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli sources reported that on Tuesday night, a Palestinian boy from the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, was killed by an Israeli occupation government police car that ran over him in the town of Ashdod, in the southern part of Israel.

The source reported that the boy attempted to cross the road, which has no crosswalk, and the police driver could not avoid the pedestrian. The boy died instantly. Palestinian sources reported that the boy was identified as Mahmoud al-'Amour,17 years old, from Yatta. His body was sent to the Abu Kabir Forensic Medical Institute.

Medics: Israeli shells kill Gaza man

Published today (updated) 27/10/2010 13:53 GAZA CITY (Ma'an) --

Israeli occupation forces tank shells killed one Palestinian and injured another in Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to medics in Gaza.

Medics said Jihad Sobhi Afaneh, 20, was killed by shrapnel from tank shells. The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, said Afaneh was a member of the group.

An Israeli military spokesman said that based on an initial investigation, soldiers spotted two "suspects" near the border and fired on them, hitting one of them.

Meanwhile the An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, said it fired three mortars from the same area toward Israeli targets. Israeli media reported that one mortar exploded on the Israeli side of the border, causing no injuries or damage.

Earlier on Wednesday, a Palestinian worker was shot while collecting construction scrap near the Erez crossing in northern Gaza, medics also said.

In a separate incident, witnesses said an Israeli tank shell hit a house in Beit Hanoun, also in northern Gaza. The family living in the house was just meters away from the building when the shelling occurred, the same sources said.

Israeli soldiers frequently shoot and injure Palestinians who enter or approach a 300 to 500 meter "buffer zone" along Gaza's border with Israel. In September, Israeli tank shells killed a 91-year-old shepherd, his 17-year-old grandson, and his 16-year-old friend.

Medics: Israeli fire injures disabled Gaza man

Published yesterday (updated) 26/10/2010 22:49

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) --

Medics said a Palestinian man with a mental disability was injured by Israeli occupation forces fire near the northern border in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

The unnamed man, from the Al-Shuja'iyah neighborhood, sustained a gunshot wound to the leg near the Erez pedestrian crossing. He was taken to the Kamal Adwan Hospital, where his injury was described as moderate.

Israel's military did not return calls seeking comment.

On Thursday, Israeli forces fired live ammunition injuring two Gaza residents near the Strip's northern border a day after injuring a 65-year-old man near the border in the south, medics said.

Several Palestinians have sustained injuries as a result of Israeli fire near the border area. In particular, workers are regularly injured in the Israeli-imposed "no-go" zone, which forces consider a live combat area. Abu Salmiya said 17 workers, collecting gravel for construction use, have been injured by Israeli fire since the summer.

In a recent report, Defence for Children International said that "Due to a severe lack of job opportunities and a shortage of construction material entering Gaza from Israel, hundreds of men and boys scavenge for building gravel amongst the destroyed buildings close to the border fence."

DCI documented 12 incidents in which children were shot by Israeli forces in northern Gaza over the summer. The organization said reports indicated that soldiers also shot and killed the donkeys used by workers, as well as targeting the workers themselves.

In September, three Palestinians were killed near the border area in northern Gaza, including an elderly shepherd and two teenagers.

The Israeli occupation army said shortly after that investigations into the killings have revealed that not all of them were "involved in an act of terror."

Following a Ma'an inquiry, Brig.-Gen. Eyal Eisenberg said in a statement that while the investigations into the incident have not yet concluded, "We understand from a re-creation that we undertook that the three casualties were not involved in act of terror."

Israeli Occupation Forces Kidnap 5 from Nablus area

Published today 11:53 NABLUS (Ma'an) --

 Israeli occupation forces kidnapped five Palestinians, including four minors, from the villages of Madama and Beita in the northern West Bank district of Nablus.

Local sources identified the detained from Madama as Mujahed Abdullah Qet, 18, Akram Jebril Zyadeh, 16, Akram Issa Nassar, 16, and Muhammad Amer, 17, from Madma village and Ghaleb Fahmi Dwekat from Beita village.

An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the detentions.

Israeli Occupation Army Ransacks Homes; Detains Palestinians in Nablus

Wednesday October 27, 2010 10:30 by Mays Al-Azza - IMEMC & Agencies

The Palestinian News Agency Ma'an, reported on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation army detained five Palestinians from the villages of Madama and Beta in the southern part of Nablus.

Local sources stated that a large force of Israeli army personnel carried out the incursions, breaking into many houses, ransacking them and assaulting occupants in the process. The army took Mujahed Qatt, 18, Akram Zeyadeh, 16, Akram Nassar, 16, and Muhammad Ammer, 17 to undisclosed locations.