Israeli occupation forces cuts off Nablus village from water supply; taps run dry

Date: 19 / 12 / 2008  Time:  10:52
Nablus – Ma’an –

A village near Nablus is completely without water after Israeli occupation forces suddenly cut water lines into the area on Friday, according to a municipal official.

Awad Duwaikat of the Beita Municipality said Israel did not provide a reason for cutting the water to Beita. When villagers turned the taps on nothing came out, and it soon became clear the whole area was without the service.

A formal letter of notification saying the water had been cut off was received by the municipality Friday morning.

The Israeli military spokesperson would not return calls to clarify the situation.

Duwaikat called on the Red Cross and others to intervene in the decision, saying “at this moment” there is not a drop of water in the city.

He called the water main cuts “embarrassing, especially considering that tomorrow (Saturday) is an official holiday for people in the village.”

A Israeli military raid was carried out in the village on Wednesday and 15 were arrested. While the water cut may be related to the invasion, there is no information to confirm this.

Beita’s 10,000 residents consume about 500 cubic meters of water each day, the municipality said.

Israeli occupation soldier injured in Al-Aqsa attack on Israeli jeep near Hebron

Date: 19 / 12 / 2008  Time:  14:43
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

An Israeli occupation soldier was injured in an attack by the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Brigades in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, according to a statement.

The armed group said it fired on a passing Israeli military jeep while passing on the main road in the town of Ash-Shuyoukh, near Hebron, injuring one soldier.

The armed group claimed in a statement that the attack “comes in response to the Israeli violations being carried out against Palestinians and arrests targeting Brigades leaders.”

Israeli occupation forces invade Jenin, kidnap man at nearby village

Date: 19 / 12 / 2008  Time:  11:18
Jenin – Ma’an –

Israeli occupation soldiers overran the northern West Bank city of Jenin and a nearby village, where they kidnapped a young man on Friday morning, according to Palestinian Authority (PA) security sources.

The occupation soldiers kidnapped a young Palestinian man from the village of Araba, southwest of Jenin, and invaded Jenin proper, as well.

PA security sources told Ma’an that troops overran the village in a dawn raid, before detaining 22-year-old Farouq Muhammad Mousa and breaking into his home.

He was then taken to an undisclosed location, PA sources said.

According to witnesses, Israeli occupation forces surrounded Mousa’s home, launching percussion grenades and telling residents to evacuate the home.

In Jenin, Israeli occupation forces only opened fire in the air before withdrawing. No one was detained or injured in that raid, witnesses said.

Repeated calls to an Israeli military spokesperson went unanswered on Friday.

Human rights group: Israeli occupation forces escalating attacks on Gaza

Date: 19 / 12 / 2008  Time:  09:38
Bethlehem - Ma'an -

Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights on Friday accused Israeli occupation forces of of escalating attacks on the Gaza Strip and destroying Palestinian property, as well as a military attack that killed at least one man.

The Israeli occupation army "has escalated its military attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing a Palestinian and destroying houses and other civilian premises."

Meanwhile, Israel's tight blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, resulting with unprecedented deterioration of the humanitarian situation due to severe shortages of food, water, fuel and medical supplies, the group said in a statement.

Daily power outage, which lasts for long hours in Gaza, has exacerbated this crisis.

Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemned Israel's "continuous aggression against civilians in the Gaza Strip." Missile attacks that "target" homes and civil premises "represent a grave breach of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately," the group said.

The center also condemned the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, which represents "a form of unlawful collective punishment of the Strip's population."

"The consequences of this blockade on civilians' wellbeing and human rights have been outrageous," the statement added.

Al-Mezan calls on the international community "to intervene without delay to ensure" protection of the civilian population under Israel's occupation, and particularly in the Gaza Strip, it said.

"The silence of the international community will only serve to encourage Israel to step up military operations, which, as experience shows, means killings of civilians and destruction of their property in Gaza," the rights group claimed.