Israeli Occupation Forces Kills a Palestinian in Gaza, Kidnap Five in West Bank, Continue Crackdown on Hamas Institutions in Nablus

Israeli occupation army shoots dead 18-year-old Palestinian near Kissufim crossing

Date: 10 / 07 / 2008 Time: 09:33
Gaza – Ma'an -

The Israeli occupation army killed a Palestinian on Thursday near the Kissufim crossing southeast of Khan Younis, southern the Gaza Strip.

Dr Mu'awiyah Hassanain, director general of ambulance and emergency services in the Gaza Strip, said that Israeli officials reported at 7:30 am on Thursday that a young man was shot dead by Israeli troops.

Dr Hassanain said that the young man was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, adding that he had sustained bullet wounds to the stomach and shoulder.

He said that medical evidence indicated the man was shot at around 4am, but the Israeli forces did not inform medical teams of the shooting until 7am, by which time it was too late to resuscitate him.

His body was taken to the Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza. Hospital sources

Medical sources from Al-Aqsa hospital central Gaza named the dead man as 18 year-old Salim Juma'a Hamidi from the village of Al-Zawaydah in the central Gaza Strip.

The Israeli occupation army confirmed that their forces killed a Palestinian close to the Gaza-Israeli border, near the Kissufim crossing.

Local sources in the Gaza Strip believe he was attempting to cross the border into Israel to look for work.

This is the first killing in Gaza by Israeli occupation troops since the truce began between Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel on June 19.

Israeli occupation forces detained five Palestinians across West Bank

Date: 10 / 07 / 2008 Time: 11:13
Bethlehem – Ma'an -

Israeli occupation forces detained five 'wanted' Palestinians from several cities in the West Bank, at dawn on Thursday.

Israeli sources said that the five are from Dura near Hebron and from Nablus. All the detainees were transferred to investigation centers for questioning.

Israeli crackdown on "Hamas" institutions in Nablus continues

Date: 10 / 07 / 2008 Time: 13:02
Nablus – Ma'an –

The Israeli occupation army continued its campaign against alleged Hamas-affiliated institutions in Nablus for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday, despite local and international criticism.

Health and media associations were targeted, with Israeli occupation forces closing the headquarters of the Hamas-affiliated Al-Afaq Television Station in Nablus, confiscating equipment.

Sajed Abu Salha the 21-year-old security guard at the building said that Israeli soldiers raided the building and its mosque at 1am.

Palestinian security sources said that more than 50 Israeli military vehicles stormed the city in the early hours of Thursday morning, breaking into the Ar-Rahma clinic in Fesal Street and the At-Tadamon clinic in the Rafidya neighbourhood, confiscating computers and medical equipment from the clinics.

Eyewitnesses told Ma'an's correspondent that Israeli forces also raided the headquarters of the Women's Associations in An-Najah Street in the west of the city, as well as a building where the Islamic Bank is located.

Meanwhile, also on Thursday morning, local sources said that Israeli forces confiscated three school buses belonging to the Islamic School and the Riyadh Al-Salihin School and the Wahat Al-Eman school.

On Tuesday the Israeli army stormed the Nablus Mall, confiscating documents related to funding projects as well as computers and cameras.

The Nablus Mall has 50 shops and offices, including the Al-Itiman company, which has a capital of 4 million Jordanian Dinars (5.64 million US dollars). Israel says this company funds Hamas and 'encourages terrorism.' The head of the Mall administration Adli Ya'aish has been in Israeli custody for a year and a half, accused of being affiliated to Hamas.

The Israeli army commander in Nablus issued an order that anyone who now enters the Nablus Mall will be imprisoned for five years. The order will come into effect on August 15.

The Israeli army issued a statement transferring the ownership of the Nablus Mall to the Israeli authorities from August 18.

Nablus governor Dr Jamal Muhaisen called on citizens not to abide by the Israeli closure of the mall and to reject all Israeli assertions that it is owned by Hamas. He said that 70 merchants and 4,000 Palestinians investors, from the Muslim, Christian and Samarian communities had business interests in the Nablus Mall.

He told Ma'an that the attacks on Nablus aimed to strike at the Palestinian National Authority and its institutions to undermine their efforts to improve the security situation in Nablus.

Israel's legal authorities have recently approved such raids on Hamas-affiliated Islamic charities in the West Bank, in a bid to curb Hamas' rising popularity. Israeli Forces have been carrying out similar raids in the Hebron, Qalqilyah and Ramallah areas since the beginning of the year, but the legal sanction means the campaign will now be expanded to other parts of the West Bank.

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