Illegal Israeli settlers swarm shepherd, shoot youth in chest

Published today (updated) 15/09/2009 11:10

Nablus – Ma’an –

A young Palestinian shepherd was shot in the chest by illegal Israeli settlers near the Yizhar settlement south of Nablus on Tuesday morning, he was evacuated to hospital in serious condition.

Official in charge of the settlements file in the northern West Bank Ghassan Doghlus said a group of settlers swarmed the youth, who was shepherding a flock of sheep and goats in the agricultural land of Einabus, which is just south of the settlement. When he heard the shots, the youth's older brother, 19-year-old Nader Allam, rushed from an adjacent hill and discovered his sibling had been shot.

Medical sources confirmed Allam was taken to Rafidia Hospital for treatment.

Israeli gunboats, patrols fire on Palestinians in Gaza

Published today 10:01

Gaza – Ma’an –

Israeli occupation forces naval squadrons opened fire on Gazan fishermen in their boats off the shore of Tel As-Sultan in Rafah on Tuesday morning, and military forces clashed with fighters in the north. No injuries were reported from either incident.

Eyewitnesses reported an Israeli gunboat fired on a cluster of fishermen on the southern coast of Gaza without warning, causing no damage or injuries.

In the north near Beit Lahiya, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)'s military wing, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, reported a clash with invading Israeli forces near the border area at the Al-Sifa neighborhood. A statement from the group said Israeli forces responded with machine gun fire and small grenades.

In their statement the group said they would maintain their resistance operations as a method of resisting the Israeli occupation.

Israeli occupation soldiers kidnap six Palestinians from across West Bank

Published today 11:27

Nablus – Bethlehem - Ma’an –

Israeli occupation forces invaded the Jenin area as well as Bethlehem early Tuesday morning, kidnapping six young men between the ages of 18 and 21.

The Public Relations office of the Palestinian police department identified those detained as:

Bassam Ahmad Amarnah, 21 years-old from Ya’abod village in Jenin
Muhammed Ibrahim Shakarnah, 18-years-old from Bethlehem
Ahmad Na'em Fanoun,18-years-old from Bethlehem
Ahmed Nidal Ulayan, 18-years-old from Bethlehem
Bilal Said Fanoun, 18-years-old from Bethlehem
Hamdy Sharaf Al-Nobany, age unknown, also from Bethlehem

The six young men were taken to an unknown location.

The Israeli occupation forces kidnap three civilians from Gaza

Monday September 14, 2009 15:36 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies

The Israeli occupation forces kidnapped on Monday three Palestinian civilians from the central Gaza strip during an invasion targeting border areas.

Witnesses said that occupation forces kidnapped the three civilians as tanks opened fire at nearby homes, damage was reported but no inquires.

Meanwhile Palestinian fighters attacked the invading forces and fired a number of homemade shells at their tanks. The Israeli military said that troops came under fire during the invasion but reported no injuries.

Eyewitnesses: Undercover Israeli occupation forces enter Gaza, detain three

Published yesterday (updated) 15/09/2009 09:41

Bethlehem – Ma’an –

Undercover Israeli occupation forces entered the Gaza Strip Monday morning and took three unidentified Palestinians from the bridge area near the Al-Bureij Refugee Camp in the central Strip, eyewitnesses said.

The operation is the second of its kind in the central region, with eyewitnesses reporting troops invading the same area on Saturday with troops entering 60 meters in under helicopter cover. Troops reportedly nabbed a farm guard and interrogated him for hours before setting him free. Israeli military sources denied the report.

Apparently as a retaliation for the invasion and detentions, unknown Palestinian resistance fighters launched a Rocket-Propelled Grenade at the undercover Israeli force. No casualties have been reported.

South of Al-Buraij, at the Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp, eyewitnesses said three mortar shells were fired at an Israeli vehicle patrolling the border fence east of the camp.

Israeli sources stated only that an anti-missile shell was fired at forces in the central Strip, and noted that soldiers did not return fire. They reported no casualties.

The Israeli occupation forces kidnap 12 civilians from the West Bank

Monday September 14, 2009 15:17 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies

Israeli occupation forces kidnapped 12 Palestinian civilians on Monday during pre dawn invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.

Palestinian sources reported invasions in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, Jenin and Nablus, northern West Bank, in addition to Hebron in the south.

the Israeli military radio reported that the 11 men and one woman were taken to detention camps for questioning.

CPT workers: Israeli occupation forces deliver 6 demolition orders in Al-Tuwani

Published yesterday (updated) 15/09/2009 00:01

Bethlehem – Ma’an –

Israeli occupation soldiers from the District Coordination Office (DCO) in Hebron delivered demolition orders to six Palestinian homes near the village of Al-Tuwani south of Hebron on Sunday night, observers from the Christian Peacemaker Teams said.

The village, located in the South Hebron Hills area, is designated "Area C" under the Oslo Accords and subject to full Israeli civil and military control.

The homes targeted with demolition orders were built over the course of the summer, CPT workers said. During construction, on 16 July, one building was completely destroyed, allegedly by Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’on or the outpost Havat Ma’on. The family, however, continued to build the home.

Stop work orders were delivered a few days later on 20 July. The order affected the partially-built home, a cistern, and one other small agricultural structure.

The demolition orders delivered Sunday likely indicate forces will come in the next 30 days and destroy the buildings.

Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove have documented the continuous expansion of the nearby illegal Israeli settlements of Ma’on, Avigail, and Havot Ma’on since 2004.

Hebronites mourn death of Obaida Al-Duwaik in Israeli detention

Published yesterday 20:26

Hebron – Ma’an – Hebronites mourned the death of 25-year-old detainee Obaida Al-Qudsy Al-Duwaik on Monday; the youth was detained moments after being shot by Israeli forces 20 days ago in Hebron.

Al-Dweik was shot in the stomach and legs while at the entrance of Al-Shuhada Street in Hebron. Obaida spent the next 20 days in an Israeli military hospital where he died Sunday.

The mourners held carried Obaida's body past the Al-Ansar Mosque on As-Salam road to the Martyr’s cemetery in central Hebron. Hundreds participated in the burial ceremony.

Gaza police: Israeli offensive hampered maintenance of law and order

Published yesterday (updated) 15/09/2009 09:40

Gaza – Ma’an –

The de facto government in Gaza released a police statement Monday reporting a significant decrease in the murder rate during the first half of 2009, despite a slow start due to Israel's Operation Cast Lead.

According to the report, there were 27 murders in the Strip between 1 January and 31 July 2009, the office did not provide the numbers for the same period in 2008, but said the rate was down significantly.

Police attributed the decrease to “the state of safety and security in Palestinian streets which came as a result of police efforts to impose sovereignty of law and order.”

According to the report, the number of cases solved and cleared, including robberies, public indecencies, and provision violations, were on the rise since January. The report noted the increase as follows:

In January police cleared 200 cases, in February 248 were cleared, 366 were cleared in March, and after a low of 220 in April the number of cases solved by police continued to rise with 377 in Mary, 533 in June, and 694 in July.

The report blamed the Israeli offensive on Gaza during December and January for the alarmingly low rate of cleared cases at the start of the year.

Israeli pilot killed as warplane crashes near Hebron

Published yesterday (updated) 15/09/2009 11:11

Bethlehem - Ma'an -

An Israeli military pilot was killed on Sunday when his F16 jet crashed during a flight near the illegal West Bank settlement of Pnei Hever, according to an Israeli military spokesperson.

The pilot, Capt. Asaf Ramon, 21, was reportedly the son of the famed Israeli astronaut Col. Ilan Ramon, who himself died in 2003 over the US state of Texas when the American space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon its reentry to Earth.

In a statement, Israel's military spokesperson claimed Ramon's aircraft "crashed during a routine flight as part of the advanced pilot training course," apparently being conducted over Palestinian territory some 12.5 kilometers from Israel's border.

Search and rescue forces were notified and called to the scene where they began large-scale searches, after which remains from the plane were found, according to the statement.

The military spokesperson added that the air force had opened an investigation, and that all F16 flights had been cancelled pending its outcome.