wednesday, the first snow of the season falls on palestinians in ramallah
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IN PALESTINE 1948:
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wednesday, occupation forces
invaded sha'fat refugee camp in east jerusalem and demolished a palestinian house. military bulldozers and occupation border police demolished the house of Tayseer al-Golani, claiming that he did not have the proper permits depsite the fact that the home was built on palestinian land. during the demolition, palestinian demonstrators confronted occupation forces with stones. soldiers responded by firing rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas and concussion grenades.
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IN THE WEST BANK:
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palestinians argue with a soldier to cross huwarra checkpoint south of nablustuesday, occupation authorities have
approved the construction of a new colonial settlement despite international law and their promised to freeze settlement construction as part of a plan for peace with the palestinians. the colony will be built in the northern jordan valley, in the eastern section of the west bank. it will contain 30 housing units to house settlers evacuated from the former colonial settlement of gush katif, formerly located in gaza. gush katif is known to contain some of the most ideological settlers in palestine. the construction will begin within two weeks.
tuesday,
colonial settlers bulldozed palestinian farm land in al thahira, south of al-khalil (hebron). the settlers bulldozed a 40 dunum (10 acre) area which was used to farm crops. the palestinian farmer reported that the enarby settlers have been trying to push his out to expand their colonial settlement.
tuesday, occupation forces
invaded a medical center in beit 'awwa, west of al-khalil (hebron). the director of the center, Mohammed al-Sweiti, reported that soldiers stormed the three storey building and destroyed seven doors, several computers and medical equipment. the night shift doctor, a nurse and an ambulance driver were detained against a wall for two hours. the medical center services more than 35,000 palestinians in the doura town and village in the hebron area.
tuesday, occupation forces invaded jenin and jenin refugee camp and
seized two men. Mahmoud Sadi, a leader with islamic jihad in jenin was taken. a second, unnamed man was also seized.
tuesday, occupation forces invaded aida refugee camp, north of bethlehem and
seized one man. Mahmhoud Hirzallah, 18, was seized after his home was invaded.
tuesday, occupation forces invaded al-khadr, south of bethlehem, and
seized one man. Mohammed Salah was taken to an unknown location.
tuesday, occupation forces invaded hija, in qalqiliya and
seized one man. Rafeq Nofal, 20 was taken to an unknown location.
tuesday, occupation forces invaded al-ezzariya, east of jerusalem and
seized two men. Mujahed Abu Romi, and his son Hakam, 18 were seized after their home was invaded. during the raid, Hakam was severely beaten.
tuesday, occupation forces invaded yatta village, near al-khalil (hebron)
and seized two men. Trad Abu I'ram, 30 Fadel Abu I'ram, 35, were ambushed by undercover soldiers as they drove through the village. the undercover occupation soldiers wrre followed by a military jeep convoy which transported them men.
wednesday,
occupation forces detained two volunteers with the international solidarity movement for four hours during a solidarity visit in the al-khalil (hebron) area. the activists were in the area to escort palestinian school children from home to school to protect them from attack by colonial settlers. the solders claimed that the palestinian house the activists were visitng was a "closed military zone." the activists are from spain and south africa.
to view the report:wednesday, occupation forces invaded al-khalil (hebron) and
seized five palestinians. Tarrad Othman, 30, from hebron, and Fadil Azzam, 39, from yatta, were seized and are said to be fatah activists. Muayyad Muhtasib, 21, a university student was also seized after his home was invaded. the other two men's names were not released.
wednesday, occupation forces invaded arqa village, southwest of jenin and
seized two men. Omar Salih and Mohammad Ahmad were taken in the invasion.
tuesday,
occupation forces invaded irtah, east of tulkarem. during the invasion, occupation soldiers forcibly entered numerous homes and shops.
wednesdy, occupation soldiers stationed at zatara checkpoint south of nablus forced palestinian travelers to wait for long periods of time in the rain. the drivers were made to exit their cars in the pouring storm rains, under no shelter, while their vehicles were searched.
wednesday, occupation forces
invaded qabatia, south of jenin and invaded numerous homes. occupation forces claim that the homes were linked to fighters from islamic jihad's al-quds brigades. the families of the wanted men were told to turn in their relatives or else, the fighters would be "eliminated" by occupation forces.
wednesday, occupation forces invaded nablus and
seized four palestinians after invading numerous homes.
wednesday, occupation forces invaded Aida refugee camp in bethlehem and
seized three men. Ahmad Yousef, 17, Mohammad Fathi and Mahomud Atallah were taken.
wednesday, occupation forces invaded al-khadr, south of bethlehem and
seized one man, Ali Juma'h, 19.
wednesday, occupation forces invaded rashaida, east of bethlehem and
seized one man, Ali Awdah, 21.
wednesday, occupation forces invaded bethlehem and
seized five men, Mohammed al-Radi 17, and Mahmoud Herzallah 16, and three other unnamed men.
wednesday, occupation forces
seized an additional three palestinians. the location of the raids and the names of those taken were not released.
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----------------------My mother gave birth to me here 80 years ago. I prefer death than to see the Wall eat this
Najib Farrag, Palestine News Network - Wednesday, 27 December 2006, 17:31
"Twenty Israeli military vehicles stormed Umm Salamuna Village south of Bethlehem to protect four military bulldozers. The bulldozers were massive and there to bulldoze Palestinian land for Wall construction. What they needed protecting from was the nonviolent demonstration that farmers and residents began in order to save their land. Hundreds of farmers rushed to the area, with people coming from surrounding villages to advocate for the citizens of Umm Salamuna in defending the land.
Quickly, confrontations began as the people refused to allow Israeli forces to destroy the Palestinian land. Fist fights and scrambling, rifle butts and fire were the Israeli responses to the farmers. Six Palestinians were injured, including 70 year old farmer Mousa Mohammad. Israeli soldiers beat him in the head with clubs. He was wrested away by fellow demonstrators and rushed to a neighboring village's medical center for treatment. Twenty seven year old Amer has bruises all over his body and internal injuries due to a violent beating with clubs and rifle butts."
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----------------------IDF offered to 'transfer' 2 W. Bank villages, court told
By Yuval Yoaz, and Jonathan Lis Haaretz Correspondents and The Associated Press
A petition to the High Court of Justice heard Monday states that the Israel Defense Forces has offered to "voluntarily transfer" the residents of two villages in the West Bank, in order to avoid disruption over the route of the separation fence.
The offer to the two villages, which are located within the territorial perimeter claimed by the adjacent settlement of Alfei Menashe, came after the court determined that the current route of the fence in the area was illegal.
The court ruled more than a year ago in favor of a peition by the residents of five villages in the "Alfei Menashe enclave," and told the IDF to dismantle the fence where it cut the villages off from the rest of the West Bank.
...
The petition brands the IDF offer as "encouragement of voluntary transfer with the purpose of annexing the land to Israel."
According to the offer, the villages would be relocated to another area within the West Bank.
The term "voluntary transfer" was coined by slain cabinet minister Rehavam Ze'evi to describe a program of encouraging Palestinians to leave the West Bank and Gaza.
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----------------------Residents of West Bank go without water for 48 hours
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent
Tens of thousands of residents of settlements and Palestinian villages in the Gush Dolev-Talmonim and Nili Na'aleh areas in the West Bank, have gone without water for the past 48 hours, due to a malfunction in the Kiryat Sefer-Herevta-Dolev water pipeline.
The emergency reservoir planned for Talmon has yet to be built, due to Defense Minister Amir Peretz's refusal to authorize the project.
...
In recent months, there have been several water stoppages in the area, which in recent years has seen significant population growth, primarily among the Palestinians.
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IN THE GAZA STRIP:
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tuesday,
occupation forces shot and injured a palestinian farmer in the atara area of beit lahiya in northern gaza. Ismail Sadi Ghaban, 27, was shot in the thigh and knee and is currently in critical condition due to severe bleeding. Ghaban was shot by nearby occupation soldiers as he was working on his farm.
tuesday, a palestinian
ambulance was delayed by occupation forces and the private property of the injured man was destroyed. the ambulance was stopped at the beit hanoun crossing for three hours and the injured man's bag was detonated by the bomb squad. the bag contained the man's clothes.
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FROM THE RESISTANCE:
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members of the israeli foreign service examine old home made rockets that have been fired by palestinian fightersmonday, the al-aqsa martyrs brigades, the main military wing of fatah, launched six home made rockets at occupation towns. the brigades reported that the opersation comes in retaliation for the killing of palestinians in the west bank.
monday, the al-quds brigades, the military wing of islamic jihad, launched one home made rocket at sderot.
tuesday, Abu Mujahid, a spokesman for the popular resistance committees stated that the violence of the occupation will lead the salah addin brigades to retaliate. on behalf of the popular resistance committees, and their military wing the nasser salah adidn brigades, Abu Mujahid released the following statement: "The Israeli occupation should know that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are one, it cannot be divided or partitioned, the arrests, the destruction and the assassinations committed by the Israeli forces in the West Bank will be retaliated for in the West Bank as well as in the Gaza Strip."
tuesday, the al-aqsa martyrs brigades, the main military wing of fatah, launched eight home made rockets at sderot.
tuesday, the al-quds brigades, the military wing of islamic jihad, launched two home made rockets at sderot. the brigades reported that the operation is in retaliation for occupation attacks and the repeated violations of the november ceasefire. the brigades also launched one projectile at ashkelon, in retaliation for the arrest of Mahmoud Sadi, a leader of the brigades in jenin.
wednesday, Abu Hamza, the spokesman for the al-quds brigades, the military wing of islamic jihad, announced that his fighters will continue to fire home made rockets at occupation targets as long as the occupation continues attacking the palestinian people. Hamza stated that the brigades have intensified their projectile launching against sderot to send a message to its residents: "
No security for you, as long as there is no security for the Palestinians in the territories". speaking on the first anniversary of the first projectile to land in ashkelon, he said, "
on this occasion we remind the Israelis that they have to leave our lands, and that we are still developing our projectiles, in order to be more destructive." addressing the israeli prime minister, Hamza stated "
it is you who have chosen death to your people after you continued the killing of ours. Stop your aggression and killing in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, or you will be facing more projectiles in Sderot and Ashkelon and beyond."
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---------------Palestinians from Um Salamunah village, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, nonviolently tried to block Israeli army bulldozers from destroying their lands on Tuesday afternoon.
Residents reported that military bulldozers and army jeeps invaded the village in order to continue the construction of the illegal Wall around the city of Bethlehem.
Village residents stood in front of the bulldozers and managed to delay the work starting, local sources reported.
Troops and military bulldozers remain in the village, more backup troops have arrived to reinforce their presence. The residents have appealed to human rights organizations to intervene and help them in the protection of their lands.
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U.S. challenges Israel on plans for new West Bank settlement
By News Agencies
Israel's plan to construct a new community the West Bank to house former Gaza Strip settlers drew rare criticism Wednesday from the United States.
If Israel goes ahead, it would violate Israel's obligations under the road map for peacemaking, a State Department spokesman said.
"The U.S. calls on Israel to meet its road map obligations and avoid taking steps that could be viewed as predetermining the outcome of future negotations," the spokesman, Golzalo R. Gallegos, said.
Israel agreed to the road map in 2003. It was devised by the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia in an effort to guide Israel and the Palestinians into an agreement that estalishes a Palestinian state.
The European Union said earlier Wednesday it was deeply concerned about the plan, which would turn a former Israel Defense Forces base in the West Bank into a settlement for 30 settler families evacuated from Gaza last year.
A U.S.-backed Israeli-Palestinian peace plan known as the road map calls for a halt to settlement construction in the West Bank, land Palestinians want for a state.
"This development runs contrary to the commitment undertaken by Israel in the road map," Finland, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, said in a statement.
"The Presidency of the European Union expresses its deep concern at the news that the Israeli government has authorized the construction of the Maskiot settlement in the West Bank.
"Such unilateral actions are also illegal under international law and threaten to render the two-state solution physically impossible to implement," it said.
The families planning to move to the former army base in Maskiot lived in two of the 21 settlements Israel dismantled in the Gaza Strip in 2005 under the disengagement plan promoted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Some 8,500 settlers were pulled out of the Gaza Strip, along with IDF troops, after 38 years of control.
"The Presidency of the EU urges the parties to refrain from all activities that would endanger the cease-fire," Finland said. "Extending the ceasefire to the West Bank must be an urgent goal."
Some 260,000 settlers live in the West Bank, among 2.5 million Palestinians. The World Court has branded Israeli settlements on land captured in the 1967 Six Day War as illegal.
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RAMALLAH, December 26, 2006 (WAFA) - Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Tuesday that Population projections reveal that the total number of Palestinian people at the end of 2006 is estimated to 10.1 million.
PCBS said in its report on the Demographic and Socioeconomic Status of the Palestinian People at the end of 2006 that 3.95 million have usual residence in the Palestinian Territory, Gaza Strip and West Bank including Jerusalem, (39.2%), 1.1 million (11.2%) live in Israel, 2.8 million (27.7%) in Jordan, 1.6 million (16.2%) in other Arab states, and 573 (5.7%) thousands live in other countries.
The report added that 2010 is expected to witness population dichotomy. The estimated number of the Palestinian population in historic Palestine (Palestinian territory and Israel) was estimated to 5.1 million at end of 2006 compared with 5.4 million Jews according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
The Palestinian population is projected to 5.3 million at end 2007 against 5.5 million Jews. Population dichotomy at 5.7 million is expected at the end of 2010, according to the report.
The PCBS reported that the population of the Palestinian Territory is estimated to about 4 million at the end of 2006 thereof 2.5 million (63%) in the West Bank and 1.5 million (37%) in Gaza Strip.
According to the distribution of the population by Governorates, Hebron Governorate has the largest population size where 14% of the total population live in Hebron. Gaza Governorate hosts 13%, Jerusalem Governorate comes third at 10.5%. On the other hand, Jericho and Al-aghwar Governorate has the lowest rate of population at the end of 2006 at 1.1%.
According to the most recent estimates, 45.7% of the population in the Palestinian Territory are under 15 years, 43.9% in the West Bank and 48.8% in Gaza Strip. The percentage of Palestinians who are above 65 years in the Palestinian Territory is 3.0%, this figure reached 3.3% in the West Bank and 2.6% in Gaza Strip.
It revealed that the total fertility rate in 2003 was 4.6 births, 4.1 births in the West Bank and 5.8 births in Gaza Strip, according to Demographic and Health Survey 2004. The average number of children ever born to ever married women in the Palestinian Territory in 2004 was 4.5 , 4.3 in the West Bank and 4.9 in Gaza Strip.
"The decline in the mortality rate in the Palestinian Territory led to longer life expectancy to reach 71.7 years for males and 73.2 years for females in 2006," according to the report. "There are regional discrepancies, life expectancy in the West Bank is 71.9 years for males and 73.6 years for females compared with 71.4 years for males and 72.5 years for females in Gaza Strip."
wednesday, members of the palestinian presidential guard have a snow ball fight outside president Abbas' headquarters in ramallah.
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