Monday 29 September 2014

Israel detains seven Palestinians over "stone" attacks


A Palestinian protester uses a sling to throw stones towards Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against the decision by Israel to expropriate 400 hectares (988 acres) of land near the West Bank village of Wadi Fukin on September 26, 2014. (Picture: AFP- Musa Al Shaer)
Published Sunday, September 28, 2014
Israeli forces have detained seven Palestinians in the occupied West Bank overnight under the pretext they had been involved in attacks against Israeli troops.
In a Sunday statement carried by the army radio, the military said the seven Palestinians were wanted over their suspected involvement in attacks against Israeli troops with stones and petrol bombs.
Three of the detainees were apprehended in Hebron, two in Husan and one in Bethlehem, the release said, without stating where the seventh was detained.
Israeli forces routinely conduct detention campaigns against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on claims that they are "wanted" by Israeli authorities.
Some 7,000 Palestinians are currently languishing in prisons throughout Israel, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs.
Opening Gaza's border after four-day closure
Israel on Sunday reopened the Gaza Strip's only functioning commercial crossing – the Kerem Shalom border terminal – after four days of closure due to Jewish holidays, a Palestinian official has said.
"Israeli authorities reopened the border crossing following a four-day closure," Mounir al-Ghalban, administrator for the Palestinian side of the crossing, told Anadolu Agency.
At least 380 trucks were allowed into the Gaza Strip, including 70 ones loaded with aid supplies, he added.
The remaining trucks carried commercial and industrial goods as well as limited amounts of cooking gas and fuel.
Al-Ghalban asserted that Israel had not yet taken any steps to lift the crippling blockade, under which the Gaza Strip has groaned since 2007.
A cease-fire deal, signed by Palestinian and Israeli negotiators in Cairo on August 26, calls for Israel to reopen its crossings with Gaza to commercial traffic.
The cease-fire ended Israel's 51-day onslaught on the densely-populated Gaza Strip, which left over 2,150 Palestinians dead – the vast majority of them civilians – and more than 11,000 injured.
However, the official said the crossing continued to operate at its pre-cease-fire capacity, being used mostly for the entry of foodstuff and humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
Blockaded by Israel – by air, land and sea – since 2007, the Gaza Strip has seven border crossings linking it to the outside world. Six of these are controlled by Israel, while the seventh – the Rafah crossing – is controlled by Egypt, which keeps it tightly sealed for the most part.
Israel sealed four of its commercial crossings with Gaza in June 2007 after Palestinian resistance movement Hamas wrested control of the strip from the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
As it currently stands, Israeli authorities allow the Kerem Shalom crossing – which links Gaza to both Israel and Egypt – to operate for commercial purposes.
The Gaza-Israel Erez crossing, meanwhile, is generally devoted to the movement of individuals between Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
(Anadolu)
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