- 30 dec 2010
Rotim Settlers Seize Land Near Tubas; Minister Arrested in Hebron
Detainees reveal how IOF soldiers shot at, wounded them
IOF soldiers detain six Palestinians, settlers attack farmers
Eight Detainees Injured, Dozens Treated For Gaza Inhalation After Being Attacked By Soldiers
29 oct 2012, 12:15 , Respect -
Maria 31 dec 2010
Ashkenazi with IOF troops storm Yusuf's tomb
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi accompanied by IOF troops, Friday at dawn, stormed Yusuf's tomb in the northern West Bank city of Nablus with strict protection provided by the IOF and Abbas's militia.
Local sources said that IOF troops raided circled the area of the tomb after midnight and snipers took positions on rooftops in preparation for the storming which has become a recurring event by settlers and occupation troops who are trying to establish a permanent presence at the tomb.
Israeli radio said that Ashkenazi was accompanied by the two chiefs rabbis Yona Mtzger (Ashkenazi Rabbi) and Shlomo Amar (Sephardi Rabbi) to inspect the renovation work being carried out on the tomb, indicating intentions to take the tomb over.
This visit provokes fear that the situation at the tomb will return to how it was before the start of the Aqsa Intifada in 2000 when settlers visited the tomb regularly and stayed overnight at the site, encouraged by the security provided by Abbas's militia.
Settler organisations have been calling for this for some time citing that security fears that prevented their return to the site are no longer valid.
http://bit.ly/hBu8zS
'Israel can't last long in regional wars'
Israeli tanks
Israel is not able to endure a long war with a powerful regional opponent due to its geographical restrictions, Director of IGA (Institute for [Persian] Gulf Affairs) Ali al-Ahmed says.
Ahmed referred to the 2006 war in Lebanon, saying, The Israeli forces were drained very quickly after only few weeks of war, because Israel does not have the geographical depth.
In an interview with Press TV, Ahmed warned, As the experience of long wars [show], any war with a formidable state in the region or a formidable force in the region will push Israel to use something more than conventional weapons.
He argued that so far, all the regional wars against Israel have been limited wars and that is why they have not yet threatened the existence of Israel.
Ahmed described the west's stance against Iran's peaceful nuclear program as a double standard saying, They do not raise this issue with Israel, but they are driving the issue with sanctions and other moves against Iran, despite the fact that Iran has not developed any nuclear stockpile.
A newly-released state document in Britain has revealed that Israel was prepared to use a nuclear bomb in the event of an armed conflict with its Arab neighbors, a report says.
The official paper discloses communications between John Robinson, a former British ambassador to Tel Aviv, and the UK Foreign Office, in which the former diplomat cautioned about an Israeli nuclear attack.
Israel, which is widely believed to be the sole possessor of a nuclear warheads cache in the Middle East, has so far neither confirmed nor denied having a nuclear arsenal.
In 1986, Israeli nuclear technician at Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev desert Mordechai Vanunu leaked the news that Israel had between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons.
In May 2010, the British daily The Guardian newspaper reported that secret South African documents revealed that in 1975, Israel offered to sell nuclear warheads to the then-apartheid regime in South Africa.
Tel Aviv has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has also adamantly rejected international inspections of its nuclear facilities.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/158011.html
29 oct 2012, 12:15 , Respect -
Maria 31 dec 2010
Jewish settlers confiscate Palestinian land in Toubas
Israeli Troops Arrest Seven Overnight, Allegedly Beat Woman
Settlers to Receive 3,160 Shekels Each for "Security Expenses" in 2011
- 23 dec 2010
Israeli settlers building 100 illegal homes: NGO
Yitzhar settlers blamed for attack on farmers
National committee holds Israel responsible for life of detainee Asfour
29 oct 2012, 12:13 , Respect -
Maria 24 dec 2010
IOF fire kills shepherd wound farmer in Gaza
GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian farmer was wounded Friday morning by IOF fire in the northern Gaza Strip while a shepherd wounded by IOF fire on Thursday succumbed to his wounds at hospital, according to Palestinian medical sources.
At the same time the Israeli occupation navy boats fired at Palestinian fishermen opposite Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and Israeli occupation artillery fired at open areas east of Gaza city.
Spokesman for medical services in Gaza, Adham Abu Selmeyya, said that IOF troops opened fire on Friday morning towards a group of Palestinians to the north of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia wounding a farmer in his foot.
The victim was taken to Kamal Odwan hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Salama Abu Hashish, a shepherd who was wounded on Thursday morning by IOF fire, succumbed to his wounds on Thursday afternoon.
IOF troops fired on Thursday morning at a group of Palestinian shepherds in the near Beit Lahia wounding three of them.
Since the start of the month of December the IOF have killed 13 Palestinians and wounded 30 others.
http://bit.ly/hpRvHn
29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 24 dec 2010
1 hurt in clashes in Nabi Saleh
A picture of the Nabi Saleh resident who was shot with 12 rubber-coated bullets this morning
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A young Palestinian man was injured Friday when Israeli forces raided the village of Nabi Saleh.
Dozens of Palestinian youths confronted the forces and clashes erupted.
A young man identified as Adi At-Tamimi was hospitalized with breathing difficulties.
The army also invaded the village on Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344958
60 year-old&a 52 year-old woman hit in the forehead&back of the head respectively by tear-gas projectiles in Nabi Saleh. Being evacuated now
2 Israeli demonstrators, a Palestinian protester and a medic were just hit by rubber-coated bullets in Nabi Saleh. 2 Israelis were arrested
Soldiers shooting tear-gas into Nabi Saleh cover the village with it http://twitpic.com/3j2tpi
1000 people marching in Silwan against home demolitions & #AdnanGheith's expulsion from Jerusalem http://twitpic.com/3j2qdl
After shooting a Nabi Saleh resident with 12 rubber-coated bullets earlier today, the army is now inside the village shooting tear-gas
29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 24 dec 2010
Settlers and IDF Attempt to Steal Old Village Mosque, Beit Ommar, West Bank, Palestine
IOF troops storm Negev prison, confiscate captives winter clothes
29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 25 dec 2010
Israel escalates air strikes on Gaza, wounds two in night raids
RAFAH, (PIC)-- Israeli warplanes blasted targets in central and southern Gaza Strip before dawn Saturday wounding two citizens who were passing by one of those targets, medical sources reported.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for medical services, told the PIC reporter that two Palestinians were hurt when Israeli warplanes targeted a training position for the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in central Gaza after midnight Friday.
He added that the targeted position was on the outskirts of the Nusseirat camp in central Gaza, noting that the strike caused a huge blast.
Meanwhile, sources in the national security told the PIC reporter that Israeli aerial raids also targeted two tunnels in Salam and Brazil suburbs south of Rafah.
They pointed out that the explosions jolted the surrounding areas and caused deafening sounds similar to the ones heard during the war on Gaza.
http://bit.ly/enDt8r
IAF bombs Gaza targets in response to rocket, mortar attacks
Israeli warplanes strike a number of targets throughout Strip, including smuggling tunnel. Palestinians say bombing injured two, caused power outage.
Israeli warplanes bombed a number of targets in Gaza overnight Saturday in response to the launching of a Qassam rocket towards the Ashkelon Beach Regional Council area on Friday.
Palestinians said two people were injured in the attack, which they claim also caused a power outage in a number of areas throughout the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.
The IDF said among the bombed targets was a smuggling tunnel, while Palestinian eyewitnesses said the Air Force also attacked a vehicle apparently carrying two Hamas operatives, who were injured.
The Israelis army stressed that the strike came in response to Sunday's launching of a mortar shell and a Qassam towards Israeli territory. The mortar and rocket attacks did not cause any injury or damage.
A few hours after the mortar attack and a short while before the rocket launching, Hamas strongman Mahmoud al-Zahar said the Islamist group would be committed to a ceasefire if Israel abided by it.
"We are committed to self-restraint as long as there is no oppression and no aggression," said Zahar.
Nearly 30 rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza towards Israel over the past week. On Tuesday a teenage girl sustained mild injuries when a Qassam rocket landed near her home in a kibbutz located within the limits of the Ashkelon Beach Regional Council.
The army responded by striking several targets in south Gaza. The Palestinians said four people were injured during the bombing of a Hamas training facility in Rafah.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4004112,00.html
Israeli airstrikes target Rafah
Israeli warplanes have carried out a series of airstrikes on Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
However, there are no details yet about how many airstrikes were conducted and if there are any casualties.
On December 18, at least five people were killed by an Israeli aerial assault on the town of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
The attack was one of the deadliest carried out by the Israeli military since Tel Aviv's December 2008-January 2009 war on the Gaza Strip, which left more than 1,400 dead and inflicted heavy damage -- estimated to be above USD 1.6 billion -- on the coastal territory's economy.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/156991.html 29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 25 dec 2010
Fisherman injured by Israeli fire in northern Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A Gaza fisherman was shot twice, once in each foot, and collected by medics from the northern Gaza shore on Saturday, witnesses said.
Medical services spokesman Adham Abu Selmieyah confirmed that medics transported a 25-year-old fisherman, identified only as AZ, to the Kamal Udwan Hospital for treatment.
The official described the injuries as light, but noted a recent spike in the number of deaths and injuries resulting from Israeli fire in the area since the beginning of December. Thirteen Palestinians have been killed, he said, and another 34 injured.
The latest incident took place in the As-Sudanieyah area off the northern Gaza shore.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=345303
Palestinian fisherman injured in IOF shooting
GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian fisherman was slightly wounded on Saturday when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) aboard navy gunboats opened heavy machinegun fire at fishermen off the coast of northern Gaza city.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for the medical services, told the PIC that the IOF firing wounded the 25-year-old youth in both his feet, adding that he was hospitalized.
The IOF shooting at Palestinian civilians in Gaza Strip killed 13 and wounded 34 others in the current month of December.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank IOF soldiers stormed the village of Ya'bad, west of Jenin city, along with six other villages in the same area.
Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers mounting 15 armored vehicles broke into a tobacco factory in Ya'bad and wreaked havoc in it without giving any reason.
http://bit.ly/f8Mx1B
29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 25 dec 2010
Israeli airstrike leaves 3 wounded in Gaza
Merry Christmas Israeli style
Gaza - Israeli warplanes carried out three airstrikes late Friday against targets in the Gaza Strip, medical staff and witnesses said.
Israeli F-16s flying over the coastal enclave fired two missiles at susepcted smuggling tunnels on the border between southern Gaza and Egypt. No injuries were reported, witnesses said.
Israel said the tunnels are used for smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip for attacks against Israeli targets. The Palestinians said the tunnels are used to smuggle goods in defiance of the now-three- year Israeli blockade against Gaza, which is controlled by the Islamic Hamas movement.
The witnesses said that a second airstrike targeted another smuggling tunnel in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, against without reported casualties.
Medical sources said that three Palestinians were wounded in a third airstrike against a military training post belonging to al- Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the three air raids, saying the strikes were in response to a homemade rocket fired earlier Friday by Gaza militant groups toward southern Israel.
The territory has recently seen significant escalation between Gaza militants and the Israeli army, after an increase in rocket attacks out of Gaza toward Israeli targets.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza said earlier Friday that his movement is still committed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip with Israel.
'Our movement will be committed to the truce as long as the Israeli occupation is committed to it,' Mahmoud al-Zahar told a rally in support of Hamas members imprisoned in the West Bank.
Hamas said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' security forces are detaining hundreds of the movement's members and leaders in its jails in the West Bank.
Hamas seized control of Gaza by force in June 2007.
http://bit.ly/fEwFhR
Documentary on 2008-2009 Gaza war debuts in Algeria
ALGERIA, (PIC)-- Algerian filmmakers Samir Abdullah and Khairuddin Mabrook announced their film dubbed The Gaza Disaster documenting Israel's last war on Gaza will debut in cinemas throughout the world on March 16, 2011.
The documentary was presented for the first time Thursday in the cinema museum in the Algerian city of Wahran catching heavy media attention in the country.
The objective of the joint Palestinian-French film was to form a live documentary of Israel's crimes, not commercially, but to address all of humanity, and move the international community to prosecute Israel for its criminal acts against the Palestinians, Abdullah and Mabrook said in a press statement at the sidelines of the film's local debut.
The film will be shown Saturday in Tayarat and in the capital Algiers on December 27, Abdullah said, adding that a 55-minute televised version was aired in France after images had beforehand been posted on the net.
The 100-minute documentary captures in detail the tragedy and suffering the Palestinians sustained in Israel's strike on Gaza, an official media source in Algeria said Friday. The directors were allowed entry into the Palestinian territories in January 2009 accompanied by rights groups.
They recorded on camera the testimonies of Palestinian civilians who were affected by the 2008-2009 war and more appalling scenes that occurred during the strikes.
Samir Abdullah, a French citizen of Egyptian descent, has produced several films since the beginning of his career in 1983. His colleague Khairuddin Mabrook, Algeria, specializes in drawn film and is active in the field of the seventh art.
http://bit.ly/hoqrGW
AmoonaE Situation in #Gaza seems to have calmed down... Christmas eve screwed, thanks IAF guys.
29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 26 dec 2010
Two Gaza fighters killed in southern Strip
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Islamic Jihad's military wing the Al-Quds Brigades said Sunday that two of its fighters were killed following what a statement described as "fierce clashes" with Israeli forces the southern district village of Khuza'a east of Khan Younis.
The group identified the slain men as Issa Abu Rock and Muhammad An-Najjar who were said to have been amongst several fighters involved in a gunbattle with Israeli forces.
"The fighters inflicted losses on occupation forces," the statement said, though no reports of injuries were made by Israel's military.
Islamic Jihad's military wing, Al-Quds Brigades said two of their fighters were killed in clashes with Israeli forces on Sunday morning in the southern Gaza Strip village of Khuza'a east of Khan Younis.
Israeli reports said the fighters were attempting to lay explosives on the Gaza Strip border, while military officials explained that troops, later backed up by helicopters, identified a hit on a group of militants who had attacked the force.
"Soldiers opened fire on members of a terrorist cell which was trying to place an explosive charge in the immediate vicinity of the security barrier," that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.
She said that after a similar incident a month ago in which there were no casualties, "soldiers received instructions not to hesitate to open fire when they saw terrorists placing booby-trap devices near the barrier."
Paramedics said the body of Abu Hijar was evacuated to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, describing it as "torn," and reported having difficulties evacuating the second body, saying Israeli troops fired on the medical team as it tried to retrieve An-Najjar.
Eyewitnesses said they heard gunfire east of Khan Younis Sunday morning, with several saying they believed fighters had launched Rocket Propelled Grenades at Israeli forces.
In their statement, the Al-Quds Brigades said their fighters fired six RPGs and several mortar shells at Israeli force which entered the area.
Israeli political sources in Jerusalem said Saturday that Israel would respond strictly to any attempt to escalate violence in the Gaza Strip. They warned the coming confrontation would be tougher and shed more blood. The situation in the south seems to be worsening rather than cooling down, the sources said.
Israel's military said this week that one of its tanks patrolling the Gaza border had been hit by a Russian-made Kornet anti-tank rocket, the first time such a weapon had been encountered there.
At least 23 mortars and four rockets have been launched at Israel from Gaza in the past week, the army said. One of the rockets struck near a kindergarten in a southern Israeli kibbutz, wounding a teenage girl.
On December 18, Israeli warplanes hit central Gaza, killing five militants as they were about to launch a rocket attack, according to the army and witnesses.
While most of the rockets fired have been by other groups, Israel still says it holds Hamas, which rules the strip, responsible for maintaining calm there.
On December 27, 2008, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, in response to hundreds of rockets fired into the Jewish state.
The war, which ended in a ceasefire on January 18, 2009, killed 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.
AFP contributed to this report
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=345343
Army officials said that at around 2 am three terrorists were spotted by soldiers manning an observation point as they were approaching the security fence in south Gaza, near the Suffa crossing.
The condition of the third terrorist remains unclear.
http://bit.ly/i2rDBz
AmoonaE GAZA - NOW: Tanks and drones still heavily firing South of the Strip. No injured reported yet. Few hours ago, explosions were heard North.
GAZA - NOW: heavy tank shelling east of Khan Yunis, in the south of the Strip. Drones without pilotes fire over the area.
GAZA: explosion North of the Strip few min ago. This has become daily, everyone there is expecting a new war... Will we dare stay silent?
Israel ups military attacks on Gaza
Israel has stepped up its armed offensives on the Gaza Strip over the recent months, leaving many Palestinians dead and injured.
On Sunday, Israeli forces launched another attack into the besieged enclave, killing two Palestinians in the east of the southern city of Khan Younis, AFP reported.
Tel Aviv has confirmed killing the pair in an airstrike. An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military's gunships had backed up gunfire by the forces.
The victims were reportedly members of the Islamic Jihad movement of Palestine, identified as Mahmud al-Najjar and his comrade Musaab Abu Rock, the agency added.
Thousands of mourners gathered subsequently in the Gaza Strip to attend a related funeral ceremony.
Separately, Israeli troops shot a fisherman in the northern Gaza, the Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported. Medics say the man has sustained bullet wounds in both feet.
The latest attacks come only days after Israeli forces killed a shepherd collecting gravel near a Tel Aviv-imposed so-called buffer zone.
Earlier in the month, at least five people were killed by an Israeli aerial assault on the town of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
The attack marked one of the deadliest carried out by the Israeli military since Tel Aviv's December 2008-January 2009 war on the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 1,400 and inflicted heavy damages, estimated to be as high as USD 1.6 billion, on the enclave's economy.
The Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas has warned that any fresh Israeli aggression will face the strongest response.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/157293.html
Israel hints at launching new aggression on the Gaza Strip
NAZARETH, (PIC)-- Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom during a press conference Sunday hinted that Israeli military may spark new aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Shalom said Israel would like to change the course of the current situation in the strip.
Israeli minister Yuval Steinitz has said Israel will sooner or later launch a new offensive on Gaza with its sights on toppling the governing Hamas group.
High-profile Hamas officials have called the recent threats from the Israelis part of a psychological warfare aimed at intensifying the situation in the region.
The statements came in wake of violent clashes that broke out between resistance fighters and the Israeli army earlier Sunday morning east of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis killing two Palestinian fighters from the Al-Quds Brigades.
The threats may have been timed to coincide with the second anniversary of Israel's last war on Gaza this month that left 1,400 Palestinians dead and thousands of homes destroyed.
Hamas media spokesman Yousef Farhat said, marking the occasion in Gaza: We say today to the world that Gaza survived and remained resistant; and the resistance will never be defeated.
Israel wanted to stop the movement and turn us back from our path, but today we reassure our firmness on our principles of not deviating from our constants. We will remain loyal to our people's rights and our just cause.
Farhat said the Palestinians will never forgive those who conspired with Israel in its last strike on Gaza and those who called on Israel to harm the Hamas movement.
The Hamas spokesman called on the Palestinians to take part in a series of Hamas-staged events that will be held throughout the strip, announcing that the central province will see daily functions over the next three weeks, the time of duration of the war.
http://bit.ly/hgEs4F
Clashes in southern Gaza as border heats up
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Islamic Jihad's military wing the Al-Quds Brigades said Sunday that two of its fighters were killed following what a statement described as "fierce clashes" with Israeli forces the southern district village of Khuza'a east of Khan Younis.
The group identified the slain men as Issa Abu Rock and Muhammad An-Najjar who were said to have been amongst several fighters involved in a gunbattle with Israeli forces.
"The fighters inflicted losses on occupation forces," the statement said, though no reports of injuries were made by Israel's military.
Islamic Jihad's military wing, Al-Quds Brigades said two of their fighters were killed in clashes with Israeli forces on Sunday morning in the southern Gaza Strip village of Khuza'a east of Khan Younis.
Israeli reports said the fighters were attempting to lay explosives on the Gaza Strip border, while military officials explained that troops, later backed up by helicopters, identified a hit on a group of militants who had attacked the force.
"Soldiers opened fire on members of a terrorist cell which was trying to place an explosive charge in the immediate vicinity of the security barrier," that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.
She said that after a similar incident a month ago in which there were no casualties, "soldiers received instructions not to hesitate to open fire when they saw terrorists placing booby-trap devices near the barrier."
Paramedics said the body of Abu Hijar was evacuated to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, describing it as "torn," and reported having difficulties evacuating the second body, saying Israeli troops fired on the medical team as it tried to retrieve An-Najjar.
Eyewitnesses said they heard gunfire east of Khan Younis Sunday morning, with several saying they believed fighters had launched Rocket Propelled Grenades at Israeli forces.
In their statement, the Al-Quds Brigades said their fighters fired six RPGs and several mortar shells at Israeli force which entered the area.
Israeli political sources in Jerusalem said Saturday that Israel would respond strictly to any attempt to escalate violence in the Gaza Strip. They warned the coming confrontation would be tougher and shed more blood. The situation in the south seems to be worsening rather than cooling down, the sources said.
Israel's military said this week that one of its tanks patrolling the Gaza border had been hit by a Russian-made Kornet anti-tank rocket, the first time such a weapon had been encountered there.
At least 23 mortars and four rockets have been launched at Israel from Gaza in the past week, the army said. One of the rockets struck near a kindergarten in a southern Israeli kibbutz, wounding a teenage girl.
On December 18, Israeli warplanes hit central Gaza, killing five militants as they were about to launch a rocket attack, according to the army and witnesses.
While most of the rockets fired have been by other groups, Israel still says it holds Hamas, which rules the strip, responsible for maintaining calm there.
AFP contributed to this report
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=345343
(0:30) Israeli Firing in Khan Yunis on 26/12/2010 night (part 1)
(1:10) Israeli Firing in Khan Yunis on 26/12/2010 night (part 2) 1 x viewed
29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 26 dec 2010
Violent confrontation at Nablus checkpoint
800 Israeli troops raid flashpoint section of Nafha prison
Israeli jail isolates prisoner for filing complaint
27 dec 2010
Settlers torch fields near Nablus
Jerusalemites injured in confrontations in Silwan
IOF soldiers round up ten Palestinian citizens
29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 28 dec 2010
Medics: Israeli gunfire kills 1 in Gaza
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Israeli gunfire and tank shelling killed a Palestinian militant and wounded five other people east of Khan Yunis in Gaza on Tuesday, a Palestinian medical source and witnesses told AFP.
Adham Abu Selmiya, a spokesman for the Hamas-run medical services in Gaza, and hospital officials named the dead man as 22-year-old Hassan Abu Rok Qadeeh.
Witnesses told AFP Qadeeh was a member of the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of Palestinian factions that has claimed responsibility for a barrage of mortar fire into Israel in recent weeks.
The group released a statement hailing his "martyrdom" in "Zionist shelling east of Khan Yunis."
A Israeli army spokeswoman said "our soldiers, with air support, opened fire on members of a terrorist cell that was trying to place an explosive device near the security barrier" separating Gaza from Israel.
Tensions have been rising on Gaza's border with Israel over continued rocket fire into Israel and retaliatory and often deadly Israeli air raids.
Since the beginning of the month, at least 14 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops, according to an AFP count. Two Palestinians were also killed on December 10 when an unexploded tank shell detonated.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that approximately 37 rockets and other projectiles have been fired from Gaza since December 1.
In recent weeks, both sides have ramped up their rhetoric, warning that an escalation could result in full-blown war.
The renewed tensions come just two years after Israel launched the devastating Operation Cast Lead in response to rocket fire from Gaza.
The war, which ended in a ceasefire on January 18, 2009, killed 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.
On Sunday, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, one of the militant groups operating in Gaza, said it was prepared for a new war with Israel.
"The occupation will pay the price if they even think of carrying out an escalation in the Gaza Strip," Abu Ahmed told mourners at the funerals of two comrades killed in a exchange of fire with Israeli troops.
And a day earlier, a spokesman for Hamas's military also touted the group's preparedness for conflict with Israel, hinting they possessed a secret weapon, about which he provided no details.
"There is a truce in effect in the field ... But if there is any Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip we will respond strongly," said a masked spokesman who identified himself as Abu Obeideh.
On Monday, Israeli army chief of staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi said his troops were ready for a new confrontation if it became necessary.
"Two years after Operation Cast Lead the situation in the Gaza Strip is different and calmer," he said.
"Yet, sadly, from time to time, rockets and mortar shells are fired at the Israeli home front. We will not accept this ... We hope that the security situation in the south does not deteriorate. However, the IDF is preparing for any scenario."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=346273
Palestinian killed in Israeli gunfire
Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian man and wounded five others in tank shelling and gunfire attack on Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip.
Hassan Abu Rok, 22, was killed in the Israeli gunfire attack on the village of Khuza'a, east of Khan Yunis on Tuesday, said Hamas spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya.
Witnesses said they heard huge explosions after the tanks fired several shells at the residents' houses.
"Israeli army tanks stationed at the borders between south-east Gaza Strip and Israel fired several shells at the village of Khuza'a, where Abu Rook was killed and five wounded," said Abu Selmeya.
Two of the wounded civilians are in serious condition, he added.
The Israeli army made no immediate comment on the incident.
The incident comes two days after two Palestinians died in Khan Yunis after Israeli soldiers launched a gun battle in the area.
The Israeli military has repeatedly waged attacks on Gaza since its massive 22-day war on the territory at the turn of 2009.
However, during this month, there has been a surge of violence along the Israeli-Gaza border.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/157590.html
Vilnai: The situation on Gaza borders could explode any moment
GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli deputy war minister Matan Vilnai said that the security situation on Gaza borders are fragile and explosive and called for getting ready to face any possible scenario.
During his tour to the Negev region, where some Palestinian homemade rockets landed recently in retaliation to Israeli deadly air strikes, Vilnai pledged that the Israeli government would continue to provide the Israeli settlements located along Gaza borders with all necessary support.
Many Israeli officials made war threats against Gaza which witnessed lately aerial and land attacks led to the death of civilians and resistance fighters. Israel always asks Hamas Movement to stop firing rockets on its territories, although it is the party that starts to escalate its military attacks against Gaza.
In another context, the network of NGOs in Gaza called for imposing sanctions on the Israeli government and pressuring it to end its unjust blockade immediately and to facilitate the movement of goods and individuals.
The network in a statement on Tuesday also demanded the international community to bring Israeli war criminals to justice for the crimes they committed against Gaza people during the last war on Gaza, and called for activating Goldstone report in international conferences and meetings in order to do justice to the war victims and their families.
For his part, Hamas spokesman Hammad Al-Raqab stated, during a student ceremony held in a school in Khan Younis city, that the Palestinian people's rallying around their resistance foiled all Zionist schemes to eradicate it during the last war on Gaza.
Raqab added that the Israeli occupation targeted in its war on Gaza everything, the mosques, schools, homes, children, women and men, but thanks to this popular rallying, the resistance achieved victory and routed the invading Israeli occupation forces.
http://bit.ly/eKx5Yr
29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 28 dec 2010
Israeli army opens fire at Gaza worker
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot a Palestinian worker on Tuesday east of Gaza City, local medics said.
The 19-year-old was collecting cement aggregates near the border area when he was shot, and was transferred to hospital with moderate injuries, a medical official said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said forces opened fire at two men in the area, which, she reiterated, Israel considers a combat zone. She noted that soldiers "did not identify a hit."
Israel's military has shot over 100 Palestinians working close to the coastal enclave's border with Israel since March, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.
Workers head to the border area and collect rubble to make cement, which is in short supply in the Strip under Israel's blockade.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=346120
29 oct 2012, 12:14 , Respect -
Maria 28 dec 2010
Settlers seize Palestinian land in Nablus
90% Palestinian detainees denied lawyer
29 oct 2012, 12:15 , Respect -
Maria 29 dec 2010
Gaza City residents report shelling
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Locals in Gaza City said shelling was heard east of the city center near the border with Israel on Wednesday morning.
Israeli army officials said they were not familiar with any military activity in the area, and medics said no injuries were reported.
Wednesday afternoon the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades released a statement saying its fighters had opened fire on Israeli soldiers carrying out maintenance work north of Beit Hanoun.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said that at 12:15 soldiers operating in Gaza heard gunfire, but reported no injuries.
Residents who heard the blasts said they were concerned that a new Israeli offensive was in the offing.
Israeli police in the region around Gaza have not reported any projectile launches in the past 24 hours.
Tuesday evening border skirmishes in the south claimed the life of one resistance fighter, and saw five others injured east of Khan Younis.
A Israeli army spokeswoman said "our soldiers, with air support, opened fire on members of a terrorist cell that was trying to place an explosive device near the security barrier" separating Gaza from Israel.
Also on Tuesday, PA Cabinet members in the West Bank expressed concern over Israel's "dangerous threats that coincide with the second anniversary of the Israeli aggression on Gaza," warning of the implications stemming from "an Israeli escalation."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=346337
29 oct 2012, 12:15 , Respect -
Maria 29 dec 2010
Jewish settlers desecrate mosque
Report: Israeli Security Agency tortures prisoners and denies access to lawyers