Palestine Today 092607

Wednesday September 26, 2007 17:00 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC - Audio Dept.

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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org, for Wednesday September 26th, 2007.

In the West Bank, Israeli forces storm several cities kidnapping a number of Palestinian civilians. In the Gaza Strip meanwhile, Israeli warplanes shell the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, injuring two. These stories and more coming up. Stay tuned.

The West Bank

Israeli military forces kidnapped one Palestinian from the northern West Bank city of Nablus in the early hours of Wednesday morning. After besieging several dwellings in the city, civilians were forced from their homes and one man, later identified as Ayman Al Zaben, was kidnapped.

Elsewhere, the Israeli military invaded the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Qabatiya in the early hours of Wednesday morning. No kidnappings were reported. In Atara village, located north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, Israeli forces kidnapped two Palestinians after invading the area.

In the southern West Bank, Israeli military forces kidnapped two Palestinians from Hebron and the nearby town of Athana, after clashes broke out between troops and Palestinian youths in the city. The two men were later identified as Mohammad Al Batran, 17, and Yousif Abu Jihesha, 22.

Palestinian Security forces on Wednesday located two home-made shells in the city of Beit-Jala, located in Bethlehem. Israeli sources indicate that the two shells were found between the Aida refugee camp and the Beit Jala municipal building, in an area facing the Jewish neighborhood of Gilo, in East Jerusalem

The Gaza Strip

Israeli aircraft shelled the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun in the early hours of Wednesday morning, injuring two Palestinians, among them one child. Israeli gunboats also opened fire on civilian properties located to the west of Beit Lahiya, causing damage but no injuries.

The deposed Palestinian Hamas cabinet on Tuesday urged Arab parties to boycott the upcoming Washington-sponsored conference on Middle East peace, scheduled for November. The cabinet reiterated their commitment to the rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of return to historical Palestine, and the right to Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

The government also stressed on the need to maintain a Palestinian national consensus on all concerns, calling for national unity amongst the Palestinian people through means of dialogue and halt of mutual incitement.

In other news, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday declared that the Israeli army was "nearing an extensive operation the Gaza Strip." Speaking to army radio, Barak declared that while Israel intended to exhaust all its options before launching an all-out attack, the likelihood of such an operation was growing with each passing day.

Conclusion
Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, brought to you by John Smith and Ghassan Bannoura.

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