Palestine Today 050808

Thursday May 08, 2008 17:56 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 Thursday May 8th 2008.

The army leaves Gaza after killing two and kidnapping at least 40 others, while in the West Bank Palestinians mark the Nakba, these stories and more coming up stay tuned.

The News Cast

The Israeli tanks and troops left the Abasan, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Thursday at dawn leaving behind two killed Palestinians, 20 injured, and kidnapping at least 40 residents.

Wafa' Al Daghmah, 35, a mother of seven children, was shot an killed by the Israeli army on Thursday at dawn as the army was pulling out of Khan Younis, local sources said. Medics stated that Al Daghmah was shot in the head and died instantly.

On Wednesday afternoon one Palestinian was killed and seven injured as the Israeli army attacked a group of residents in Khan Younis. Witnesses said that an Israeli unmanned airplane fired a missile at a group of residents killing Mohamed Abu Musalam, 22, and injuring seven others, three critically.

Dr. Moawiya Hassanen, head of the Emergency Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, said nineteen residents were wounded by Israeli military attacks in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. At least six residents were wounded in an Israeli air strike that targeted an area in the town of Abasan.

During the military operation in Abasan, the Israeli army demolished 4 homes and razed vast areas of Palestinian-owned farm lands. In addition by Thursday at dawn when the army totally left, Israeli troops kidnapped 40 civilians and took them to unknown locations.

The assault began in the early dawn hours on Wednesday as the army invaded the area, broke into and searched dozens of homes. Soldiers also topped several home and used some of them as monitoring towers.

At least 700 Palestinians from the southern West Bank district marched on Thursday side by side next to the largest key in the world to mark the 60th anniversary of the Nakba – catastrophe-.

Today's event, which was organized by the Palestinian Committee for commemorating the 60th Nakba year, started at around midday from the Duhyisha Refugee camp located in the southern part of Bethlehem. The rally and march was lead by a truck carrying the largest key in the world, representing the Palestinian refugees displace in 1948 by the creation of the Israeli state.

The 700 strong march continued through Al Azah refugee camp then to Ayidah refugee camp were the key was installed on a concrete gate.

The commemoration of the Naqba-Catastrophe- Palestinians remember the creation of the state of Israel on their land in 1948, which resulted in the displacement of over 700,000 people from their homes, and the imprisonment of the rest into refugee enclaves in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

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. This report has been brought to you by Miki Orwell and Ghassan Bannoura.

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