Palestine Today 062608

Thursday June 26, 2008 15:57 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org, for Thursday June 26th, 2008.

A Palestinian patient died in Gaza due to the Israeli siege while the army kidnapped seven civilians from the West Bank. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.

News Cast

As Israel continues to close the borders leading in or out of Gaza a Palestinian resistance group fired several Qassam home made shells at the Israeli town of Sderot on Thursday afternoon.

Israeli sources said that the shells landed in open areas causing no damage or injuries. Al Qudes brigades the armed wing of the Fatah party headed by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas clamed responsibility for the attack and demanded that Israel should include the West Bank in the truce deal reached last week.

Last week The Egyptian-mediated truce between Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since June 2007, and Israel took effect.

The ceasefire deal stipulates that Hamas will cease firing homemade shells into Israeli territory in exchange for Israel lifting the 12 month-blockade and ceasing all military attacks against the Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday the Israeli army killed two Palestinians in Nablus one of whom is a member of the Islamic Jihad, in addition on Wednesday Israeli troops shot and injured a Palestinian farmer near the northern Gaza-Israeli borders.

The Islamic Jihad fired two home made shells on Wednesday at Israeli areas near the Gaza Strip in response. Israel further announced that it will not open the crossings into the coastal region because of Wednesday's attack.

But the Islamic Jihad announced on Thursday morning that Israel had never opened the borders after the truce took effect.

In related news medical sources in Gaza City reported that a Palestinian man died on Thursday because he was prevented by the Israeli army to leave the Gaza Strip to get medical care. Adnan Aloush, 55, had cancer.

Aloush is the 197th patient who has died since June 2007 in Gaza because the Israeli army refused to allow them access to medical care outside the coastal region.

In the West Bank on Thursday Palestinian sources said that Israeli troops attacked and searched homes in a number of Palestinian cities and kidnapped seven civilians.

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 Taylor Bray and Ghassan Bannoura.

palestine | english audio report | audio report ghassanb at imemc dot org