NEWS: 3 Palestinians killed in West Bank, By Mohammed Mar'i

Israel Killed Three Palestinians in the West Bank
The non-violent resistance of Martin Luther King in Hebron
By Mohammed Mar'i
(Arab American Media Services. Permission granted to republish or distribute.)

(Ramallah, Occupied Palestine)-- Amid tense cease fire between the Palestinian rivals Fatah and Hamas and an accusation to the US of promoting civil war among the Palestinians by transferring $86 million to strengthen security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed three Palestinians in the West Bank on Thursday.

The IOF troops killed Taha Mohammed, from the old city in Jerusalem, who tried to infiltrate Israel through the Separation Wall near the Kalandiya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, on Thursday morning.

In Nablus, the IOF killed Amer Kalbouneh and Wael Awad during a predawn raid in the city. Dr Ghassan Hamdan who works for the Palestinian Medical Relief Committees said "that two were killed several IOF jeeps and bulldozers opened fire on Palestinian crowds and houses in the Old city of Nablus". He added that "the Israeli Forces prevented medical teams from rescuing and left them bleeding from their wounds until they died". The IOF accused Kalbouneh and Awad of belonging to al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, military wing of Fatah.

On separate Palestinian peaceful activity to protest the Israeli apartheid policy in Hebron city, Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists, held Thursday a teach-in in front of the Tel Rumeida checkpoint in the city of Hebron. The theme of the action is the non-violent resistance promoted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The International Solidarity Movement said in a press release that "Dr. King was one of the pioneers of the civil rights movement in the United States in the early 60s and was the youngest person ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize".

The children of Tel Rumeida gathered together for their weekly art lesson at the checkpoint where they learned about the work of Dr. King and created a T-shirt with Dr. King's famous quote: "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed" in Arabic, English and Hebrew.

Last Thursday local residents and community representatives rallied at the Tel Rumeida checkpoint to demonstrate against settlers' violence and the closure of Shuhada Street which cuts through the centre of Hebron. Shuhada Street has been closed to Palestinians for six years, although the Israeli High Court recently ruled that this had been a 'mistake' and Palestinians had the right of access. Despite this ruling the Israeli authorities continue to deny passage to Palestinians along Shuhada Street. The residents of Hebron and Tel Rumeida demand the right to access freely all parts of their city.

(Mohammed Mar'i is a freelance Palestinian journalist based in Ramallah, Occupied Palestine. He can be reached at mmaree63@gmail.com.)