DTN News - ISRAEL ~ PALESTINIANS NEWS: Israeli Troops Clash With Protesters Along Borders

DTN News - ISRAEL ~ PALESTINIANS NEWS: Israeli Troops Clash With Protesters Along Borders

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources VoA News

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 16, 2011: Israeli troops shot at Palestinian protesters along the border of Syria, Lebanon and Gaza Sunday killing at least 15 people as demonstrators marked the anniversary of Israel's creation.

Witnesses and Lebanese officials say Israeli troops killed 10 Palestinians and wounded more than 50 others when the troops fired on protesters to prevent them from crossing into Israel from Lebanon.

Demonstrators in Syria also tried to break through a border fence in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. A Syrian official and witnesses say Israeli troops opened fire, killing four and wounding at least 45.

Elsewhere, Palestinian medics and officials say clashes at protests along the border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip killed at least one person and wounded at least 60.

While outside Jerusalem, medical sources say more than 100 were injured when soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up a group of demonstrators throwing stones.

Also in Egypt, troops fired tear gas at several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside of the Israeli embassy.

The Palestinian protests are marking what they call the "Naqba," or the "catastrophe." It describes the uprooting of Palestinian families at the time of Israel's creation in 1948.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address Sunday that Israel is determined to defend its borders.

The country heightened security in anticipation of unrest leading up to Sunday's protests.

U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said he deplored the loss of life. He called the violence one of the most serious incidents on the border between Israel and Lebanon since 2006.

Valerie Amos, who is U.N. Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, visited the West Bank and East Jerusalem Sunday. She met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah, where she reaffirmed the U.N.'s commitment to the Palestinian people's right to statehood and freedom from occupation.

More than 700,000 Palestinians are estimated to have fled or have been forced to leave their homes during the war that followed Israel's declaration of statehood in 1948.

Israel, which uses the Hebrew calendar, celebrated its 63rd anniversary last Tuesday.

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*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources

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DTN News: Aid Ship 'Defies' Israel Navy, Presses On To Gaza

DTN News: Aid Ship 'Defies' Israel Navy, Presses On To Gaza *Israel against the world - yet again Jerusalem Post - Gil Hoffman Source: DTN News / By Adel Zaanoun (AFP) (NSI News Source Info) GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories - June 5, 2010: The Rachel Corrie aid ship on Saturday ignored a navy military order to stop and pressed on towards Gaza, despite fears of a confrontation with Israeli warships. The latest confrontation comes just five days after Israeli naval commandos boarded another aid ship in a deadly raid which left nine activists dead, most of them Turkish. "We indicated several times to the organisers aboard the ship that they should head to the port of Ashdod as there is a blockade in force on the Gaza Strip, but they ignored our appeals and are continuing to head towards Gaza," a military spokeswoman said. Earlier, a spokesman for the Gaza-based welcoming committee told AFP the Rachel Corrie had been intercepted and all communications with the ship cut. "Several Israeli boats surrounded them between 30 and 35 miles off Gaza and prevented them from reaching Gaza," Amjad al-Shawa said after speaking by telephone with passengers on the boat. In a last communique issued at around 5:38 am (0238 GMT), activist Jenny Graham, who is on board the Rachel Corrie, told organisers the vessel was being approached by two Israeli warships. Graham said equipment on board had been "jammed by the Israeli navy, and that they expected their satellite phone to be jammed soon as well," the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said, adding that it was not able to determine the ship's location when it was intercepted. Israeli public radio, which also reported that the ship had been intercepted, said it was being escorted by three navy vessels through a stretch of water some 35 miles from the Egyptian coast. The incident comes at a very sensitive time for Israel, which is contending with the diplomatic fallout of an earlier raid on a flotilla of Gaza-bound aid boats, which left nine people dead, most of them Turks. Despite an international outcry over the deadly commando operation, Israel has vowed to block all attempts to reach Gaza by sea in defiance of the tight blockade it has imposed on the impoverished territory since 2006. "I have just told the Irish foreign ministry director general that the ship will not be able to travel to Gaza without first being inspected," Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in remarks broadcast late on Friday. Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin urged Israel to show restraint, saying: "The Rachel Corrie should be allowed to proceed to Gaza and to unload its humanitarian cargo." Activists on board the ship had said they would be prepared to let the cargo be inspected by "an independent international body" -- preferably the United Nations. "We are not afraid," Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire told Ireland's RTE public radio by phone late on Friday. "We started out to deliver this cargo to the people of Gaza and to break the siege of Gaza, that is what we want to do," the 66-year-old said as the vessel steamed towards the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory. Washington said on Friday it was trying to help avert another violent clash at sea involving Israel, with National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer saying the ship should dock at Ashdod. "In the interest of the safety of all involved, and the safe transmission of assistance to the people of Gaza, we strongly encourage those on board the Rachel Corrie and other vessels to sail to Ashdod to deliver their materials to Gaza." Israel had warned it would stop the Rachel Corrie -- a 1,200-tonne cargo ship named after a US activist killed in 2003 as she tried to prevent an Israeli bulldozer from razing a Palestinian home. Bulent Yildirim, head of the Turkish Islamic charity IHH said activists used iron bars in self-defence after commandos fired indiscriminately when they stormed the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara.

DTN News: Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri Slams Israel Defense Drill

DTN News: Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri Slams Israel Defense Drill

Source: DTN News / Ynetnews.com & AFP

(NSI News Source Info) BEIRUT, Lebanon - May 23, 2010: Saad Hariri says Israeli decision to launch week of military exercises 'runs counter to peace efforts... How can you launch peace negotiations with Palestinians while holding military maneuvers?' Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Saturday lashed out at Israel's defense exercises and said they ran counter to current Middle East peace efforts. "Israel has to go to the negotiating table in order to achieve peace. To launch military exercises at such a time runs counter to peace efforts," Hariri told reporters in Cairo after a meeting with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak. "How can you launch peace negotiations with the Palestinians while holding military maneuvers?" asked Hariri, who is to travel to Washington on Sunday for his first visit as premier. Israel's annual week-long civil defense exercises, which start on Sunday, are designed to prepare emergency responses to rocket strikes on Israel. Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai has stressed that the exercises were planned long in advance and had no bearing on the Jewish state's present relations with its northern neighbors, Lebanon and Syria. As in previous years, Israel has made contact through intermediaries with its neighbors, notably Syria, to reassure them of its non-belligerent intentions, he said. But on Friday, Lebanon's Hezbollah mobilized thousands of militants in southern Lebanon in response to the exercises, said an official from the Shiite group which is backed by Damascus and Tehran. Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006 that destroyed much of southern Lebanon, largely a Hezbollah stronghold. It estimates Hezbollah has since stockpiled more than 40,000 rockets. And last month, Israeli President Shimon Peres accused Syria of providing Scud missiles to Hezbollah, charges that Damascus has denied.

DTN News: New Elbit Hermes UAS selected By Israel

DTN News: New Elbit Hermes UAS selected By Israel Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) HAIFA, Israel,- May 6, 2010: The Israeli Defense Ministry selected Elbit Systems to deliver its unmanned aircraft system variants to strengthen the Israeli military's UAS fleet. Elbit Systems has recently added the Hermes 900 to its growing UAV family. With its 15 m wingspan and 970 kg max takeoff weight, the Hermes 900 is a natural extension of the Hermes 450 tactical UAV systems with full compatibility in missions and support infrastructure. While offering all Hermes UAV family capabilities (Hermes 180, Hermes 450 and Hermes 1500), it features larger multi-payload configurations, higher flight altitude and extended flight time. The Hermes 900 is an all weather UAV system. Its IATOL (Internal Auto Takeoff and Landing) system enables auto-landing even in alternate non-instrumented runways. Like the Hermes 450, internationally renowned for its unmatched safety record and reliability, the Hermes 900 features full redundancy and fault tolerant avionics and electronics architecture. Its fully-certified Rotax engine is safe and quiet. The new UAV is well-equipped with advanced features including built-in autonomous emergency procedures, ATC Air Traffic Control radio, Radio relay, and IFF transponder. With larger payload capacity (300Kg) and longer endurance ,the Hermes 900 is controlled by Elbit Systems UGCS Universal Ground Control Station which can control two UAVs at any given time from a single station while a single operator operates the AV Air Vehicle and payloads for each UAV. The new Hermes delivers the highest quality of performance for the lowest life cycle cost; a distinction based predominantly on its lowest number of operators and maintenance crew requirements. The Hermes 900 system supports numerous missions and specialized applications such as Electro-optics, IR Imaging Laser range finder and Laser designation as well as SAR/GMTI, COMINT DF , ELINT an Electronic Warfare. The system maintains secured redundant Line Of Sight (LOS) Data link as well as Redundant Satellite communication (BLOS) Beyond Line of Sight. Israeli defense company Elbit announced it will provide its Hermes 900 and Hermes 450 UAS variants for deployment by the Israeli military in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations supporting counter-terrorism programs. The $50 million contract expands the fleet of Hermes 450 with the Israeli military and introduces Elbit's new Hermes 900 UAS, which is based on the company's universal command-and-control ground station. "By introducing the Hermes 900 into our growing UAS portfolio, we continue to provide the Israeli military with effective solutions for its varying operational needs," Joseph Ackerman, Elbit Systems president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. In addition to the Hermes family of UAS technologies the Israeli military also operates Elbit's Skylark I-LE, a miniature UAS.

DTN News: Israel Troops Kill Hamas Militant

DTN News: Israel Troops Kill Hamas Militant Source: DTN News / BBC (NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM, Israel - April 26, 2010: Israeli troops have killed a senior Hamas militant in a raid on a house in the West Bank. Ali Suweiti, 42, was killed during a gun battle in the village of Beit Awa, the Israeli military said. Troops from the Israel Defense Forces, Border Guard and security service Shin Bet surrounded the house and militants opened fire on them, a spokesman said. Mr Suweiti was wanted for his alleged role in a 2004 gun attack on a border patrol in which a soldier was killed. "A force surrounded the building in which Suweiti was hiding and called on him to surrender," a statement from the Israeli Defence Force said. "Suweiti refused and opened fire at the forces, who then used engineering tools in addition to firing at the building's exterior wall, in order to cause him to surrender. The terrorist continued to fire at the force, and was ultimately killed." The building he was in was demolished by the Israeli forces. Israeli soldiers raid the house in which Ali Suweiti was said to be hiding Mr Suweiti's uncle, Mahmoud, told the Associated Press news agency that Israeli soldiers surrounded the house before dawn on Monday. He said his nephew ignored calls by the troops to surrender and soldiers opened fire on the building. Mr Suweiti was involved in five attacks on Israeli border guards between 1999 and 2004, the Israeli military said.A firefighter hoses down the rubble of a demolished house belonging to a relative of Hamas militant Ali Sweti in the West Bank village of Beit Awwa, near Hebron, April 26, 2010. Sweti, a member of Hamas' Izz el-Deen al-Qassam brigades wanted by Israel, was killed on Monday when Israeli troops raided the home of one of his relatives in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian security officials and the Israeli military said. In 2004 he took part in an ambush on a border patrol jeep, killing 20-year-old policeman Yaniv Mashiah, the IDF said. The IDF said they had tried to arrest him in 2007 but he escaped.

DTN News: Israeli Forces Kill 5 Militants Near Border With Gaza

DTN News: Israeli Forces Kill 5 Militants Near Border With Gaza (NSI News Source Info) GAZA - Monday, 8 June 2009: At least five Palestinian militants were killed early on Monday in a shootout with Israeli troops on the border with the Gaza Strip, a local security official said.Israeli soldiers remove brabed-wires from the Bir Zeit checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 3, 2009. Israel said it had dismantled two checkpoints in the occupied West Bank, where the army has erected more than 600 barriers, hampering the Palestinians freedom of movement.

According to the source, a 10-man militant group attempted to cross the border from Hamas-controlled Gaza near the eastern crossing of Nahal Oz.

The Israeli military said troops backed by a combat helicopter engaged the militants after they opened fire on one of its patrols in the area.

There have been no reports of casualties among the Israeli soldiers.

The shootout is the largest in recent months following the three-week Israeli air and ground offensive in Gaza in January when at least 1,300 Palestinians were killed and 5,000 injured.