Dozens injured, three arrested during West Bank march crackdowns

[ 14/05/2011 - 08:01 AM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)--

Dozens were injured and at least three arrested, including foreign activists, during Friday marches in the West Bank.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) sent a barrage of tear gas and rubber bullets on marchers in Na'lin west of Ramallah as they neared the separation wall south of the village, injuring four young men who were treated on the spot.

The marchers raised Palestinian flags and those of varied Palestinian factions, and called for the release of West Bank political prisoners, so as to implement the Hamas-Fatah unity deal signed days ago in Cairo.

In Ma'sara, the IOF arrested Hassan Barijiya, the coordinator of the popular committee to resist the wall in Bethlehem, and two more foreign activists during a crackdown on a weekly march to protest the separation wall and settlement activity.

The march also came to mark the 63rd Nakba (disaster), commemorating the occupation of Palestine at the hands of Zionist gangs.

Three Palestinians were injured and dozens suffered the effects of breathing tear gas after IOF soldiers clashed with marchers in Bil'in village.

Demonstrators, highlighting the Nakba, dressed in traditional clothing and carried baggage on a cart pulled by a donkey, symbolizing that those displaced would return to their homes.

The soldiers showered them with stun grenades, rubber-coated bullets, and tear gas, and sprayed them with waste water mixed with chemicals.

Bil'in Villagers Protest Against The Wall To Mark The Nakba

Friday May 13, 2011 18:54 by George Rishmawi - IMEMC & Agencies

Three civilians were injured in the village of Bil’in, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, as the villagers carried out their weekly anti-wall protest. As is the case every Friday since six years, international and Israeli supporters joined the villagers after the midday prayers and marched towards the wall.

Upon arriving at the gate in the wall, soldiers stationed there fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at protesters wounding three of them. They received on-site medical treatment, as their wounds were minor. Dozen others were treated for tear gas inhalation. The villagers of Bi’lin carried a large key with a number on it to mark 63 years of dispossession.

They also rode a cart pulled by a donkey to resemble the return to their land from the refuge. International and Israeli supporters managed to join the protest despite of the tight siege Israel imposed on the village to prevent them from joining the protests.

22 Wounded One Critically in The Weekly Nonviolent Protest in Nabi Saleh

Friday May 13, 2011 15:37 by George Rishmawi - IMEMC & Agencies

A large march started after the Friday prayers midday towards the construction site of the new illegal settlement Israel is building on the land of the villagers of Nabi Saleh near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israeli occupation soldiers fired a number of tear gas bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets at the nonviolent protesters wounding at least 22 civilians.

One American protester was wounded in the head when he was hit with a tear gas canister. He was moved to the hospital for treatment and his wounds were described as critical.

Israeli occupation forces also kidnapped two women identified as Nida and Iqbal Tamimi. Eyewitnesses said they were handcuffed and blind-folded and were taken to unknown destination. Troops also arrested two Israelis from the site. Dozens other were treated for gas inhalation and for being beaten by the Israeli soldiers.

Israeli soldiers also assaulted photojournalist Hilmi Tamimi, and broke his camera during the protest.