Saturday 1 May 2010

Anti-wall marches in W. Bank villages go on despite Israeli military escalation

[ 01/05/2010 - 08:38 AM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Hundreds of Palestinian citizens and foreign activists participated on Friday in the peaceful weekly marches organized in West Bank villages against the segregation wall and settlement activities despite the Israel threats to escalate the use of force against anti-wall protests.

In the village of Ma’ssara, south of Bethlehem, Israeli troops erected razor-wire and stopped the marchers from reaching the wall. Soldiers used abusive remarks against protesters.

Organizers delivered speeches in honor of May Day and called for continuing to resist the occupation until the wall is removed and their land is liberated. Shortly after, the troops aggressively quelled the protesters.

In the Ramallah village of Nabi Saleh, Israeli troops also attacked the Palestinian protesters who marched towards their agricultural lands threatened with annexation.

Israeli troops’ attempt to suppress the protest led to the outbreak of clashes with the villagers. The events soon spread to other parts of the village in the west.

In Bil’in village in Ramallah, two foreign activists and one cameraman were injured during confrontations with troops who started to shower the anti-wall march with tear gas grenades and rubber bullets.

The Israeli troops reportedly arrested in Bil’in march three journalists, two of them were from Al-Jazeera channel, and one female activist.

In another context, Palestinian medical sources said that Ismail Al-Suweiti, the father of Al-Qassam leader Ali who was assassinated days ago in the town of Beit Awa in Al-Khalil, was moderately wounded when Israeli troops stormed his home.

A young man related to Suweiti family was also injured during clashes with Israeli troops in the vicinity of the grand mosque in the town

The troops raided and ransacked a school and houses in the town and smashed a number of cars. A state of popular unrest is prevailing in Beit Awa after the assassination of Al-Suweiti.

In a separate incident on Friday morning, armed Israeli settlers from Havat Gilad settlement escorted by troops uprooted dozens of olive trees from the fields of Kafr Qadoum near Qalqiliya.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

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