Israeli Occupation Forces Injure Demonstrators in Nabi Salih, Detain 11 Anti-Wall Protesters in Bethlehem

11 detained at anti-wall rally south of Bethlehem

Published today (updated) 10/04/2010 16:14

Hebron - Ma'an -

Israeli occupation forces detained at least 11 people south of the central West Bank city of Bethlehem on Friday afternoon.

Eight of the detainees were participating in a protest against the illegal Israeli Land-Grab, Apartheid Wall in Safa, a village next to the illegal Gush Etzion settlement.

A Palestinian journalist and two foreign nationals were among those detained at the scene, according to witnesses, who said 11 were detained in total.

An Israeli occupation forces spokeswoman said 14 rioters who violated a closed military zone order were arrested during a "violent and illegal riot." They threw rocks at security forces and set fire to adjacent lands, she said.

All 14 were transferred to the custody of Israeli police for questioning, the official added.

Injuries reported after Nabi Salih demonstration

Published yesterday (updated) 10/04/2010 13:00

Bethlehem - Ma'an -

Dozens of protesters choked on tear gas Friday in the occupied West Bank village of Nabi Salih, west of Ramallah, protesters said, while an Israeli occupation border police officer was injured by rocks.

An estimated 200 human rights advocates, among them international and Israeli solidarity activists, joined the weekly Palestinian protest against Israel's wall. Participants insisted the protest was generally peaceful.

Bashir Al-Tamimi, head of the Nabi Saleh village council, said "Israeli soldiers attacked the rally, showering [participants] with rubber-coated bullets and tear-gas canisters. Dozens were injured after inhaling gas."

Al-Tamimi added: "Israeli forces chased protestors into the village, fired gas canisters at their homes, and sprayed houses with sewage water, injuring several women and children, who fainted after inhaling fumes."

An Israeli army spokeswoman rejected that the event was peaceful, terming it a violent and illegal riot.

"About 200 Palestinian rioters and Israeli citizens violently rioted" in the village, she said. Forces on the scene used riot-control measures to disperse the crowd, the military official added.

A border policeman was lightly injured by rocks and evacuated for medical treatment, the spokeswoman said, while Israeli media reported that a second border police officer was also lightly injured.

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