IOF troops assault Dr. Barghouthi during anti-wall march in Al-Ma'asara village

[ 04/04/2009 - 10:16 AM ]

BETHLEHEM, (PIC)-- 

The IOF troops on Friday assaulted Dr. Mustafa Al-Barghouthi, the secretary-general of the national initiative party, and hundreds of protesters during a weekly anti-wall march in the village of Al-Ma'asara in Bethlehem.

Dozens of the national initiative members, citizens, and foreign activists participated in the weekly march to protest the apartheid policy pursued by Israel.

During the protest, Dr. Barghouthi said that whoever believes in the Palestinians' right to return to their land must impose sanctions on the Israeli government to force it to end its settlement expansion and the apartheid system.

The Palestinian partisan leader added that the agreements which some parties talk about were torn up and dumped in a wastebasket by the Israeli occupation, so the fighting over the Palestinian authority is useless especially when the new Israeli premier declares that he will never allow any Palestinian entity to have sovereignty or control over borders, resources, waters and airspace.

In Ramallah, two journalists were wounded and dozens of protesters suffered suffocation when IOF troops fired live bullets and tear gas canisters at the weakly anti-wall protest held yesterday in Bi'lin village on the anniversary of Land Day.

The protesters including foreign activists chanted slogans and carried banners condemning the policy of settlement, apartheid and judaization perused by Israel in the Palestinian occupied lands.

In another context, the IOF troops resumed their night raids in the Bi'lin village, where they stormed the village during the last few days amid intensive gunfire which caused panic among the citizens especially the children.

For its part, the Hebrew radio reported Friday that three Israeli soldiers and one Palestinian protester were slightly injured during the weekly anti-wall protest held in the Ni'lin village in Ramallah.

South of Bethlehem, four Palestinian young men from Beit Fajjar were seriously injured when IOF troops stopped them and severely beat them with their rifle butts without any known reason, according to Palestinian local sources.

In the context of the Israeli settlers' assaults on Palestinians, local sources from Al-Khalil city said that Israeli settlers robbed four Palestinian commercial stores in the market of ancient clothing adjacent to the settlement of Avraham Avinu.

The sources asserted that the Israeli settlers escalated lately their aggressive attacks on Palestinian homes and property in Al-Khalil.