Israeli occupation forces wound and detain dozens of Palestinian youth on Friday clashes

[ 20/03/2010 - 09:41 AM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)--

Dozens of Palestinian young men were wounded or kidnapped on Friday during clashes with the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in different areas of occupied Jerusalem, especially in Shu'afat refugee camp.

Palestinian sources reported that 15 young men were severely beaten and then kidnapped by undercover and special military units after they took refuge in a building under construction near the Israeli military checkpoint at the entrance of Shu'afat camp.

The sources added that other casualties and dozens of tear gas suffocation cases were also seen during the clashes with the IOF troops in the refugee camp, noting that the ambulances failed to reach the wounded because of the Israeli closure of the camp’s main entrance as well as the neighboring areas of Enata and Al-Salam.

The clashes broke out in the camp shortly after the Friday congregation, when hundreds of youths attacked an Israeli military checkpoint at the entrance to the camp.

In Sultan Suleiman street in Jerusalem, a force of Israeli police kidnapped a young man after a raid on a café, while violent clashes erupted afternoon in the neighborhoods of Wadi Al-Joz, Ras Al-Amud, Qalandia and Issawiya which led to several casualties among citizens.

The IOF troops imposed tight restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers under age 50 to the Aqsa Mosque for the third consecutive day and intensified its presence in the holy city.

In a separate incident, hundreds of foreign peace activists marched afternoon towards Shaikh Jarrah neighborhood to express their solidarity with the Palestinian residents who are harassed and attacked by Israeli settlers.

The IOF troops closed the entrances of the neighborhood and prevented the activists from reaching the Palestinian families whose homes were appropriated by settlers.

For its part, an Israeli court issued a decision to exile six Palestinian young men from their homes in the neighborhoods of Bab Hatta and Al-Wad in the Old City of Jerusalem after they were detained two days ago.

A similar court decision was issued on Thursday against other 15 young men from the neighborhood of the African community in the Old City, who were kidnapped during raids on their homes against the backdrop of Tuesday clashes.

In the West Bank, the IOF troops clashed on Friday with the weekly anti-wall march in the village of Ma’asarah, south of Bethlehem, which was dedicated this week to the support of the Aqsa Mosque.

Local sources said that the Israeli troops used batons and tear gas grenades to quell the protesters who tried to reach the Palestinian agricultural lands behind the segregation wall, and wounded a participating foreign activist.

Other fierce clashes reportedly broke out yesterday in the West Bank city of Al-Khalil (Hebron) after the IOF troops tried to suppress a massive protest organized by Hamas in the southern area of the city.

Eyewitness told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that dozens of Israeli patrols and troops attacked the march which started from a mosque south of the city heading towards the Ibrahimi Mosque.

The Israeli troops attacked the pro-Aqsa Mosque march with tear gas grenades and rubber bullets, while the protesters responded by throwing stones and torching tires. More than 15 young men reportedly received field medical treatment or transferred to hospitals.

For its part, Hamas Movement in the West Bank hailed in a statement issued Saturday the Palestinian people of Al-Khalil city for responding to its call and revolting for the Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque.

In another related incident, dozens of Palestinians in Haifa city participated in a march in protest at the Israeli Judaization activities in the holy city of Jerusalem.

The protesters also chanted slogans calling for repelling the settlement expansion and the policy of ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian lands, and for ending the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.