ISRAELI SOLDIERS RAID VILLAGE IN JERUSALEM

       Bethlehem, 9 Rabiul Awwal 1434/21 January 2013 (MINA) – Dozens of people were lightly injured on Sunday (20/1) as Israeli soldiers raided a newly erected Palestinian protest village in northwest Jerusalem.

      “Israeli soldiers raided the al-Karamah (Dignity) village in Beit Iksa and issued demolition and evacuation orders, “ Local activist Nabil Habana told Ma’an as quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) Monday (21/1).

       Activists tried to prevent soldiers from reaching their tents, with soldiers firing tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the protesters, Habana added.

       Spokesman for the protest village, Bilal Kiswani, said the repeated incursions by Israeli  soldiers indicate that the al-Karamah village will be demolished soon.

       There are over 100 activists from nearby areas at the protest village, and they will remain on the land despite Israeli orders to leave, he added.

       Local groups set up the new tented protest village northwest of Jerusalem on Friday, the second such initiative against Israeli settlement building in as many weeks.

      On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers tore down the tented village Bab al-Shams, set up to protest Israel’s plans to build the “E1” settlement on the land, severing the West Bank from Jerusalem.

      Beit Iksa, surrounded by Israeli settlements, is set to be entirely encircled by Israel’s separation wall, cutting it off from Jerusalem.

      When completed, the wall will annex 96 percent of Beit Iksa’s land, according to a study by the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem. (T/R-010/R-006)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)