TWELVE PALESTINIANS INJURED IN A CLASH NEAR RAMALLAH
Ramalah, 26 Jumadil Akhir 1434/5 Mei 2013 (MINA) – Palestinian medical sources reported that eight Palestinians have been injured by Israeli army rubber-coated metal bullets, while four others suffered fractures and bruises after being attacked by Israeli settlers who invaded Ras Karkar village, West of Central West Bank City of Ramallah.
Local sources reported that dozens of extremist Israeli settlers invaded the village, and attacked dozens of homes before clashing with local youths. Israeli soldiers also invaded the village and clashed with the residents.
The army fired dozens of rubber-coated metal bullets and gas bombs at the residents injuring eight, including one resident, identified as Ramadan Filfil, who was shot in the eye, and Ayyoub Samhan, -24 years old- who was shot in the chest by a rubber-coated metal bullet fired at him at a close range.
The Maan News Agency has reported that the army and extremist settlers prevented Palestinian ambulances from entering the village, and only allowed them through at a later stage.
The settlers invaded the Beer Ayyoub (Jacob’s Well) area, at the entrance of the village, and the soldiers broke into three homes before clashing with dozens of residents who tried to prevent the settlers from invading the village.
The Jewish settlers also tried to set the homes of fire, causing excessive damage, and torched several olive trees owned by the residents.
Soldiers fired rounds of live ammunition at a number of homes causing damage, and continued to fire gas bombs and rubber-coated bullets at local youths who hurled stones at the invading settlers and soldiers.
Secretary-General of Palestinian National Initiative, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, stated that the ongoing and escalating attacks carried out by the settlers, are “a repetition of what Zionist gangs did in Palestine, and the massacres they committed in 1947 and 1948”.
“What is happening is ethnic cleansing, similar to what happened during the Nakba of 1948”, Dr. Barghouthi said, “The Palestinians must strengthen their popular resistance against the settlers, against the occupation, until liberation and independence”.
The clashes also happened last month. clashes broke out between scores of Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers in the town of Silwad, 12 kilometers (seven miles) northeast of Ramallah.
Israeli troops fired tear gas canisters at the demonstrators to disperse the crowd, and detained a number of Palestinians taking part in the demonstration.
Similar clashes also erupted in the town of Kafr Qaddum near Nablus.
Palestinians argue that the Israeli regime is expropriating their lands in the occupied West Bank in order to legalize the expansion of its settlement outposts there.
Israel has announced plans to build 90 more settler units in the occupied West Bank despite widespread international criticism over the construction of settlements in Palestinian territories.
The plans, signed by the then Israeli Minister for Military Affairs Ehud Barak in August 2012, received final approval on February 10.
Barak had earlier approved the construction of 346 new settler units in two settlements in southern West Bank.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967. (T/P08/P04)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
