Israeli forces shut down Beit Ummar rally
Reageer (0)7-8-2010
HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Protesters and photojournalists said they were beaten by Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against land confiscations in the Hebron-area town of Beit Ummar on Saturday.
Protesters said a group of several dozen Palestinians, Israelis and internationals gathered at the edge of the illegal Israeli settlement Karmi Zur, and demanded an end to the confiscation of land. The settlement is built on 50 dunums of privately owned Palestinian lands, according to Israeli NGO Peace Now.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said a group of approximately 40 marched toward Karmi Zur and "tried to reach" the settlement "to start a provocation." She said the group was "presented with a military order" mandating the area a closed zone, making their presence in the area illegal.
When the protesters started hurling rocks, she said, Israeli soldiers responded using riot dispersal mechanisms, which can include tear gas and rubber-coated bullets, among other means. She said she was "not aware of any physical confrontations" during the incident.
Organizers from the local Popular Committee said soldiers arrived in the area when the protesters were around 300 meters away from the settlement fence, and declared the area a "closed military zone."
Spokesman of the Palestinian solidarity project in Beit Ummar Mohammad Awad said soldiers used physical force "deliberately" against the protesters, and fired "intense series of tear-gas canisters toward protesters and journalists."
Awad said soldiers beat an unidentified Cuban solidarity protester and a local man named as Ahmad Khalil Abu Hashem. "Both sustained bruises over their bodies," the spokesman said.
"Soldiers chased protesters between the olive trees in the grove, firing tear gas canisters toward them, then at the homes of residents nearby," Awwad told Ma’an, adding that several were treated in the field for tear-gas inhalation.
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