Agencies-Gaza post
Massive clashes erupted in Kufr Qaddum, Nablus, Hebron
Palestinians were wounded as Israeli forces suppress Kufr Qaddoum weekly march
Israeli occupation forces on Friday violently quelled the peaceful anti-settlement demonstration in the village of Kufr Qaddoum, east of Qalqilia, the occupied West Bank, local sources reported.
Coordinator of the popular resistance committee in the village, Murad Ishtawi, said in a press statement that Israeli forces suppressed Palestinians who also rallied to protest Israel’s closure of the main road that connects the village of Kufr Qaddoum with the city of Nablus since 2003.
He added that forces used rubber-coated steel bullets and teargas canisters against protesters, shooting and injuring at least three youth and causing dozens of suffocation cases among them. They were all treated at the scene.
“Before 2003, the residents of Kufr Qaddoum would use a shorter road to the east in order to come and go to nearby cities and villages. However, as the settlements expanded so that they overwhelmed the road, it became closed for Palestinian use,” Addameer Human rights Association said.
It added that the only alternative road is roughly six times longer than the previous route, disrupting the villagers’ ability to attend university, their jobs, and other vital aspects of their economic and social well-being.
Although Kufr Qaddum has Popular Resistance Committee took their case to the Israeli High Court in 2003, the legal status of the road remains unchanged, stressed the human rights association.
Villagers decided to organize weekly demonstrations in July 2011 after all legal appeals failed, a step that was met with violent suppression by Israeli forces.
In Nablus, several Palestinians were suffocated by teargas
Tens of Palestinians suffocated by teargas fired by Israeli forces during clashes that erupted in the village of Qaryout to the south of Nablus, local sources reported.
Sources asserted that settlers broke into the village’s water spring, under the protection of Israeli forces, provoking residents and leading to clashes.
Israeli soldiers assulated the town residents with tear gas canisters and stun grenades after they tried to face the settlers, causing several suffocation cases among them.
Sources reported that the firing of teargas canisters also caused nearby land to catch fire.
Meanwhile, clashes were erupt in Hebron’s Beit Ummar town, dozens were suffocated
Several Palestinians suffocated evening by teargas fired by Israeli military forces during clashes that erupted in the town of Beit Ummar to the north of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, local activist Mohammed Awad said.
He added that clashes erupted in the town of Beit Ummar, during which Israeli soldiers fired teargas canisters and stun grenades toward the town’s residents and their houses.
Tens were treated at the location from teargas suffocation.
Source: Wafa
