Israeli troops injure Palestinians, sympathizers during peaceful march in Bil’in

Israeli troops injure Palestinians, sympathizers during peaceful march in Bil’in

 A handful of Palestinians and foreign sympathizers were injured while tens were treated for gas inhalation and one journalist from Germany was arrested Friday after Israeli troops suppressed walks in the West Bank villages of Bil’in and Ma’sara to protest Jewish settlement activity in the region and the apartheid wall.

Media sources in the West Bank said the troops fired metal bullets, stun grenades, and toxic gas at the demonstrators, injuring Mohammed Al-Khateeb, 17, photojournalist Najeeb Sharawina, photojournalist Maheeb Al-Barghouthi, and a journalist from Australia, while tens of others sustained breathing difficulties after inhaling tear gas.

A German-based journalist was arrested amid the incident.

The marchers raised high the national flags of Palestine, Brazil, Argentina, and Turkey and photos of Bil’in’s anti-wall committee coordinator, Abdullah Abu Rahma, and chanted slogans marking the anniversary of the first intifada, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Abu Rahma’s one year in political detention.

The victims were given medical attention on the field, the anti-wall committee’s media spokesman Mohammed Barijia said.

A man from South Africa was wounded by a stun grenade that struck his head, Barijia added.