Clashes as Palestinians mark ‘Land Day’

At least 121 people were injured in clashes at the Qalandiya checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem yesterday, mostly from tear gas inhalation, medical said.
Palestinian activists have called for a “Global March to Jerusalem” to mark the day when Israeli Arabs protest against government policies that they say has stripped them of land.
Five medical workers were also reported to have been shot with rubber coated bullets and one car was set ablaze.

Al Jazeera’s Cal Perry reported that Israeli security forces tried to push hundreds of protesters back toward the nearby West Bank town of Ramallah, using water cannon and tear gas.

Rocks were thrown, tyres set alight and Red Crescent ambulances could be seen at the scene.
“This is a place where we frequently see clashes, and what we’re seeing here is the Israeli army needing to put a barrier up and not let people through,” our correspondent said.

“These clashes seem to be a bit more fierce today, and have started earlier in the day than usual.”
Medics in the Gaza Strip said the Israelis also used live fire to prevent protesters from nearing the frontier wall, seriously wounding one man.
Israeli forces were put on high alert at frontier crossings with Lebanon and Syria, but there were no reports of anyone nearing the border fences, unlike last year when several demonstrators were killed in separate protests.

However, violence flared at checkpoints in the West Bank to the north and south of Jerusalem.
Witnesses also reported disturbances at gates leading into the Old City, with police limiting access to the Muslims’ revered al-Aqsa Mosque.

A Reuters news agency reporter saw two men being carried away injured after scuffles at Jerusalem’s Lions’ Gate, while police said they had made five arrests at the Damascus Gate.

Jerusalem is a focal point of conflict, as Palestinians want the city’s eastern sector, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, as capital of a future state.
Israel has annexed East Jerusalem as part of its capital and insists the city remain united. — AFP.