Four protesters were wounded, and hundreds more suffered the effects of tear gas and chemical water sprayed by Israeli forces on non-violent prisoner solidarity protests in six West Bank villages on Friday.One Palestinian was injured in the village of Aboud near Ramallah during clashes with stone-throwing youth and Israeli troops who attempted to prevent a nonviolent protest held in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners.
Local sources said that Majed Barghouti 18 years old was hit with a rubber bullet in his eye. Barghouti was moved to the hospital for treatment in Ramallah and wound was described as serious.
In the meantime, residents of the nearby village of Nabi Saleh, in addition to international supporters marched in solidarity with the prisoners after the Friday midday prayers. Israeli troops stopped the marchers at the entrance of the village and fired several rounds of tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and chemical water. Dozens were treated for the effects of gas inhalation and some of the nearby fields caught fire.
Clashes erupted afterwards between stone throwing youth and Israeli soldiers who blocked all entrances of village and prevented the ambulance from entering the village to treat the wounded.
In the nearby village of Bil’in, Israeli and International peace activists joined the villagers in their weekly anti-wall protest which was dedicated to the Palestinian prisoners.
The march started after the mid-day prayers and was met by Israeli soldiers who fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets and showered the protesters with sewage and chemical water. Several protesters suffered effects of the gas inhalation and the chemical water and were treated by field paramedics.
As a response some of local youth threw balloons with animal feces inside them at the soldiers. The troops responded with more gas, metal bullets and sound bombs which caused fire in the nearby fields.
In Kufur Qaddum, near Nablus, three journalists were wounded when Israeli troops attacked the prisoner-solidarity march in the village with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters.
The three journalists were identified as a reporter and two cameramen of the Palestinian Satellite Channel.
In the southern part of the West Bank, over one thousand Palestinian, International and Israeli protesters gathered in the village of Al-Walaja to protest against the wall Israel is building of the villages land and to show solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners. Israeli troops attacked the protesters with tear gas causing dozens to choke and were all treated by field paramedics.
Meanwhile in the nearby village of Al-Maasara, several were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli soldiers attempted to stop the nonviolent anti-wall/prisoner solidarity protest organized in the village.
The march started after the mid-day prayers from the mosque and managed to reach the lands close to the settlement of Efrat near Bethlehem, which is built on confiscated Palestinian lands.
