freepalestine
15th May 2011, 21:24
9 killed as Israeli forces attack Nakba marches on northern, southern and central borders
Sunday May 15, 2011 16:35 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News [/URL]
An estimated four people were killed Sunday on the Syria-Israel border, five killed on the Lebanon-Israel border, 52 injured in Gaza, and at least 24 injured in the West Bank as Israeli forces attacked Palestinian refugees trying to re-enter their former homes in what is now Israel. The day of protests was a commemoration of the ‘Nakba’ or ‘Catastrophe’, the day when Israel was created on Palestinian land 63 years ago. (http://www.revleft.com/vb/../report_posts?subject=Report post: Story 61245 with title: 9 killed as Israeli forces attack Nakba marches on northern, southern and central borders&message=Report post: Story 61245 with title: 9 killed as Israeli forces attack Nakba marches on northern, southern and central borders%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.imemc.org%2Findex.php%3 Fobj_id%3D53%26story_id%3D61245%26%0A%0AEnter+your +reason+here+-+please+do+not+remove+the+above+link+as+it+will+al low+an+editor+to+easily+remove+the+offending+conte nt)
The Israeli military confirmed firing at protesters on the Israel-Syrian border, as thousands of refugees tried to cross into the Golan Heights – a territory that was traditionally Palestinian, but is now a disputed territory claimed by both Israel and Syria. Many Palestinians who lived in the area found their towns and families split in half by the border.
Initial reports indicate that four people were killed by Israeli gunfire on the Syrian border, and dozens were wounded, as Palestinians crossed dangerous unmapped minefields to cross into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
Thousands of Palestinian refugees in southern Lebanon also tried to cross the border with Israel Sunday morning, and were met with gunfire from Israeli troops stationed at the border. Local sources report that at least five people were killed, and ten wounded by Israeli gunfire in the Maroun al-Ras area.
In Gaza, according to local sources, around 1,000 Palestinian refugees and supporters from the Gaza Strip marched on the Erez border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, where they were fired on by Israeli troops, injuring at least 52 people.
Palestinian refugees from the West Bank also marched to the Qalandia checkpoint established by Israeli forces as the main border crossing between the West Bank and what is now Israel, although Qalandia’s location is far east of the internationally-agreed armistice line of 1967, and indicates a possible land grab by Israel if established as an actual border.
At least five Palestinian youth were injured when Israeli forces fired live rounds at a group of youth throwing stones during the largely peaceful demonstration of several thousand people at Qalandia. Dozens more were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas inhalation.
In Issawiya, in east Jerusalem, Israeli forces fired on a group of youth throwing stones during a march held in that neighborhood. Four people were detained.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, students from Bir Zeit university, near Ramallah, set tires on fire as some youth threw stones at Israeli soldiers at the Atara checkpoint.
In al-Walaja village, a site known for non-violent anti-Wall protests, several hundred Palestinians, internationals and Israelis marched to the site of Wall construction in the center of the village – at least five were detained – three internationals and two Palestinians.
At least 63 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces at protests in the West Bank and Jerusalem since Friday.
[URL]http://imemc.org/article/61245
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14 said dead on Syrian, Lebanese borders by Israeli fire
Published today (updated) 15/05/2011 19:35
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- As many as 14 were said killed by Israeli fire in incidents on the Syrian and Lebanese borders on Sunday, as Palestinians marked the 63rd anniversary of the expulsion from their homes.
Two people were killed and four critically hurt by the gunfire after protesters from Syria entered the occupied Golan Heights, a Druze doctor who tended them told AFP, while other reports said four had been killed.
Protesters from the Syrian Golan breached the border with the Israeli-controlled half of the plateau, prompting Israeli troops to fire in the air and use tear gas, Israeli defense sources said.
A statement from Israel's military said "forces fired selectively towards rioters who were targeting security infrastructure and some were injured as a result."
Staff at the local medical center in the Druze border town of Majdal Shams said one of the men was shot in the head and the other in the chest. They said they treated another 20 people with light to moderate injuries.
The protesters, part of the Syrian Druze community separated from their families when Israel occupied the southern half of the Golan heights in 1967, breached the border, crossing almost a kilometer of minefields at the border zone.
The United Nations patrols the area, which was illegally annexed by Israel. Border crossings remain closed between Israel and Syria, making visits between families separated by the border almost impossible.
The border breach was called "very serious and violent" by Israeli army spokeswoman Avital Liebowitz, while Syria issued a statement condemning the fire on residents from its south, and also labeled as "criminal" shots fired toward Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, saying Israel bore full responsibility for the deaths.
The army accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime of "organizing" the violence as a means to divert international attention from pro-democracy protests sweeping his country.
"Syrian authorities organized this violent incident in order to divert world opinion away from what is happening in their cities," army spokeswoman Leibovitz said.
"Syria is a police state," the official added. "Demonstrators do not randomly approach the border without the prior approval of the central government."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he would make a statement on the incident at 1500 GMT.
Channel 1 television reported that its correspondent in Majdal Shams, a Druze town on the Golan, said he had come across 30-40 infiltrators in its main square, some of who said they were Palestinians from Yarmuk refugee camp in Damascus.
Local religious leaders escorted a number of the outsiders to the point where they crossed the frontier and sent them back they way they had they come, through a minefield, local residents told AFP.
The army sealed off the town and its immediate surroundings and carried out house-to-house searches for infiltrators, defense sources said.
Forces fire on refugees in Lebanon protests
Israeli gunfire killed ten people and wounded 112 others at the country's border with Lebanon, a medical source in southern Lebanon told AFP, revising an earlier toll.
Thousands of mainly Palestinian refugees demonstrated, a Lebanese security official said, calling for the right to return to their homes in what is now Israel, and condemning their expulsion from the are in 1948 when the State of Israel was created.
An Israeli military statement said "several rioters attempted to breach the border fence and to infiltrate into Israeli territory," noting that soldiers responded with "warning shots."
The statement held the governments of Lebanon and Syria "responsible for any violence or provocation towards Israel that emanates from their respective territories."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=387823
Sunday May 15, 2011 16:35 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News [/URL]
An estimated four people were killed Sunday on the Syria-Israel border, five killed on the Lebanon-Israel border, 52 injured in Gaza, and at least 24 injured in the West Bank as Israeli forces attacked Palestinian refugees trying to re-enter their former homes in what is now Israel. The day of protests was a commemoration of the ‘Nakba’ or ‘Catastrophe’, the day when Israel was created on Palestinian land 63 years ago. (http://www.revleft.com/vb/../report_posts?subject=Report post: Story 61245 with title: 9 killed as Israeli forces attack Nakba marches on northern, southern and central borders&message=Report post: Story 61245 with title: 9 killed as Israeli forces attack Nakba marches on northern, southern and central borders%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.imemc.org%2Findex.php%3 Fobj_id%3D53%26story_id%3D61245%26%0A%0AEnter+your +reason+here+-+please+do+not+remove+the+above+link+as+it+will+al low+an+editor+to+easily+remove+the+offending+conte nt)
The Israeli military confirmed firing at protesters on the Israel-Syrian border, as thousands of refugees tried to cross into the Golan Heights – a territory that was traditionally Palestinian, but is now a disputed territory claimed by both Israel and Syria. Many Palestinians who lived in the area found their towns and families split in half by the border.
Initial reports indicate that four people were killed by Israeli gunfire on the Syrian border, and dozens were wounded, as Palestinians crossed dangerous unmapped minefields to cross into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
Thousands of Palestinian refugees in southern Lebanon also tried to cross the border with Israel Sunday morning, and were met with gunfire from Israeli troops stationed at the border. Local sources report that at least five people were killed, and ten wounded by Israeli gunfire in the Maroun al-Ras area.
In Gaza, according to local sources, around 1,000 Palestinian refugees and supporters from the Gaza Strip marched on the Erez border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, where they were fired on by Israeli troops, injuring at least 52 people.
Palestinian refugees from the West Bank also marched to the Qalandia checkpoint established by Israeli forces as the main border crossing between the West Bank and what is now Israel, although Qalandia’s location is far east of the internationally-agreed armistice line of 1967, and indicates a possible land grab by Israel if established as an actual border.
At least five Palestinian youth were injured when Israeli forces fired live rounds at a group of youth throwing stones during the largely peaceful demonstration of several thousand people at Qalandia. Dozens more were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas inhalation.
In Issawiya, in east Jerusalem, Israeli forces fired on a group of youth throwing stones during a march held in that neighborhood. Four people were detained.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, students from Bir Zeit university, near Ramallah, set tires on fire as some youth threw stones at Israeli soldiers at the Atara checkpoint.
In al-Walaja village, a site known for non-violent anti-Wall protests, several hundred Palestinians, internationals and Israelis marched to the site of Wall construction in the center of the village – at least five were detained – three internationals and two Palestinians.
At least 63 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces at protests in the West Bank and Jerusalem since Friday.
[URL]http://imemc.org/article/61245
-----------------------------------------------
14 said dead on Syrian, Lebanese borders by Israeli fire
Published today (updated) 15/05/2011 19:35
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- As many as 14 were said killed by Israeli fire in incidents on the Syrian and Lebanese borders on Sunday, as Palestinians marked the 63rd anniversary of the expulsion from their homes.
Two people were killed and four critically hurt by the gunfire after protesters from Syria entered the occupied Golan Heights, a Druze doctor who tended them told AFP, while other reports said four had been killed.
Protesters from the Syrian Golan breached the border with the Israeli-controlled half of the plateau, prompting Israeli troops to fire in the air and use tear gas, Israeli defense sources said.
A statement from Israel's military said "forces fired selectively towards rioters who were targeting security infrastructure and some were injured as a result."
Staff at the local medical center in the Druze border town of Majdal Shams said one of the men was shot in the head and the other in the chest. They said they treated another 20 people with light to moderate injuries.
The protesters, part of the Syrian Druze community separated from their families when Israel occupied the southern half of the Golan heights in 1967, breached the border, crossing almost a kilometer of minefields at the border zone.
The United Nations patrols the area, which was illegally annexed by Israel. Border crossings remain closed between Israel and Syria, making visits between families separated by the border almost impossible.
The border breach was called "very serious and violent" by Israeli army spokeswoman Avital Liebowitz, while Syria issued a statement condemning the fire on residents from its south, and also labeled as "criminal" shots fired toward Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, saying Israel bore full responsibility for the deaths.
The army accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime of "organizing" the violence as a means to divert international attention from pro-democracy protests sweeping his country.
"Syrian authorities organized this violent incident in order to divert world opinion away from what is happening in their cities," army spokeswoman Leibovitz said.
"Syria is a police state," the official added. "Demonstrators do not randomly approach the border without the prior approval of the central government."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he would make a statement on the incident at 1500 GMT.
Channel 1 television reported that its correspondent in Majdal Shams, a Druze town on the Golan, said he had come across 30-40 infiltrators in its main square, some of who said they were Palestinians from Yarmuk refugee camp in Damascus.
Local religious leaders escorted a number of the outsiders to the point where they crossed the frontier and sent them back they way they had they come, through a minefield, local residents told AFP.
The army sealed off the town and its immediate surroundings and carried out house-to-house searches for infiltrators, defense sources said.
Forces fire on refugees in Lebanon protests
Israeli gunfire killed ten people and wounded 112 others at the country's border with Lebanon, a medical source in southern Lebanon told AFP, revising an earlier toll.
Thousands of mainly Palestinian refugees demonstrated, a Lebanese security official said, calling for the right to return to their homes in what is now Israel, and condemning their expulsion from the are in 1948 when the State of Israel was created.
An Israeli military statement said "several rioters attempted to breach the border fence and to infiltrate into Israeli territory," noting that soldiers responded with "warning shots."
The statement held the governments of Lebanon and Syria "responsible for any violence or provocation towards Israel that emanates from their respective territories."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=387823