Wednesday,  December 11 , 2024

Linkedin Pinterest
News / Nation & World

Israeli forces clash with Palestinians in Hebron

Stones meet tear gas and rubber bullets

The Columbian
Published: September 27, 2013, 5:00pm

HEBRON, West Bank — Israeli troops clashed with dozens of stone-throwing protesters Friday in the volatile West Bank city of Hebron, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds who had approached a military checkpoint protecting Jewish settlers.

It was the most serious violence in a series of demonstrations carried out in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Friday meant to mark the 13th anniversary of the second Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.

Hebron is a frequent site of clashes. Several hundred hard-line Jewish settlers live in heavily fortified enclaves in the biblical city, home to some 170,000 Palestinians. Tensions there were further heightened this week when an Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper who remains at large.

The clashes erupted when youths, some of their faces covered with ski masks or Palestinian headdresses, began pelting a military checkpoint that protects a Jewish settler enclave. Protesters lit piles of garbage on fire and threw the stones behind walls of smoke. Palestinian security forces also attempted to prevent stone-throwing.

The military said there were roughly 250 protesters, and that security forces used “riot dispersal means” to quell the violence.

Israeli security forces fired stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas, sending crowds of Palestinians running for cover.

Demonstrations also occurred in east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. In a security move meant to calm tensions, Israel restricted entry to the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers to men over the age of 50.

Support local journalism

Your tax-deductible donation to The Columbian’s Community Funded Journalism program will contribute to better local reporting on key issues, including homelessness, housing, transportation and the environment. Reporters will focus on narrative, investigative and data-driven storytelling.

Local journalism needs your help. It’s an essential part of a healthy community and a healthy democracy.

Community Funded Journalism logo
Loading...