Israel Matzav

'Palestinians' march on Jerusalem, riot ensues

For years we have been warned that one day the 'Palestinians' would 'peacefully' march to Jerusalem and there would be nothing the Israeli security forces could do to stop them. On Thursday night, they marched to Jerusalem. As anyone who is familiar with the situation here could tell you would happen, a riot ensued. One 'Palestinian' is dead, three are in critical condition and more than 200 were wounded.

Some 10,000 Palestinians protested near the checkpoint, throwing rocks, firebombs and fireworks at Israeli security forces, and setting tires ablaze. The IDF forces and Border Police were using crowd dispersal means on the masses.

Hospital officials in Ramallah earlier said three protesters had been killed, but revised that to one killed and three others in critical condition and on life support. Some 200 protesters were injured, a hospital doctor said. Thirteen Israeli police officers were lightly injured.

The IDF Spokesperson's Office did not immediately confirm the Palestinian casualties. The military was checking reports of live fire targeting Israeli forces at the checkpoint.

The protest erupted after allies of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement marched from the West Bank city of Ramallah to the edges of Jerusalem in protest against Israel's 17-day-old campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza.

Police so far arrested 39 Arab suspects during the protests.

Earlier on Thursday, Israel Police arrested nine suspects in east Jerusalem, for disrupting the peace and attacking police officers, near the Old City. The police said it used crowd dispersal methods to restore order.

At the same time, near the Temple Mount, dozens of east Jerusalem residents threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at police forces. The police said said they have arrested 10 suspects, and that two police officers were lightly injured during the clash.

As police prepared for Friday prayers, they planed to heighten security in the Old City and throughout Jerusalem, as Operation Protective Edge enters its third week, fueling already heightened tensions between Arabs and Jews in the capital.

Read the whole thing. It explains the helicopters we've been hearing overhead every night this week all over Jerusalem.

I have been saying for many years that Hamas and Fatah differ only in methodology and not in goals. Perhaps this will wake up some people who waiver between the Right and the Left. Fatah (and the 'Palestinian Authority') is no better than Hamas. The delusion that there is a difference is one of the worst consequences of the Oslo fiasco.

Labels: East Jerusalem, Gaza, Hamas, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, IDF, Kalandia checkpoint, Operation Protective Edge, Palestinian riots

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:36 AM