Brutal attempt to arrest a Palestinian guy during #Nakba64

anniversary Demonstration near Ofer military jail.15.05.2012

Palestinian protesters marking Nakba Day again clashed with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank,  injuring at least 70. All attempts by Palestinian leaders to avoid clashes and violence were again thwarted by the Israeli army. This, of course, follows a recent deal with Israel to end a prison hunger strike.Thousands of Palestinians took to streets in West Bank and Gaza to mark the anniversary, and to hail the end of hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners. Nakba or “catastrophe,” marks the day the state of Israel was created and resulted in the exile of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
Any hope for calm as a result of last night’s deal, in which most of the 2,000 Palestinians on hunger strike in Israeli jails, ended their fasts, in exchange for assurances from the Israeli prison service to improve jail conditions. The deal however, did not include an end to holding Palestinians without charge.

Throughout the city, cars were decked out with black flags carrying a picture of a key and the word “return” in English and Arabic to remember homes they were forced from.

Hundreds also gathered at the nearby Ofer military prison, and at the Qalandiya crossing. Crowds of young people launched rocks from slingshots at Israelis soldiers who responded with tear gas and sprayed the crowd with skunk cannon, which soaked the crowd with foul smelling liquid.



The biggest protest was outside Israel’s Ofer Military prison, where there had been a large scale hunger strike. One wonders had this hunger strike been anywhere else, would the world media have made more of it? They made very little of this hunger strike.


PAL Red Crescent services said that 216 were treated for gas inhalation and 64 had rubber bullet injuries. While 19 more were hospitalised.


One youth was caught and the soldiers attempted to arrest him. He was beaten brutally and was freed by several other Palestinian youths who were throwing stones. He was injured to the head and taken to hospital. The clashes continued until 6.30.