Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., August 02, 2008 Av 1, 5768 | | Israel Time: 12:22 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 02:02 07/07/2008
IDF curfew forces West Bank village residents to stay indoors around the clock
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters
Tags: Na'alin, Israel, West Bank 

Shots sounded from the West Bank village of Na'alin on Sunday as locals marched in defiance of a daylight curfew imposed by the Israel Defense Forces troops who sealed off the area on Saturday.

One resident said up to 50 people were hurt by tear gas and rubber bullets. The IDF said a soldier was wounded and declined to comment on any casualties among civilians on a third day of clashes and a clampdown that has kept journalists out.

Troops again stopped reporters trying to enter the town of 5,000, 20 km (12 miles) east of Tel Aviv, which has been a focus for protests against separation fence Israel is building through the West Bank in what it says is a necessary security measure.
Advertisement
A Reuters correspondent on a hill overlooking Na'alin saw at least a dozen people walking and shouting through the village. He also heard several shots. Local people said by telephone they had been prevented from leaving the town since Friday.

An IDF spokesman said the indefinite daylight curfew was imposed on townspeople on Sunday, forcing them to stay indoors around the clock, "in light of recent violent incidents". He said 8 Israeli security personnel and 2 workers building the separation barrier were hurt in protests over the past month.

The West Bank barrier, a network of razor-wire fences and concrete barricades, is intended to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers, Israel says. But it also loops around Jewish settlement blocs, cutting off West Bank villages from swathes of farmland.

Four years ago this week, the World Court in the Hague ruled building the 720 km. (430 mile) barrier on occupied land was illegal. The United Nations says Israel has ignored that ruling.

On Saturday, the IDF blockaded the Palestinian village in what the army called an open-ended effort to curb protests against the separation fence.

Troops encircled Na'alin, near the Palestinian hub city of Ramallah, under orders to vet those entering or leaving the village and turn back would-be demonstrators.

"These protests have been getting increasingly violent, and they must be stopped," an IDF spokeswoman said.

On Friday, she said, hundreds of demonstrators threw rocks and rolled burning tires toward Israeli border policemen guarding the fence, wounding one person and damaging a jeep.

Na'alin residents said the closure was imposed on Friday, which also saw a march against the barrier during which around 20 protesters were hurt by rubber bullets fired by Israeli security forces. Four protesters from an Israeli solidarity group were arrested, an organizer of the demonstration said.

Casualties and other patients were prevented from leaving the village for treatment, said Salah al-Khawaja, spokesman for the Ni'lin Committee for Resisting the Wall.

The military spokeswoman said security forces were attacked by hundreds of Palestinians who pelted them with rocks and rolled burning tyres at them, injuring a border policeman. She denied that the closure was affecting the movement of patients.

The IDF also relayed that over the last month there have been many other incidents of stone-throwing and tire-burning in a bid to sabotage work on the fence near the village.

After the blockade was declared, some 200 demonstrators travelled to Na'alin. The army said in response to this that the protestors were forcing it to violate the Sabbath in order to maintain order.

For their part, the protestors argued that their rallies are legitimate protests, which are held after the expropriation of Na'alin residents' land to benefit the nearby settlement of Hashmonaim and work on the fence.

Israel says the network of fences and concrete barricades is intended to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers, but the barrier also loops around settlement blocs, cutting off some West Bank villages from swathes of farmland.

Construction sites are flashpoints for confrontations between Israeli security forces and local Palestinians, who are often supported by left-wing protestors from Israel and abroad.

The army spokeswoman said the blockade was for an indefinite period. Israel Radio said it would be in place until Monday and would then be reviewed by the military top brass.



Related articles:
  • Border Police hurt 16 activists near Na'alin separation fence
  • Border policeman lightly hurt at anti-fence rally
  • Israel's dumping ground
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    A green light
    Lebanese gov't passes statement backing Hezbollah's right to attack Israel.
    Life sentence
    Jewish oligarch convicted in Russia of murder in what he calls a 'show trial.'
      1.   Good! Keep those pro-terrorist away! 22:25  |  Baruch Gold 05/07/08
      2.   Shame on those who aid the terrorists 02:13  |  Matt 06/07/08
      3.   Relocate demonstrators 03:18  |  Great White North 06/07/08
      4.   great white north 03:42  |  potobac 06/07/08
      5.   Fences can never ever protect Israel 03:49  |  Habib 06/07/08
      6.   Another gruesome threesome coming up here... 04:01  |  Silvienne 06/07/08
      7.   #3 04:01  |  David 06/07/08
      8.   To the IDF Spokeswoman. IDF Violence? 04:47  |  Maureen Ann 06/07/08
      9.   way to go Israel 07:01  |  rm 06/07/08
      10.   Those Violent Terrorists Always Claim They`re "Non-Violent" 17:23  |  Yishai Kohen 06/07/08
      11.   What serious researches reveals. 17:53  |  Jean Van Daem 06/07/08
      12.   Build your Apartheid fence on YOUR property... 18:18  |  BBSNews 06/07/08
      13.   habib # 5,the fence has already paid for itself 18:23  |  terrornator 06/07/08
      14.   The big land grab 19:25  |  Janice 06/07/08
      15.   Courageous Palestinian People 20:15  |  wibism 06/07/08
      16.   I watch this on Aljazeera 20:30  |  Dav 06/07/08
      17.   maureen ann,aussie treatment of the aborigine population in 20:46  |  terrornator 06/07/08
      18.   To Habib...we know your ideas of peace, ya habibi 21:19  |  spade 06/07/08
      19.   Those are bedouin IDF troops in the pic 21:35  |  Dror 06/07/08
      20.   BBSNews #12 21:35  |  David 06/07/08
      21.   Border police scuffling with activists ... 21:45  |  Charlie 06/07/08
      22.   Way to go 21:45  |  Sam 06/07/08
      23.   Best wishes to the wounded soldier 21:49  |  KUTW 06/07/08
      24.   Interesting picture 21:50  |  MR 06/07/08
      25.   Those people are like savages 21:53  |  KUTW 06/07/08
      26.   The Hague Tribunal 21:55  |  KUTW 06/07/08
      27.   12.BBSNews: pals should commit attacks in Gaza 21:59  |  KUTW 06/07/08
      28.   Violence gets you no-where 22:03  |  Baruch Kaplan 06/07/08
      29.   That `activist` looks like an attack dog 22:20  |  x-ray 06/07/08
      30.   8. Maureen Ann: Hurling stones at people, peaceful activity 22:27  |  KUTW 06/07/08
      31.   build the wall 22:28  |  rm 06/07/08
      32.   5. Habib: fences protect Israel 22:30  |  KUTW 06/07/08
      33.   Pal offals intimidate the Border Guards,prohibited by Lefties 22:57  |  Absolute Sweden 06/07/08
      34.   KUTW, if I understand your reasoning... 23:23  |  christa 06/07/08
      35.   shots 23:33  |  Shmuelshachor 06/07/08
      36.   Humane war is costly and ineffective 23:41  |  Fred 06/07/08
      37.   no need to comply 23:43  |  ilan 06/07/08
      38.   BBS Charlotte, North Carolina 23:51  |  rich 06/07/08
      39.   christa 23:53  |  rich 06/07/08
      40.   33. christa: You understand my reasoning 23:57  |  KUTW 06/07/08
      41.   The Iron Wall 00:22  |  Eivind 07/07/08
      42.   KUTW 00:25  |  christa 07/07/08
      43.   #19 Dror-how can you tell? 01:07  |  Aphemia 07/07/08
      44.   #28 Baruch Kaplan 01:11  |  Labhras 07/07/08
      45.   #30, KUTW...what would you do? 03:09  |  Silvienne 07/07/08
      46.   #33, KUTW... 03:11  |  Silvienne 07/07/08
      47.   #30 KUTW. IDF and settler thug provocation. 03:42  |  Maureen Ann 07/07/08
      48.   Fence is illegal, so protesters are justified in defending rights 05:49  |  Johan Odin 07/07/08
      49.   The solution to their distress and misery. 07:29  |  Jean Van Daem 07/07/08
      50.   David on Apartheid 07:40  |  BBSNews 07/07/08
      51.   rich on land... 07:54  |  BBSNews 07/07/08
      52.   #28 Peace for Peace 08:57  |  D 07/07/08
      53.   in a democracy one is allowed to protest peacefully 18:46  |  De 07/07/08
      54.   #51 Answer the Question! Who owned NC before the Brits/US? 19:57  |  DesMnsDave 07/07/08
      55.   My ancesters did Dave... 20:40  |  BBSNews 07/07/08
      56.   #54, DesMnsDave..you`re going to be embarrassed... 22:08  |  Silvienne 07/07/08
      57.   B BS News thats a blatant distortion 00:49  |  Scharker Yid 08/07/08
      58.   Scharker Yid 05:47  |  Silvienne 08/07/08
      59.   Viva Nil`in! One, two, many Nil`ins... 09:54  |  Kim 08/07/08
      60.   Israel should BAN U.N. from making Deregulatory Judgements 11:32  |  The Archives 02/08/08
     Read & React
    Report: Hezbollah planning to 'force' IAF to cease overflights
    Responses: 234
    Obama helps U.S. woman fight Palestinian husband for their daughters
    Responses: 119
    Poll: Kadima led by Livni would edge out Likud in elections
    Responses: 90
    Opinion: U.K. better than most of Europe at reporting anti-Semitism
    Responses: 53
    Be firm with Iran, Mofaz urges U.S. leaders
    Responses: 131
    Rosner's Domain
    Should the U.S. invade Darfur?
    Lieberman seen as good veep choice (WTR)
    What American Jews believe (WTR)
    Barack Obama, the fashionable darling of the Israeli left


    More Headlines
    05:21 Hezbollah official: Group is stronger than before, ready for war
    11:13 Several wounded in Gaza as Hamas raids suspected Fatah hideout
    09:27 Defiant Mofaz vows to beat frontrunner Livni in Kadima race
    06:17 Unknown assailants hurl brick at car in West Bank, injuring 7-year-old Palestinian girl
    09:30 Mofaz on Iran: We won't allow a second Holocaust to occur
    20:29 German museum displays Hitler's art online
    11:58 Five Palestinians suffocate to death after Egypt blows up tunnel
    17:31 Russian court finds Jewish oligarch living in Israel guilty on four counts of murder
    05:35 VIDEO: Photojournalist reveals raucous 1950s Tel Aviv nightlife
    15:37 Olmert questioned by police for fourth time in graft probe
    13:47 Minister's granddaughter attacked by elephant after sneaking into safari after hours
    12:27 OPINION: U.K. better than most of Europe at reporting anti-Semitism
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Fattal Hotel Chain
    Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
    Isaac Maimon at Dreamshoppe
    Special summer sale. Make an offer now. You will be surprised.
    MBA in Israel in English
    APPLY NOW! Limited spaces available
    Israel's Premier Real Estate Website
    www. israel-property.com
    Yossi Avrahami Presents:
    New Luxurious Projects in North Tel Aviv & Eilat
    Your vacation starts here
    Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates
    Hebrew Summer courses
    From $39.95
    ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel
    Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
    Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
    birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved