W. Bank: Palestinians protest, clash with IDF troops

Worst anti-Israel clashes take place in Bethlehem, Hebron; IDF soldiers use rubber bullets, tear gas to disperse stone-throwers.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
West Bank protests in Ramallah 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman)
West Bank protests in Ramallah 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman)
More anti-Israel protests erupted in the West Bank on Tuesday as Palestinians took to the streets and clashed with IDF troops.
The worst violence took place in Bethlehem and Hebron, where soldiers used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse stone-throwers.
Scores of Palestinians hurled stones and empty bottles at soldiers near Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem.
Eyewitnesses said several Palestinians were lightly injured.
IDF soldiers used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse dozens of Palestinians who tried to march on the Kalandiya checkpoint south of Ramallah.
In Nablus, Palestinians said that a teenager was shot in the leg during a clash with soldiers at the southern entrance to the city. They said that hundreds of demonstrators threw stones at IDF soldiers who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
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In Hebron, hundreds of Palestinians clashed with soldiers following the funeral of Hamdi Falah, who was killed during Monday’s violence in the city.
Palestinians also reported that Rushdie Tamimi, 30, from the village of Nabi Salih near Ramallah, died of wounds he sustained during clashes with IDF soldiers last Saturday.
Villagers claimed that Tamimi had been shot in the stomach during violence that erupted in the village in protest against the IDF offensive in the Gaza Strip.