Israeli Police Stop Palestinian Activists Returning to Protest Outpost
Scores of Palestinians tried to return on Tuesday to a protest outpost they set up outside Jerusalem from which they were evicted at the weekend, activists and Israeli police said.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a group of protesters had tried to make their way to a hilltop near Maaleh Adumim settlement where they had pitched around 20 tents last Friday before being forced to leave two days later.
"They were told by police it was a closed area but they continued to attempt to enter. They were pushed back down the hillside," Rosenfeld told Agence France Presse, confirming that police had fired stun grenades.
He said at least 20 people were detained for entering a "closed military zone" and were being taken for questioning by police.
Activists said several of their comrades were arrested as they tried to approach the site, which is located in a sensitive corridor of land east of Jerusalem where Palestinians say settlement construction would undermine the contiguity of their promised state.
"About 40 in groups managed to reach Bab al-Shams about an hour ago after climbing the mountains for two hours," said a statement from Abir Kopty, one of the organizers.
She said they were removed by police and dropped off five kilometers (three miles) away.
"Another 100 tried to reach the village from the main road, where special police unit used violence and fired tear gas and pepper spray. So far at least six arrests and five injuries, including one journalist," she said.
"We were trying to get back to our village," activist Maath Musleh told AFP saying 20 people were detained near the site, although some had since been released. "Some of the girls were beaten, there was violence from the Israelis." Early on Sunday, hundreds of police evicted around 200 Palestinian activists from the encampment.
Activists say the establishment of the camp was aimed at drawing attention to Israeli plans to build thousands of new settler homes in the area.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to move ahead with settlement construction in the corridor, despite fierce criticism from the international community.
Source: Agence France Presse
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