Palestinian PM Tear Gassed by Troops at West Bank Protest

Three Palestinians Shot on Gaza Border

Protests erupted again across the occupied territories today, with a major incident breaking out in the West Bank village of Bilin, where PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was delivering a speech to demonstrators when Israeli troops fired tear gas at them.

Fayyad and several others were injured by tear gas inhalation, and the prime minister was evacuated from the scene. The protest in Bilin was commemorating the eighth year of protests against the Israeli wall built deep into the occupied West Bank, cutting Bilin villagers off from their lands.

Israel has declared a “special alert” today in expectation of protests, adding to police presence around mosques in the occupied territories in anticipation demonstrators would start after leaving weekly prayers.

Incidents weren’t confined to the West Bank either, as protests in the Gaza Strip turned ugly, with Israel accusing protesters of damaging the windshield of a military vehicle, and responded by firing live rounds into the crowd, wounding three.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.