Clashes Erupt at Jerusalem Checkpoint Over Land Day
Clashes erupted on Friday in the north of Jerusalem between IDF soldiers and Palestinian protesters marking Land Day. Protesters at the Kalandia checkpoint hurled rocks at soldiers, who responded with stun grenades and tear gas.
Israeli security forces have been on heightened alert Friday ahead of planned demonstrations in Israel and in neighboring countries, with Israeli officials braced for possible acts of violence by demonstrators. In Bethlehem, around 100 people tried to stage a march, but were blocked by Palestinian police.
The demonstrations at Kalandia, and at other potential flashpoints in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, were expected to exacerbate once Muslim Friday prayers were over.
In anticipation of the unrest, Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered all crossing points into the West Bank closed for a 24-hour period, the Israeli military announced, while additional troops have been deployed along the borders with Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
