DEMONSTRATIONS, CLASHES IN RAMALLAH AND THROUGHOUT WEST BANK

OVER 170 INURED, ONE KILLED

ISRAELI ARMY ENTERS PALESTINIAN AUTONOMOUS AREA

25 September 1996

Clashes between Palestinians angry at recent Israeli aggression, including the construction of a tunnel in Jerusalem's Old City, spread throughout the West Bank today, injuring over 300, killing seven and wounding several Israeli soldiers.

The largest demonstration took place in Ramallah/El Birreh, where approximately 1000 students from Bir Zeit, Ramallah and El Birreh gathered at the Israeli checkpoint into Ramallah, which demarcates the division between the Israeli controlled Area C and the Palestinian Autonomous Area of Ramallah/El Birreh. The demonstration quickly turned violent, with Israeli soldiers firing sound bombs, rubber bullets and live ammunition at stone-throwing demonstrators in a scene reminiscent of the Intifada. Approximately 250 people were injured during this demonstration, three critically injured and 45 required immediate operations. Ambulances were turned back at the Ramallah/El Birreh checkpoint. Clashes continued late into the night.

In the most aggressive move to date, and one with the most serious consequence, Israeli forces moved into the Palestinian autonomous zone of Ramallah/El Birreh to crush the demonstration, and soldiers took up positions on the rooftops of Palestinian homes in Area A. The Palestinian Autonomous Areas are considered sovereign Palestinian areas according to the Oslo Accords. This sacrosanct understanding has now been violated, creating a very dangerous precedent.

Clashes were also reported throughout the West Bank, with the heaviest clashes taking place in Bethlehem. Nablus, Qalqilya, Jerusalem and Hebron all were the scenes of heavy fighting between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers. In Bethlehem, a heavy gun-fight broke out between Palestinian police and Israeli soldiers, following several hours of tense stand-off, marked by rock throwing and heavy tear-gassing of demonstrators. At least 130 were injured at that time in Bethlehem, three critically. In addition, Israeli forces entered Beit Sahour late Wedneday night and shot and wounded three people. At least 20 were injured in Jerusalem during Israeli army clashes with demonstrators, including two PA Ministers.

The Israeli policies of house demolition, settlement expansion, and aggression in the Old City of Jerusalem, which sparked these demonstrations, touched a raw nerve among the Palestinian population here. The obvious abandonment of the Oslo process by the Israeli government has created an increasingly unstable situation, a situation for which the Israeli government must be held accountable.

LAWE - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAWE is also an affiliate member of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.