Palestinians protest as Jerusalem refugee camp locked down By Reuters

By Sinan Abu Mayzer and Raneen Sawafta

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A whole lot of individuals protested at checkpoints right into a refugee camp in Jerusalem and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli safety forces broke out throughout the West Financial institution on Wednesday, with a Palestinian killed close to the southern metropolis of Hebron.

The violence unfold to the streets in East Jerusalem the place Israeli police stated they clashed with rioters and arrested a number of individuals who set fireplace to tires, threw rocks at passing automobiles and attacked officers.

The incidents proceed months of escalating tensions which have deepened since Israeli forces started a crackdown within the occupied West Financial institution in late March following a sequence of assaults by Palestinians in Israel that killed 19 folks.

Greater than 100 Palestinians have been killed this yr, most because the military launched its operation, which has been marked by a near-daily sequence of raids and clashes with militant teams in West Financial institution cities like Nablus and Jenin.

Wednesday’s protests erupted as safety forces continued a hunt for the killer of an 18-year-old soldier who was shot whereas on responsibility at a checkpoint into the Shuafat refugee camp, a closely built-up space on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem that’s residence to an estimated 60,000 folks.

The realm has been blockaded for days as police have imposed strict automobile checks and combed by streets and homes in search of the shooter.

On Wednesday, lengthy strains of automobiles shaped at checkpoints main out of the world whereas teams of youths hurled stones at police and set fireplace to garbage containers, sending plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky.

Clashes additionally broke out in cities throughout the West Financial institution, together with Bethlehem and Nablus, the place safety forces blocked roads into town.

Across the southern metropolis of Hebron, Israeli troops opened fireplace on a crowd throwing rocks at automobiles on a freeway, hitting a minimum of one particular person. The Palestinian Well being Ministry stated an 18- year-old had died after being hit within the stomach.

The military operations and frequent confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli settlers within the West Financial institution have fuelled growing anger amongst younger Palestinians who’ve hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails on the troops.

On Tuesday, a second Israeli soldier was killed close to a Jewish settlement between Jenin and Nablus.

Many retailers in East Jerusalem and elements of the West Financial institution had been closed on Wednesday as a mark of protest, whereas personal colleges additionally instructed pupils to remain at residence.

“The strike is in solidarity with Shuafat refugee camp and the way it’s being handled,” stated Jerusalem resident Khaled Alqam. “It seems like it is going to be the beginning of a civil disobedience (marketing campaign), and allow us to hope for the most effective.”