Palestinian police attack prisoners support rally in Nablus and arrests five

Wednesday July 18, 2007 15:34 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies

Palestinian media sources reported that during a women rally organized by Hamas supporters in solidarity with the prisoners that took place in the noerthren West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian police attack the protesters and arrests five, among those arrested were two Palestinian journalists covering the rally.

Palestinian police in action

The Palestinian news agency Ma'an said that the rally was being held to support the families of political prisoners from Nablus.

During the rally a Hamas leader and Palestinian parliamentarian Ahmad Haj Ali delivered a speech in which he criticized the Fatah movement, Fatah supporters then attacked the protest and tried to attack the Palestinian official, the police troops arrived at the scene and started to disperse the protesters, during those attempts the police arrested five residents among them two journalists who were covering the rally.

Nasser Ishtayia told Ma'an news that he and another colleague were attacked and their cameras were destroyed by the police.

Later all arrested by the police were freed by the police after a number of officials in the city intervene to solve the issue, witnesses said that fighters from Al Aqsa brigades of Fatah protected the Hamas official and did not allow anyone to attack him.

nablus | internal unrest | news report ghassanb at imemc dot org