Two wounded in a nonviolent demonstration at an evacuated settlement

Friday November 14, 2008 16:49 by George Rishmawi

Two Palestinian civilians were wounded as they tried to enter the evacuated Israeli settlement of Homesh near Nablus.

Hundreds of Palestinians from the villages of Bzaria and Burka accompanied by International peace activists marched to the settlement to protest the return of six Israeli families to the settlement which was evacuated in September 2005 when Israel pulled out from the Gaza Strip.

A spokesperson of the popular committee against the settlements said the protests will continue in peaceful means.

Israeli soldiers operating in that area fired a number of tear gas canisters and concussion grenades to prevent the protestors from entering the evacuated settlements. One of the wounded was identified as Ra’ed Hamad, 40 and he sustained wounds and burns in his leg.

The settlement of Homesh was evacuated by Israel in September 2005 as part of the unilateral disengagement plan, through which Israel pulled out its settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the West Bank. The evacuated land remains under miliatry order and Israeli settlers often attempt to reoccupy these lands to re-establish settlement on them.

nablus | non-violent action | news report george at imemc dot org