One Israeli, one Palestinian arrested and 40 wounded in anti-wall

Monday June 14, 2004 00:00 by IMEMC & Agencies

Local sources reported that one Israeli, one Palestinian have been

protest George Rishmawi-IMEMC, June 14, 2004 Local sources reported that one Israeli, one Palestinian have been arrested and at least 40 wounded most of them as a result of inhaling gas, in an anti-wall demonstration in the village of Al-Zawiya near Salfit in the West Bank. Rann Bar-On 24, Israeli was detained by border police and put in a police van. The van was seen leaving the scene but to an unknown destination. As well, Sami Shamawi, Palestinian from Al-Zawiya village was also arrested and taken to an unknown destination. For the fourth day in a row, the village continues its peaceful protest against building the wall on the land of their village. Eyewitnesses from the village reported that solider set some fields on fire as a punishment for the villagers in an attempt to stop their protest. The army has been using a very strange kind of gas that is not a tear gas. As a result, tens of demonstrators who inhaled this gas had partial memory loss. Dr. Bassam Abu Madi told IMEMC that the some of those who inhaled the gas had sever choking and some contraction in their feet and arms muscles. IMEMC received a copy of a medical report from the medical units of the area stating that the gas used against the protestors is not tear gas but possibly a nerve gas. "On June 10th, 2004, the two clinics in Al-Zawiya treated 130 patients for gas inhalation. The patients were children, women, old people and young men. Dr. Abu Madi related that there was a high number of cases of titan, spasm in legs and hands, connected to the nervous system. Pupils were dilated meaning that the patients suffered from hazy vision. Other symptoms included shock, semi-consciousness, hyperventilation, irritation and sweating." The report goes on saying, "there was one serious case of a 48-year old man who was anemic and was complaining of chest pain. He was transferred to Biddya [a nearby village]." Eyewitnesses said the gas has a strange smell and a redish brownish color. The Israeli peace movement Gush Shalom said Israel is launching a chemical war against unarmed Palestinian civilians. In a phone interview, Abu Al-Adib, the Mayor of Al-Zawiya village, told IMEMC "if the wall is built here on our village our life in the village will be threatened, we will have a terrible situation, because it will confiscate the best land and strangle the village."

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