Palestinians Stage Demonstrations in TerritoriesTens of thousands of Palestinians took to the streets at different places of the territories Friday to protest against Israeli air strikes Thursday at Palestinian targets in the West Bank city of Ramallah and Gaza Strip.In Gaza, thousands of Palestinians joined in a demonstration in the city. The protestors tried to march toward the local office of the United Nations Representatives, but were stopped by the Palestinian security forces. Then the protestors turned toward a local hotel, and set it on fire, eyewitnesses said. In Ramallah, hundreds of Palestinians marched from the center of the city toward the south and a standoff with the Israeli troops occurred at a checkpoint just south of Ramallah. The demonstrators threw stones at the Israeli troops, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets in return. Eyewitnesses said at least three Palestinians were injured during the clashes. Due to the Israeli closure and strict security measures, Palestinians from territories and Israeli Arabs from Israel were not allowed to perform their Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. As a result, only 3,500 Palestinians prayed at the mosque, compared with hundreds of thousands each past Friday. On Thursday, Israeli combat helicopters launched at least two rounds of air strikes on Palestinian targets in Ramallah and Gaza. During the night, the helicopters also bombed several targets in other West Bank cities of Hebron and Jericho. |
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