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Israeli Troops Clash With Palestinians in East Jerusalem
The Palestinians on Sunday continued protesting Israel's closure of office of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Jerusalem and clashed with Israeli forces near the Orient House.
Hatem Abdul Qader, member of the Palestine Council, was injured in the clashes and was taken to hospital for treatment, Palestinian sources said.
Israeli security forces occupied the Orient House and the governor's home in Abu Dis on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Friday, one day after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up and killed 15 people in a restaurant in central Jerusalem.
The Orient House has thus become the site of violent confrontations throughout the weekend.
An Israeli policeman was injured on Saturday when Palestinian protestors hurled stones at the police, while 10 Palestinians were also lightly injured in the clashes and 12 demonstrators were detained.
Palestinian leaders have called for increasing activities in Jerusalem to protest the Israeli moves.
Arab League spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi led a march towards the Orient House on Saturday, while Palestine Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei warned Israel on Sunday that it has crossed a "red line" and opened the battle for Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Israeli peace activists from the Peace Now movement held a protest on Sunday outside Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office in Jerusalem when the cabinet was meeting to discuss the situation. The peace activists called on the government not to use military force to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The more than 10 months of bloodshed between the two sides has so far left nearly 700 people dead, most of them Palestinians.
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