Violent clashes in anti-fence protest

Clashes broke out between the police and protestors during the demonstration, and two Border Guard officers were lightly wounded by stones hurled at them by the Palestinians. Ten demonstrators were detained.

In the midst of the commotion, Avnery and Hamas lawmaker Muhammad Abu-Tir took cover in a nearby house.

The police reported that the Palestinians and left-wing activists tried to breach the fence and began hurling stones at the police officers. The police dispersed the crowd using stub grenades and tear gas.

The protesters arrived at the neighborhood after successfully passing through IDF and Border Guard checkpoints in the area, and held a demonstration at both sides of the fence. Dozens of left-wing activists arrived at the Israeli side of the fence, while dozens of Palestinian residents demonstrated on the other side.

IDF soldiers and Border Guard officers tried to prevent the demonstration claiming that it was illegal, but the protesters insisted on holding the demonstration to protest the fence building in the area.

Clashes erupted in the area between the demonstrators and security forces. According to the protesters, the soldiers and police officers used unjustified amounts of tear gas in the Palestinian neighborhood, despite the fact that the protesters did not act violently.

"We arrived at a non-violent demonstration, which was meticulously planned and led by all the a-Ram schoolchildren, starting from the first grade. The police tried to prevent the Israelis from entering the village in order to approach the Palestinian protesters. Some of them manages to break through the fence and we began marching," Uri Avnery told Ynet.

"The leaders of all the Palestinian movements – Fatah, Hamas, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine – all marched together. I was walking next to Hamas' Abu-tir, who was very friendly toward us. In the middle of the march in the village we encountered a police barrier with mounted police officers, who sprayed us with a huge shower of gas grenades," he added.

Avnery: Fence separating children from their school

According to Avnery, "the young residents of the village began hurling stones, and hour-long clashes broke out with gas grenades and stun grenades. Mounted police attacked us, as well as jeeps. Eventually, the ties were cut off and we reached the a-Ram council building."

"The demonstration was aimed at protesting the wall, whose consequences are more serious in a-Ram than anywhere else. Some 30,000 residents of a-Ram, most of whom are Jerusalem residents, are prevented from approaching Jerusalem. Children cannot reach their schools and patients cannot reach hospitals," he said.

"We will continue to demonstrate," Avnery vowed. I see a special significance in today's incident because this is the first time the army led by (Defense Minister) Amir Peretz and the police led by (Internal Security Minister) Avi Dichter operated against us."

On Friday, some 200 Israeli and foreign left-wing activists clashed with security forces during an anti-fence protest near the West Bank village of Bilin.

Protesters hurled stones at security forces, who fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Two protesters and a foreign photographer were injured in the clashes.

Police said the protesters entered a fence construction site near Bilin, defying an IDF decree declaring it a closed military zone.