Border Guard police officers used crowd dispersal means in order to prevent a bulldozer Wednesday from hitting the West Bank security fence in Kalandiya, north of Jerusalem. No injuries were reported in the incident.
Demonstrators at the scene said that protesters were able to chase away a bulldozer driver and took over his vehicle. Forces dispatched to the area promptly dispersed the demonstrators, who said the soldiers mostly targeted journalists at the site.
Protestors take over bulldozer (Photo: AP)
Earlier Wednesday,, some 150 Palestinian, Israeli peace activists and foreign ones rioted in the town of Naalin, near the West Bank city of Ramallah in protest of the ongoing construction of the security fence in the area.
The IDF said that dozens of the protestors stoned the troops present at the scene, causing damage to the construction vehicles and several bulldozers.
According to Palestinian sources, five protestors were arrested and a press photographer suffered mild injuries.
Rising violence. Riot in Naalin (Archive photo: Reuters)
The IDF said that the riot in Naalin was "in clear and gross violation of the agreement reached between the IDF and the village's residents. The troops exercised restraint, but once the demonstrators began stoning them and damaging the construction gear, the soldiers responded using crowd control measures."
The IDF further stated that some of the protestors arrived wearing gas masked, in order to protect themselves from smoke grenades.
Anti-security fence rallies have been held in Naalin for over a month. Dozens of soldiers, Border Guard officers, and fence construction workers have been injures in that time.
The increase in violence has prompter the IDF to place Naalin under a curfew over the past weekend, as troops encircled the entire area. The curfew was lifted two days ago, after a meeting between the IDF and village representatives.
Ali waked contributed to the story
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