Jewish baby hurt by Arab stone throwers

Child hurt by marble hurled using slingshot in east Jerusalem; police, leftist protestors clash

Yair Altman|Last update: 03.04.11 , 19:51

A Jewish baby was hurt by a marble and sustained light head wounds after young Arabs hurled stones at a Jewish home in east Jerusalem's City of David district Friday afternoon.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said the injured child is about two-years-old and was taken to hospital for treatment. He was apparently hurt after Arab youngsters hurled stones at one of the first neighborhood homes to house Jews, the Meyuchas House.

Police at scene of protest (Photo: Nadav Bigleman)

The baby was apparently hurt by a marble hurled using a slingshot. He was treated at the scene before being taken to Jerusalem's Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital. The stone throwers were dispersed by police forces at the scene using crowd-dispersal means.

Leftists slam 'police provocation'

Elsewhere, police said leftist protestors in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood attempted to force their way into a Jewish home at the site but were countered by forces deployed at the scene. However, the activists say police forces at the scene staged a provocation in order to justify their violence.

"Some 30-40 masked riot police waited for us, ready to do battle," one protestor told Ynet. "An officer announced on the loudspeaker this was an illegal protest, as if they woke up now after we've been holding the exact some rally every week."

"Immediately after that they beat us up, pushed us, and kicked us. In one of the homes, a gate was left open and one of the protestors attempted to go in. The police used this as an excuse and claimed we tried to force our way into the house," he said.

Following the incident, several members of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity group blocked a road in protest.

The Jerusalem police issued the following statement: "During the leftist protest in Sheikh Jarrah, the demonstrators attempted to force their way into one of the Jewish homes at the site. A police force stopped them and held three of them for questioning. The road had been opened to traffic."

Leftist activists and Arabs have been staging a weekly protest in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah for some months now. The protestors are demonstrating against the Jewish presence in the area, which they say is provocative and is forcing local Arab residents out of their homes.