Four soldiers sustained light injuries from rocks thrown at them on Wednesday when confrontations broke out between IDF soldiers and Palestinian protestors in the town of Bitunia adjacent to the Ofer prison. The Palestinians claimed that 20 protestors were injured during the protest.
The incident occurred at a Palestinian demonstration where 250 students from Birzeit University were holding a procession, identifying with the hunger striking Palestinian prisoners. IDF forces used crowd dispersion measures against the protestors and in response the Palestinians began throwing rocks and bottles.
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A similar demonstration took place on Tuesday with some 200 Palestinian protestors, which also turned into a confrontation between protestors and IDF and Border Guard forces.
Palestnian demonstrators near Ofer prison (Photo: AFP)
A group of women approached the barrier leading to the prison waving Palestinian flags and calling out slogans for the release of the prisoners. One of the protestors managed to climb on the "skunk" – a crowd dispersal measure that uses jet streams of rank smelling water.
Tuesday's clashes
The female protestor stood on the roof of the vehicle waving a Palestinian flag, another group of protestors managed to cut a hole through the nearby security fence. A Border Guard officer was lightly wounded in the incident.
Palestinians are planning on holding another demonstration on Thursday.
Some 1,600 Palestinian prisoners held launched a hunger strike on April 17, to protest against the conditions of their incarceration and the isolation of some prisoners.
Elior Levy contributed to the report