Ramallah - Arab Today
Israeli forces cracked down on Palestinians protesting the opening of a road for settlements that will take away a large chunk of their land.
Israel is planning to open a bypass road for Jewish settlers that will take away dozens of dunums of their land in Azzoun, Nabi Elias and Izbat al-Tabib, east of Qalqilya.
The Israeli army closed the main access road to Qalqilya on Saturday morning to prevent participants in the protest from reaching the villages, Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported.
However, the protest did take place and Israeli forces used tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets to disperse the participants, arresting one person, said witnesses.
The Israeli High Court has rejected on November 16 an appeal by the Palestinian residents of the three villages against military expropriation of their agricultural land for the settlements’ road.
The Israeli military commander in the area had issued an order on December 15, 2015 allowing the army to seize 104 dunums (25 acres) of land for the bypass road.
Source: QNA