Deja Vu: 'March to Jerusalem' Wants To Bring 1 Million Arabs to Israel's Borders March 30 *MERGED*

[iSong6:3]

Palestinians riot at Qalandiya checkpoint

Palestinians hurl stones, Molotov cocktails at IDF post. Soldiers respond with crowd dispersal means; Palestinians report at least 30 injuries. Meanwhile, Jordanian, Lebanese media outlets say thousands preparing to march to border

Ynet reporters Latest Update: 03.30.12, 15:07 / Israel News

Land Day riots - The Land Day procession turned violent Monday afternoon when Palestinians began hurling Molotov cocktails and stones, and burned tires near the Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem.

The riots began at around 12:30 PM after Friday prayers, when dozens of masked Palestinian youths began hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at security forces stationed at the checkpoint. The forces responded with teargas canisters and deployed the "Skunk" – a vehicle loaded with canons spraying a foul-smelling liquid. In addition, security forces activated a machine that transmits high frequency sound waves in an effort to disperse the protesters.

According to reports, Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti was hit in the head by a tear gas canister. He was taken to a Ramallah hospital, his condition remains unknown. In addition, Hamas parliament member Ahmed Atoun was lightly injured from a stone that hit him in the head, He did not require medical care. Palestinians said at least 30 people were injuried in the clashes.

****Watch live from Qalandiya checkpoint****

Meanwhile, A few hundred Palestinians gathered near Jerusalem's Near Damascus Gate, some were carrying Palestinian flags. The crowd attempted to stage an illegal procession, but was blocked by police forces. Some 14 protesters were arrested.

In Gaza Strip, dozens of Palestinian protesters approached the security fence at the closed Erez crossing. IDF forces responded with teargas and smoke canisters, and fired warning shots in the air.

Red Crescent ambulances were called to the scene after reports of injuries were received.

Shortly after, hundreds of Palestinians reportedly left the officers' quarter in Beit Lahia and started marching to the crossing.

****Watch live from Erez crossing****

Further north, a few hundred people attended a rally marking Land Day in Kafr Kanna near Nazareth and in Tayibe. The protesters waved Palestinian flags and called out for a continued struggle against land expropriation and home demolitions. They also demanded that the fight against racism and discrimination continue.

Several teens tried to hurl rocks at vehicles on Route 444, but adults at the scene prevented them from doing so.

Jordanian news sites have reported that some 20,000 people are gathering in order to take part in the massive march towards the Israeli border. There is increased security presence in the area.

Lebanese newspaper As-Safir reported that 120 buses will be transporting Lebanese participants and participants from Palestinian refugee camps to the Global March on Jerusalem.

Earlier, IDF deployed additional police and Border guard forces along the northern border. The forces are equipped with crowd dispersal and anti-riot measures.

Police stated that orders were given to the forces to maintain restraint and prevent protesters from reaching the border fence.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant general Benny Gantz patrolled along the northern border and held an assessment meeting with division commanders in Judea and Samaria and along the borders with Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Gantz directed the forces to be alert and act advisedly to ensure the sovereignty of Israel.

Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Major-General Eitan Dangot arrived at the Rachel's Tomb crossing in south Jerusalem and met with IDF, police and Civil Administration official at the situation room set up in preparation for Land Day.

Dangot was briefed on the deployment of forces and coordination with Palestinian security apparatus, and informed about a procession that is underway in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...210176,00.html

****Live videos, videos and pics at link.

[RandallB]

ing for Israel

Rioters Hurling Firebombs at IDF Forces in Bethlehem

[Wally]

[grace-saved]

[cbressler1976]

I didn't think anything was really happening!!

[RandallB]

ing Thank you Lord for restraining this invasion.


IDF: Real test to come with Nakba, Naksa, Prisoners Days

By JPOST.COM STAFF

03/30/2012 22:27 http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=264165


IDF Spokesperson Brig.- Gen. Yoav Mordechai on Friday expressed satisfaction with how the army coped with the Land Day protests, saying that "overall, none of the incidents were out of the ordinary."

He added that IDF-PA security coordination helped contain the protests. Security forces in Palestinian cities did not allow the demonstrations to spread," he said.

With an eye to the future, Mordechai said that "the real test will come during the Nakba- and Naksa- Day protests as well as Prisoners' Day, which will be very tense.




Land Day protests in West Bank, Gaza Strip die down

By MELANIE LIDMAN, TOVAH LAZAROFF, JPOST.COM STAFF

03/30/2012 22:22 http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Ar...aspx?id=264164

1 Palestinian killed, dozens injured in clashes; police, border patrol arrest 34 activists during protests at Kalandiya, e. J'lem, Bethlehem; IDF: Real tests still to come on Nakba, Naksa, Prisoners' Days.
By Marc Israel Sellem

One Palestinian was killed and dozens of pro-Palestinian activists were injured when protests marking Land Day turned violent in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Friday.

Despite the widespread clashes between Israeli security personnel and pro-Palestinian protesters in the West Bank and Gaza, the IDF expressed satisfaction with the day's occurrences overall and indicated that none of the incidents were out of the ordinary.



IDF Spokesperson Brig.- Gen. Yoav Mordechai expressed satisfaction with how the army coped with the protests, saying that "overall, none of the incidents were out of the ordinary."

He added that IDF-PA security coordination helped contain the protests. Security forces in Palestinian cities did not allow the demonstrations to spread," he said.

With an eye to the future, Mordechai said that "the real test will come during the Nakba- and Naksa- Day protests as well as Prisoners' Day, which will be very tense.

On killed, dozens injured in Gaza

Adham Abu Salmiya, a spokesperson for the emergency medical services in Gaza, said that the 20-year-old Mahmoud Muhammad Zaqout was shot dead by IDF forces stationed near the border with Gaza.

The IDF confirmed the death of one Palestinian protester who was shot and killed after refusing to stop his approach towards the Israeli border.

The emergency services in Gaza stated that 37 people were injured, three seriously, in the protests. The IDF spokesperson's office stated that only 29 had been injured in Gaza.

The main Gaza protests took place in Beit Hanoun (Erez) and Khan Yunis.

Protesters clash with security forces in West Bank




Meanwhile, Israeli police and border patrol units arrested 34 activists on Friday in clashes that took place in the West Bank and east Jerusalem to commemorate the 36th annual Land Day. Palestinian activists and supporters held demonstrations in east Jerusalem and Bethlehem, while a demonstration at the Kalandiya checkpoint resulted in the injury of several of the activists.

Thousands of protesters assembled at Kalandiya near Jerusalem, with Palestinian youths hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli security forces, who responded by firing tear gas, stun grenades, sound weapons and foul-smelling water to disperse the protesters.

A large number of protesters arrived at the checkpoint from Ramallah. A number of protesters were injured and taken to local hospitals for treatment. Israel Radio reported that those taken to hospital were lightly injured. Among the injured was Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti.

In Bethlehem, dozens of protesters threw stones at an IDF checkpoint after breaking through a line of Palestinian police. IDF troops responded to stone throwers at the Rachel Checkpoint outside Bethlehem with large quantities of tear gas.

Earlier, PA security forces had blocked the protesters from approaching the checkpoint. The protesters stopped in front of the Palestinian police and sat in the road, chanting: "To Jerusalem, we will march."

Aharonovitch: Kalandia demonstration is "a show"

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch visited the Kalandiya checkpoint on Friday, calling a rowdy Palestinian demonstration taking place there a "show."

"They are throwing stones, and we are responding," Aharonovitch said.

Police Commissioner Insp.-Gen. Yochanan Danino arrived in the North Friday afternoon to inspect the deployment of officers. Police said no unusual incidents took place in the North.

Israel Police deployed large numbers of police and border police forces in and around Moshav Avivim near the Lebanese border Friday morning, ahead of the expected demonstrations. Security forces set up checkpoints to prevent protesters from encroaching on the Lebanese border, where at least 10 people were killed in clashes that erupted during last years Nakba Day commemorations.

Amnesty International issued a condemnation of what it termed Israel's "excessive use of force" on Land Day protesters.

The organization's deputy director of Middle East and North Africa program said in a press statement that the the human-rights group was "extremely worried" by reports that the IDF was using live ammunition on protesters, "particularly in the light of frequent and persistent use of excessive force against Palestinian protesters."

Amnesty also condemned the PA for preventing protests and Hamas for beating up protesters, calling on them both to respect freedom of assembly.

Nida Tuma, Ben Hartman and Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.

[iSong6:3]

Global March to Jerusalem is a dud
Sunday, April 01, 2012 | Ryan Jones

It was anticipated that as many as two million Arabs and foreign pro-Palestinian activists would storm Israel's borders from all sides and infiltrate Jerusalem in order to protest the "Judaization" of the city. Even Israel was taking the threat seriously, and put a large amount of reserve military forces on alert for possible call-up. But in the end, the Global March to Jerusalem was a dud.

Several thousand people did gather at protest sites in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Gaza and the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria. But the numbers were far lighter than originally threatened, and most Israelis were barely aware that there was a protest happening.

The most notable of the protests outside Israel's borders happened in neighboring Jordan, but only because those few Jews who had chosen to side with their nation's enemies were nevertheless attacked by local Muslims. A delegation from the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta movement, most of them Americans, attended the protests in Jordan and Lebanon. At the start of the event in Jordan, four Neturei Karta members were beaten by Jordanian Arabs before being rescued by other participants.

A handful of Jordanian youth did try to cross the border into Israel, but were stopped by Jordanian police. It was estimated that around 30,000-40,000 people gathered in Jordan.

In Lebanon no more than 7,000 gathered at the Beaufort Crusader fortress near Israel's northern border to hear fiery speeches by Hizballah, Hamas and Palestinian Authority officials.

The turnout in war-torn Syria was negligible, with just a few hundred gathering in Damascus to chant anti-Israel slogans.

The situation was a bit more tense in Gaza and the Palestinian-controlled parts of Judea and Samaria.

In Gaza, thousands of Arab protesters attempted to approach the security fence separating the Hamas-ruled coastal strip from southern Israel. At least 29 people were wounded and one man was killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers stationed along the security fence.

In the so-called "West Bank," a handful of protesters were wounded, and Israeli forces arrested 34 violent activists. The most intense action occurred at the Kalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem, where demonstrators hurled stones and firebombs at Israeli soldiers, who responded with a variety of crowd control weapons, including tear gas, sound blasts and foul-smelling water.

Israeli military officials said that the demonstrations had not been particularly severe, and were pleased with the army's handling of the situation.

Despite the low casualty rate and the meager turnout for the "Land Day" events, Amnesty International still felt the need to issue a public condemnation over what it called Israel's use of "excessive force" against the demonstrators.

Unwilling to admit that their stunt had largely fizzled into small localized protests, the organizers of the Global March to Jerusalem declared it a great success. Lead coordinator Ribhi Halloum claimed that activists from 84 nations had participated, and that the number of countries represented was far more important than the overall number of participants. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/News/ta...S/Default.aspx

[RandallB]

ing Thank you Lord for Restraining them. They were gathered. 30K in Jordan, 7K in Lebanon. Thousands elsewhere. Thankfully no spark set them off.

ing ahead for May 15th...

[carol1948]

Considering the threat/expectation of 1-2 million protestors, I'd say this turned out to be a really big fizzle, and major disappointment to whoever instigated it. Isn't our God awesome!!!!