Ramallah: Fierce clashes erupted in the city of Hebron on Thursday after occupation forces raided areas of the city, detained ten Palestinians and blocked a main road into the city to grant free and safe access to colonists to reach what they termed to be a religious site. At least five Palestinians suffered suffocation after inhaling tear gas.
Tens of occupation forces occupied the tops of high buildings to secure the movement of the colonists.
The Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) reported on Thursday that hundreds of occupation force members cleared the Beer Al Sabe’e Road, which leads to the Hebron Central Market, forcing the owners of shops and commercial outlets to close and strictly ban Palestinian movement on the street, and have even removed all vehicles with Palestinian registered plate numbers.
The operation sought to enable Israeli colonists to secure safe access to the Otniel ben Knaz tomb, claimed by Jews to be a historic site in centre of Hebron.
Wafa said that the occupation forces broke the windows of Palestinian vehicles parked in the road in order to clear them from the scene.
The Jews are currently marking the Passover Festival, a key Jewish festival that ends on April 21. During this time, colonists have the freedom to visit any historic Palestinian site.
