News / Palestine

Israeli forces fire tear gas at Palestinians watching football match

Saturday, 27 August 2016 7:18 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 30 August 2016 4:13 AM ]

Israeli forces fire tear gas during clashes with Palestinian students from Birzeit University outside the Israeli-run Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank village of Betunia on August 3, 2016. ©AFP

Dozens of Palestinian football players and soccer fans have suffered tear gas inhalation after Israeli forces raided a stadium northeast of Jerusalem al-Quds on Friday.

Palestinian sources said some 1,200 people were watching a match between two clubs on Friday afternoon, when Israeli troops stormed the Faisal al-Husseini stadium in the town of al-Ram.

The Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd, leaving dozen of people in need of medical attention. The motive behind the Israeli attack was not immediately clear.

Separately, five young Palestinian men were shot and injured in the town of Silwad northeast of Ramallah after clashes erupted at the funeral of the 38-year-old Iyad Zakariya Hamed.

The Israeli military said they shot dead the man at the entrance to Silwad after they suspected him of running towards an army post.

Israeli media outlets initially said the slain Palestinian had opened fire from inside a car, and that a woman might have accompanied him.

They further alleged that the man was shot and critically injured inside his vehicle, and later succumbed to his gunshot wounds.

It was later revealed that the Palestinian man, who is survived by three children, was unarmed.

Palestinian protesters carry an injured teenager during clashes with Israeli forces following a weekly demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian lands by Israel in the village of Kafr Qaddum, near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, on July 1, 2016. ©AFP

Meanwhile, three Palestinian youth suffered injuries from live fire during skirmishes with Israeli troops in the eastern Shuja'iyya neighborhood of the Gaza City.

Gaza's Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said the trio sustained moderate gunshot wounds, and were transferred to hospital.

Israeli troops also clashed with Palestinian youths in the Ras al-Ein village in northern Israel, the Baita village near Nablus as well as Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah late on Friday, with no immediate word on casualties.

The occupied territories have witnessed a fresh bout of tensions ever since Israeli forces restricted the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.

At least 236 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the tensions since the beginning of last October.

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