WarSclerotic

Two Palestinians Killed in West Bank Protest
Sky News 2:41am UK, Friday 25 July 2014

​(Protest? More like a riot.-LS)

Israeli security forces have shot dead two Palestinians during a massive protest in the West Bank, according to medical officials.

The victims were among an estimated 10,000 people who clashed with soldiers and border police at a checkpoint in Qalandiya, between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

The protest came hours after 15 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a UN school in the city of Beit Hanoun was hit by an artillery shell.

At least 90 people were injured in the checkpoint clashes, with some reports that live fire was being used.

An Israeli army spokeswoman told the AFP news agency soldiers used “riot disposal means” to control the protest.

She said: “There are thousands of rioters there. They are rolling burning tyres and throwing Molotov cocktails and fireworks at soldiers and border police.

“The soldiers are responding with riot disposal means.”

The Qalandiya violence came ahead of a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet to discuss a US-drafted proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli public radio said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “appalled” by the attack on the UN school.

Speaking in Cairo ahead of talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry, he said: “I was shocked and appalled by what has happened in Beit Hanoun. It is totally unacceptable.”

The school was being used as a shelter by hundreds of Palestinians who have fled their homes since airstrikes two weeks ago.

It wrote: “Last night, we told Red Cross to evacuate civilians from UNRWA’s shelter in Beit Hanoun btw 10am & 2pm. UNRWA & Red Cross got the message.

“Hamas prevented civilians from evacuating the area during the window that we gave them.

“Today Hamas continued firing from Beit Hanoun. The IDF responded by targeting the source of the fire.

“Also today, several rockets launched from Gaza toward Israel fell short and hit Beit Hanoun.”

Israel’s military said it had acted “against a terrorist target located in a populated area”.

Gaza Division Commander General Micky Edelstein said: “We use various technology, like radio or messaging to ask the population to leave.

“We need to investigate what happened here.”

Last week, the UNRWA slammed militants after it discovered around 20 rockets were being kept in one of its schools.

More than 800 Palestinians have been killed in 17 days of fighting in Gaza, according to health officials. More than 140,000 people have fled the conflict.

Some 32 Israeli soldiers have also been killed, and three civilians have died in Israel from rocket fire.

It is the fourth time a UN facility has been hit during the recent conflict.

Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, said a window to allow civilians to leave the area was never granted.

He said: “We’ve spent much of the day trying to negotiate or to co-ordinate a window so that civilians, including our staff, could leave.

“That was never granted… and the consequences of that appear to be tragic.”

But the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), posting on its official Twitter feed, said Hamas had prevented people evacuating the area.

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