MIDDLE EAST: Deadly violence in Israel, Syria and Lebanon as Palestinians mark Nakba

Bloody face-offs between Israeli Defense Forces and hundreds of protesters on the 63rd commemoration of the Nakba, which marks the displacement of Palestinians with the creation of Israel in 1948, has left at least eight people dead and dozens wounded, according to Reuters, the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV (link in Persian) and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Demonstrations erupted along Israel's borders with Syria and Lebanon, as well as in Israel and the Palestinian territories.Palestinian refugees from the Yarmuk camp in Damascus as well as several other camps clashed with the Israeli military in Majdal Shams, near the disputed Golan Heights.

Violence that erupted in Maroun al-Ras, along the southern Lebanese border, left at least four dead and 15 wounded, reported pan-Arab news channel Al-Jazeera.

Demonstrations commemorating Nakba, or "the day of catastrophe," break out annually. But this year's were particularly well-attended. Demonstrators excercised rare boldness in confronting Israeli security forces.

Some have speculated that Palestinians have been inspired by popular and mostly peaceful uprisings across the Middle East. But many also wonder whether Syria, which is facing a broad challenge to the rule of Bashar Assad, may have encouraged allies in the Palestinian community to provoke Israel to take the focus off its own violent suppression of protests.

“Syrian regime is intentionally attempting to divert intl attention from their brutal crackdown of their own civilians,” a representative of the Israeli Defense Forces, Afikhay Adrai, wrote on his official Twitter page. In the Palestinian village and refugee camp of Qalandia, between Jerusalem and Ramallah and known for being a symbol of the Palestinian struggle, some demonstrators fled from tear gas as IDF personnel made arrests.

The Palestinian Red Crescent told Al-Jazeera that Israeli tank artillery injured 65 Palestinians in Bet Hanun, where demonstrators were calling for the right of return and chanting, “The people want to end the occupation.”

Adrai wrote on Twitter: “Neither lebanese nor syrian armies taking any measures to prevent/reduce violence at riot flash points on their borders with Israel.”

-- Roula Hajjar in Beirut

Photo: Palestinian children carry flags as they commemorate Nakba near the port city of Sidon in southern Lebanon on May 14, 2011. Credit: Ali Hashisho / Reuters

Comments

[Stefano888]

Your hateful and hurtful personal attacks prove my point about zealous Zionists and represent the nature of Israeli policy and behavior. Shalom Salaam Cosmos

[ABG]

"I guess the Israelis really did learn some lessons from the Nazis. Never again to us, but always to them.

Posted by: Stefano888 | May 15, 2011 at 12:07 PM"

I guess Stefano really learned some great lessons from Ahmadinejad, Meshal, and Arafat, not to mention Goerring and Hitler. For if he says the same lie over and over again, then maybe, just possibly, somebody else will become a brain dead idiot.

Way to spread your mindless drivel of hatred, Stefano. You deserve every ounce of frustration that drips on that narrow head.

[Jehudah Ben-Israel]

It must be clear to anyone eager to violate Israel's sovereignty: Such people take their lives in their own hands.

Israel, the tiny national home of the Jewish people, one the size of El Salvador, New Jersey, Wales or Slovenia, with a Jewish population of only less than six million people and no natural resources of which to speak but for its people - has been facing a Muslim-Arab world of more than 300 million people, spreading on the entire Middle East and North Africa, with natural resources no other region posses, has been eager to wipe Israel off the face of earth, be it in full scale wars, economic boycotts, war-of-attrition-through-terror, diplomatic and legal means, and now through demographic attack on this tiny speck on the world map.

Israel can't afford playing games with those so driven to see its demise, and would do that which any other country in its situation would...!!

[Verballistic]

Those who look at the picture may wonder why so many children are involved with the Hamas movement, which was officially designated an Islamic TERRORIST organization in 1997 by the Clinton Administration.

The reason is simple: Hamas produces countless children's TV shows with the express purpose of teaching Palestinian CHILDREN about the "joys" of MARTYRDOM on behalf of Palestine. They teach that childhood means "NOTHING" without the "privilege" of DYING for Palestine.

As unbelievable as that may seem to some, here is a brief sampling of some of those chilling "kiddie TV" programs that are produced by Hamas to TEACH KIDS TO HATE:

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2628.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=illF1vt5g1Q

Until Hamas & their fellow cutthroats stop producing this twisted, perverted television garbage, there will NEVER be peace for Palestinians.

To encourage precious Palestinian CHILDREN to be molded into hate-filled terrorists like that is twisted & sick.

Watching even a portion of those brief videos makes it EASY to understand why Hamas is officially designated as an Islamic TERRORIST organization.

[Stefano888]

Let us get this fact out now: no nation-state has recognized the legality of Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights. It is not disputed territory, it is occupied territory. Any annexation of it is illegal under international law. Israel has no state sovereignty over the Golan Heights, period. Read any international law text.

[Stefano888]

I guess the Israelis really did learn some lessons from the Nazis. Never again to us, but always to them.

[Farax]

There's nothing "disputed" about the Golan Heights, it's occupied territory.

[upwinger]

Our tax dollars ($7 million dollars a day) at work.