RAMALLAH, February 20, 2011 (WAFA) - A group of Israeli soldiers and settlers assaulted five people, including the director of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club (PPC) Nasser Qaws, in the old city of Jerusalem.

Qaws told WAFA that a group of soldiers stopped and beat an 18 year old Palestinian man. Passersby tried to interfere to prevent his arrest, but soldiers and passing settlers attacked all those present on the scene, and Israeli police destroyed a number of stalls belonging to shops in the area.

The injured were taken to a health center while Qaws was transferred to Maqased hospital in Jerusalem.

Israeli forces have maintained a policy of attacking and hassling Palestinian residents of Jerusalem as part of a strategy to cause them to leave the city.

M.N./F.J.