RAMALLAH, April 8, 2011 (WAFA) – The Israeli army used force to break up the weekly Friday anti-barrier protests in several West Bank villages.

Protests in Bilin and Nilin, in the Ramallah area, and in al-Ma’sara, in the Bethlehem area, also took the opportunity to honor filmmaker Juliano Mer-Khamis, who was killed by an unknown assailant in Jenin refugee camp on Monday.

The protests in the three places started in the center of the villages joined by Israeli and international supporters before they continued to an area where the Israeli army was building a barrier that would separate the villages from most of their agricultural land for the benefit of nearby Jewish settlements.

Israeli soldiers stationed near the barrier fired tear gas canisters at the protestors as soon as they came close to the fence.

Several people suffered from tear gas inhalation and had to be treated, said local sources.

M.A.