RAMALLAH, April 23, 2011 (WAFA) – Israeli soldiers injured 16 people, arrested a Palestinian elderly and three foreign activities, and caused dozens of cases of suffocation in the weekly Friday protests against the apartheid wall and Israeli settlements in Bil’in, Nabi Saleh and Nilin villages in Ramallah area, and in al-Ma’sara, south of Bethlehem.

In Bil’in, a village northwest of Ramallah, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters injuring 12, including three international activists and a journalist, said witnesses.

Medical sources described the condition of a Palestinian participant, who was suffocated by tear gas, as critical.

In Nabi Saleh, a village north of Ramallah, witnesses reported dozens of suffocation cases after Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly march, using tear gas and sound bombs. Soldiers arrested a Palestinian elderly, 51, and three international activists and led them to an unknown location.

The soldiers also closed down all entrances to the village, preventing its residents from entering or leaving. Journalists and activists were also obstructed from reaching Nabi Saleh to participate in the protest.

In Nilin, a village northwest of Ramallah, dozens of Palestinians and international activists participated in the weekly protest, in solidarity with the murdered Italian activists Vittorio Arrigoni.

Israeli soldiers used tear gas, injuring a participant and causing dozens of suffocation cases.

Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers obstructed the weekly protests in al-Ma’sara, a village south of Bethlehem, and battered participants with gun butts.

Participants in all protests raised Palestinian flags, called for ending the internal division and for popular resistance against the Israeli occupation.

R.Q./M.A.