BETHLEHEM, Wednesday, November 11, 2020 (WAFA) – Israeli forces quelled a rally marking the sixteenth anniversary of late President Yasser Arafat in Tuqu‘ town, east of Bethlehem, causing a number of suffocation cases, according to a local municipal source.
Tuqu‘ Mayor Tayseer Aby Mifreh said that the students of the local boys school organized a rally to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the death of Arafat, who died in Paris on November 11, 2004 and was flown back to Ramallah for burial.
Israeli troops cracked down on the rally, which set off from the school, in an attempt to disperse it, causing a number of students to suffer from tear gas suffocation.
All students and teachers were evacuated from the school campus, which was surrounded by Israeli soldiers.
Gatherings commemorating the sixteenth anniversary of Arafat’s death are scheduled to take place today across various parts of the occupied territories, with a major rally to be held at Arafat Mausoleum in the afternoon, though attendance may be limited due to Covid-19 outbreak.
Fatah spokesman Munir Jaghoub said that due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s rally is going to abide by the regulations of the Ministry of Health.
K.F.
