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Regist.: 11/17/2010 Topics: 296 Posts: 1121
 OFFLINE | Golan Heights (CNN) -- Israeli troops fired on protesters trying to cross the fortified border between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, with Syrian authorities reporting more than a dozen dead and hundreds wounded.
The protests came on the anniversary of the 1967 Middle East War, when Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately confirm any casualties, though a spokeswoman said that Israeli troops used tear gas and live ammunition on members of an "angered mob."
"We warned them verbally (and) with warning shots into the air," Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich told CNN. "And when these two options failed, we had to open fire selectively into the area, and this actually stopped those Syrians from reaching the Israeli-Syrian fence."
The Syrian state news agency said 25 people were killed and more than 350 wounded in the protests, which continued past nightfall. Medics could be seen carrying the wounded to vehicles and driving them away from the border.
As many as 500 people took part in the demonstration, holding mid-day prayers on the Syrian side of the border, then crouching down behind ramparts that Israel constructed in response to similar demonstrations three weeks ago. The number later dropped to about 50, with protesters waving Palestinian and Syrian flags.
Clashes also broke out between Palestinians and Israelis at the Qalandia crossing between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank on Sunday. At least six Palestinians were injured there, one seriously, by rubber bullets. Israeli forces also fired tear gas, while Palestinians threw stones.
Leibovich accused Syria of trying to use the protests to create a diversion "from the bloodshed that is taking place inside Syria," where the United Nations says a crackdown against anti-government protests has left more than 1,000 dead.
"There is no question about it," she said. "The policemen, the armed Syrian forces are looking back and not doing anything."
Leibovich said Israeli troops were better prepared to deal with the demonstrations than with the May 15 protests, beefing up forces along the frontier and making clear "that we would not tolerate any infiltration into the Israeli side."
what happens when thousands of arabs amass on israel's borders? these people are willing to be martyred by the israelis, so as to create outrage against israel. just you wait. the flotilla is coming, and this **** just isn't going away. the arab spring has at last turned on the israelis. |