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Protests Mark 14th Annivesary of Bloody Riots

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From Associated Press

Thousands of Palestinians and Israeli Arabs held rallies and protest marches today to mark the 14th anniversary of “Land Day,” when bloody riots broke out over Israeli confiscation of Arab land.

A general strike closed shops and schools throughout the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, in Arab East Jerusalem, and in Arab villages in Israel.

In a rare clash inside Israel, police used tear gas to disperse Arab demonstrators after an hour of stone throwing by youths in the town of Taibeh, reporters said. Israel radio said two firebombs also were thrown.

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One policeman was stabbed while arresting stone throwers. He was hospitalized in stable condition. Six other officers were injured by stones, the radio said. At least five Arabs were taken into custody.

About 10,000 Israeli Arabs attended the main Land Day rally in Arraba, where two people were killed during the 1976 riots.

In Jerusalem, Sheik Hamed Bitawi complained that Israeli soldiers and police prevented thousands of Muslims from attending Friday prayer services at Al Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites.

“We pray to God to avenge this wrong,” Bitawi told the prayer service. “The Zionists have committed an injustice against us. Soldiers are here as if it is a battlefield.”

Extra police and soldiers were deployed to prevent unrest surrounding the anniversary. During the 1976 riots, police shot to death six Arabs who were protesting the seizing of Arab land in the Galilee.

This year’s anniversary also fell on the first Friday--the Muslim prayer day--of the holy month of Ramadan, so officials were particularly concerned about unrest.

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Young Palestinians were turned back at Israeli police and army checkpoints on roads leading to Jerusalem. Troops also turned people away as they tried to enter Jerusalem’s old walled city to go to Al Aqsa.

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