Affrontements à Givat Ronen – 29 mars 2011

Nine settlers arrested after clashing with police in West Bank

haaretz.com

30.03.11

Violence erupts as police attempt to conduct arrests in illegal outpost of Givat Ronen, during which police car windows were smashed and their tires slashed, Army Radio reports.

Nine settlers were arrested Tuesday night after clashing with police in Givat Ronen, located near Mount Bracha in the West Bank, Army Radio reported.

Violence erupted when police attempted to conduct arrests in the outpost, during which police car windows were smashed in and their tires slashed, the report said.

MK Michael Ben Ari of the National Unity Party arrived at the scene of the fray, reportedly saying the « conduct of the police this evening is a reminder of dark times. It is important to remember that the days are numbered for any government that acts violently and hits its citizens. »

The West Bank scuffle came on the eve of Land Day, an event marked annually on March 30, in which Israel’s Arab citizens protest the expropriation of their lands by the Israeli government.

The first Land Day protests were held on March 30, 1976, to protest government expropriation of Galilee land for « security and settlement purposes. » Those protests deteriorated into violent clashes with security forces, leaving six Israeli Arab protesters dead. Read more …