15th November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine
Today, Friday 15th November, the Israeli army detained four children before the weekly demonstration in Kafr Qaddum. Israeli soldiers then invaded the village during the protest, firing many tear gas canisters and injuring 8 Palestinians.
At approximately 9:00 this morning, a group of children were playing in the village, when Israeli forces arrived with military jeeps. The soldiers threw stun grenades and detained the four children, all of whom were extremely young, 5, 7, 8 and 9-years-old. After questioning them about their family and who sent them there, the soldiers released the children.
When Palestinians and international activists began gathering for the demonstration before the Friday prayers, the Israeli army once again stormed the village from the main road leading towards the illegal Israeli settlement of Qedumim. As they entered the village, they fired tear gas canisters directly at the group before the demonstration had even began.
At 12:00 when the demonstration officially started, Israeli soldiers were already in the village, accompanied by three military jeeps and a bulldozer. Many tear gas canisters and stun grenades were fired directly at demonstrators while another group of soldiers moved to a position on the top of the hill overlooking Kafr Qaddum. The Israeli forces then began to shoot tear gas canisters directly into several homes. Six children of the same family suffered from tear gas inhalation; three were evacuated by ambulance. They are between 8 and 14-years-old.
As the local media were filming the scene, a journalist from Palestine TV was injured by a tear gas canister. Seven other Palestinians were injured and one of them was evacuated to hospital in Nablus to receive medical treatment.