Palestinians throw stones at IDF checkpoint near Bethlehem; IDF announces closure on the West Bank; police limit access to the Temple Mount; security forces prepare to prevent access to Lebanese border area.
The “Global March on Jerusalem” supporting Palestine is just starting. Israel is on high alert and using “sewage cannons” to keep the protesters under control. Here one of multiple tweets at OccupiedPalestine concerning what they call the “skunk”:
The skunk is nasty, but at least it’s only a smell. March might be regrouping now. “Going to Jerusalem, martyrs in the millions”.
One of the Christian leaders in the march is Jeremiah Wright:
Barack Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright is one of the leaders today in the “Global March on Jerusalem.”
A worldwide pro-Israel Christian ministry is concerned about today’s “Global March to Jerusalem.”
The Times of Israel reports that Arab and international protestors from 80 countries are taking part in today’s Global March to Jerusalem to show their solidary for the Palestinian cause. According to Bill Sutter, executive director of The Friends of Israel (FOI), some bad actors are involved.
“There are some horrible connections with Hamas, with Hezbollah [and] with Iran,” he lists.
Bill Sutter (FOI)And one of the leaders in the march is none other than President Barack Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.
“He is a member of the central committee of the Global March to Jerusalem,”Sutter details. “And so we have participants across a huge and radical stripe of terrorist groups and apologists for Islam, even to the point of here in the United States.”
Reports of injuries are coming in across Israel as police use tear gas, stun grenades and sound weapons to control the protesters in what has been a largely peaceful event since 1976. However, this year’s march is being coordinated with the Islamic Republic of Iran:
Participants in the Iranian-backed Global March to Jerusalem will approach Israel’s borders hoping to breach them and march on Jerusalem. They will come from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt with the stated aim “to end the Zionist policies of apartheid, ethnic cleansing and Judaisation, which all harm the people, land and sanctity of Jerusalem.”
In what may be the flashpoint for the entire world, once again the media in the United States are largely ignoring this event.
David DeGerolamo
Clashes break out at Kalandiya in Land Day protests
The IDF and Israel Police went on high alert Friday, imposing a full closure on the West Bank, limiting access to the Temple Mount and setting up checkpoints on roads near the Lebanese border ahead of expected protests marking Land Day and the Global March to Jerusalem.
Protests were taking place across the West Bank in Kalandiya, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nabi Saleh, Budrus and other villages. Israeli media reported that IDF troops fired warning shots toward protesters in the Gaza Strip who approached the closed Erez Crossing.
At the Kalandiya checkpoint Palestinian protesters were clashing with Israeli forces, throwing rocks, firebombs and burning tires. Security forces were using large amounts of tear gas, stun grenades, sound weapons and foul-smelling water to disperse the protesters.
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On the northern side of the border, the Lebanese Armed Forces and police were also out in force along the border and at the Beaufort castle, where protesters were gathering. Thousands were expected to arrive at the castle. UNIFIL was also said to be conducting patrols and monitoring activity along the northern side of the border.
