gelatik
07.04.02, 11:54
Police arrested seven people suspected of throwing stones at vehicles on the
Wadi Ara road near the turnoff to Umm el-Fahm on Friday.
The arrests came after persistent incidents of rocks and other objects being
hurled at cars.
Police closed part of the road from the Karkur junction, where a roadblock was
set up, for more than an hour. Afterward, drivers were only allowed to travel
along the road after being warned of the potential danger.
The disturbances ended late evening and the rioters dispersed after the
arrests. Senior police sources categorically rejected initial reports that
police had fired weapons to disperse the stone-throwers, nor were there any
reports of casualties.
The stone-throwing broke out at the conclusion of a march and rally in Umm el-
Fahm in solidarity with the Palestinians and their besieged leader Yasser
Arafat and against what the demonstrators described as the government's
policies of aggression in the territories.
Some 30 other demonstrations with the participation of tens of thousands of
people were staged in Arab areas throughout the North on Friday.
A pro-Palestinian protest march and rally, involving more than 1,500 Beduin and
some Israeli Arab leaders, including MK Taleb a-Sanaa, was also held in Rahat
in the Negev.
Police said that with the exception of the stone-throwing at the Umm el-Fahm
junction, all the other demonstrations passed without any serious disturbances
