Dozens of Palestinians injured in West Bank clashes

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Dozens of Palestinian youths were injured in Thursday clashes with Israeli forces in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The youths had been staging a demonstration held to show solidarity with Palestinians imprisoned by Israel who have been waging a hunger strike for the last 25 days.

"Three Palestinians were injured by live ammunition -- and another seven by rubber bullets -- in clashes that erupted near the Bet Eil settlement at the northern entrance of the city of Ramallah," the ministry said in a statement.

"Ten other Palestinians who suffered temporary asphyxiation [from teargas] were treated at the scene," the ministry added.

Thursday’s demonstration was organized by the National Committee to Support the Hunger Strike, which includes representatives of several Palestinian political factions.

According to committee spokesmen, friends and relatives of the hunger strikers -- along with activists and Palestinian officials -- took part in the rally.

“Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and held banners aloft conveying support for the hunger strikers,” according to a statement issued by the committee.

Led by jailed Palestinian resistance icon Marwan Barghouti, more than 1,500 Palestinian prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike on April 17 to demand more prison visits, better medical care and improved treatment for female inmates.

Barghouti, 58, has spent 15 years behind bars since being arrested by Israel in 2002 during the Second Palestinian Intifada (uprising), during which he took part in armed resistance activities.

According to Palestinian figures, Israel is currently holding more than 6,500 Palestinians -- including scores of women and children -- at 24 detention centers across the country.