News   /   Palestine   /   Editor's Choice

Israeli forces attack Palestinian students planning to mark Arafat death anniv.

This photo released by the Ma'an news agency shows Israeli forces surrounding a school in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, November November 9, 2017.

Israeli forces have attacked a group of Palestinian students, who planned to hold a ceremony to mark the death anniversary of Yasser Arafat, the former leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), in the occupied West Bank.

On Thursday, Israeli forces stormed several schools in Ramallah and prevented Palestinian students from entering their schools, where they were scheduled to mark the 12th anniversary of Arafat’s death, the Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported.

According to Aref Jaber, an activist in the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, several students were hurt, mainly suffering respiratory problems when Israeli troops fired tear gas at them.

Arafat, who led an armed struggle against Israel in the late 1960s, died of unknown causes at a hospital near the French capital, Paris, on November 11, 2004. He was 75.

In 2012, Arafat’s widow, Suha, filed a legal complaint in France, claiming that her husband had been assassinated while staying at the Mercy military hospital near Paris in 2004. He had been moved to the hospital the previous month for diarrhea and vomiting.

According to French doctors, he died of a massive stroke, although the origin of his illness was unknown.

Arafat’s tomb in Ramallah was opened the same year so that three teams of French, Swiss, and Russian investigators could collect samples for investigation.

A subsequent French investigation found no proof of poisoning. However, separate probes from Swiss and Russian experts found that Arafat had been poisoned to death with polonium.

Many Palestinians believe that Israel poisoned Arafat. However, Abbas and his longtime rival Mohammed Dahlan have both accused each other of complicity in Arafat’s death in the past.

An Israeli soldier throws a tear gas canister towards Palestinian protesters in the West Bank city of Ramallah October 6, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

In another development, Israeli forces raided Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, detaining 11 people over the past 24 hours.

The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed new tensions ever since Israeli forces introduced restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.

More than 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the ongoing tensions since the beginning of October 2015.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku