Aljazeera
reporter Jivara al-Budairi said on Sunday that foreign and Israeli
supporters of the Palestinian cause had joined the protesting
residents in their olive farms totalling about 500 acres.
Israeli occupation troops, backed by border
guards and soldiers on horses, have been deployed in the area in
anticipation of clashes with the protesters.
Bait Surik had a cultivable area of 13,000 acres in 1948. Of that only 1300 acres remain now, she said.
The
village at present is encircled by the Eldar settlement, also
known as Radar because of the presence of an Israeli radar. The
settlement served as an Israeli military base during the 1967
war.
Setback anniversary
Also
on Sunday, Palestinians observed the 38th anniversary of the
Naksa, or Setback, which saw Israel completing its occupation
of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem, al-Budairi said.
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Israel has ignored a World Court
ruling against the West Bank wall |
Committees
mobilising foreign supporters, such as the National Initiative led by
Mustafa al-Barghuthi, joined the protests, and foreign and Israeli
supporters are expected to join them.
"It seems that these
committees are planning to bring more foreign supporters, fearing
attacks on the village and confiscation of residents' lands by Israeli
soldiers," she added.
The wall will surround Bait
Surik village and all other villages located northwest of
Jerusalem and which are now located inside the 1967 borders.
Petition rejected
Meanwhile, Israel's
supreme court has rejected a petition submitted by 24 Palestinian
villages to freeze construction on a portion of the separation barrier Israel is building around Jerusalem.
The
Defence Ministry said in a posting on its website on Sunday the
villages had asked the court to issue an interim injunction to suspend
construction between Har Adar and Bait Surik, west of Jerusalem.
They had also asked the court to reject part of the land seizure order for the construction of the barrier, the posting said.
The posting did not provide the court's rationale.
Offices stormed
In
other developments, fighters loosely affiliated to the Fatah party of
Mahmud Abbas on Sunday stormed public offices in Nablus under a hail of
gunfire, accusing the Palestinian leader of failing to honour security
promises.
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"We demand that
the Palestinian Authority, especially Abu Mazen (Abbas), keeps their
promises. He promised us jobs in the security services and that he
would secure our safety. We have seen none of it"
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades |
The
band of 20 armed men from al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades barged into the
local Interior Ministry office in the northern West Bank city, opened
fire and ordered everyone out, Palestinian security sources said.
The
gang then stormed the governor's office at the other end of town,
ordered out all staff under gunfire and lightly wounded one man, they
added.
Nablus governor Mahmud al-Uol was in Ram Allah at the time.
"We
demand that the Palestinian Authority, especially Abu Mazin (Abbas),
keeps their promises. He promised us jobs in the security services and
that he would secure our safety. We have seen none of it," al-Aqsa said
in a statement.
Jobs granted
The
organisation accused Israel of still trying to arrest or kill its
members despite promising at a Middle East peace summit in February to
halt such operations.
In
the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said about 40 Fatah-affiliated
fighters who closed off access to the Egyptian border crossing in a
similar protest on Saturday would be granted security jobs.
"The
ministry has agreed to sign these fighters into the Palestinian
security services. The ministry will organise special military training
and place them with one of the security forces," said Interior Ministry
spokesman Tawfeek Abu Khoosah.