NILIN, West Bank (AFP)--Hundreds of Palestinians, Israelis, and international activists gathered outside the occupied West Bank village of Nilin on Sunday to protest against the extension of Israel's separation wall.
At least three people were wounded by rubber bullets and another eight were treated for tear gas inhalation when Israeli troops dispersed the protest, the organisers said.
The villagers say they mobilized last month when the Israeli army told them it would confiscate some 2,500 dunams (620 acres) of land for the separation wall, which Israel insists is necessary to prevent attacks from the territory.
Palestinians refer to the structure as an "Apartheid wall" and see it as part of a larger land grab aimed at slicing up the West Bank and preventing the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.
"We plan to hold many demonstrations against this," Salah Khawaja, one of the organizers of the protest told AFP, adding that villagers were also observing a general strike.
The Israeli military confirmed that troops had moved to quell "illegal and violent riots" in which protesters hurled rocks, and said Israel's high court was responsible for the route of the fence.
"We are basically following the court's decision on where to build the security fence and we are very sorry that in a democratic state such violent protests are taking place," a military official said.
"If there are olive trees there we will at our own expense of course remove them and plant them in an area with easy access to the Palestinians to whom they belong," she said, adding that villagers could appeal to the court.
Organizers have pledged to stage a series of demonstrations modeled on the weekly protests held in the neighboring village of Bilin where activists have clashed with Israeli troops almost every Friday for nearly three years.
The demonstrators scored a small victory in September when Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the section of the fence near Bilin should be rerouted, but they have kept up the protests saying the decision did not go far enough.
In 2004 the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding ruling that parts of the 650-kilometer barrier are illegal and should be torn down.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 01, 2008 10:52 ET (14:52 GMT)