The creation of a symbolic hole in the wall by the young people in the Aida camp has triggered intense clashes around the house where I live. Sound bombs, tear gas and rifle fire has been constant for three days. The soldiers arrived in huge numbers on Friday evening and the clashes have continued since then.
It is strange how life continues normally, even when a tear gas canister hit the window blind on Saturday and jammed there, filling the apartment with gas. The children run around the apartment, trying to catch sight of the action, whether soldiers or Palestinians. They collect the canisters afterwards as trophies.
It is all totally one-sided, as the soldiers have guns and the palestinians have stones - everything will stop when the soldiers feel they have made their point and leave. This illustrates how the violence is always a response to the military oppression.
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Two Israeli soldiers and eight Palestinian youths were injured as clashes with Israeli forces in Aida refugee camp north of Bethlehem continued for a second day on Sunday.
Locals told Ma'an that Israeli forces raided several houses in the camp, taking them over and using them as military posts while firing tear gas grenades throughout the camp.
Local youths responded by hurling rocks at Israeli forces.
Israeli news site Ynet reported that two soldiers "sustained light to moderate injuries" and were evacuated to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.
Witnesses in the camp said that two Israeli soldiers from the border police were injured in the camp after Palestinians threw bricks at them from a rooftop near the camp school.
Israeli forces opened fire at the camp after the incident, and called for reinforcements in order to evacuate the injured soldiers.
Director of emergency services Muhammad Awad said that eight Palestinians were injured with rubber bullets during the clashes, one of whom was shot in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet when soldiers opened fire on protesters. He was later evacuated to the hospital.
Israeli forces also opened fire on the car of Associated Press photographer Iyad Hamad as he was covering the clashes.
15 individuals suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation during the clashes.
Soldiers also inspected vehicles in camp and prevented the movement of locals, despite the heavy presence of tear gas in residential areas.
Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said that Palestinian youths threw "improvised explosive devices" and Molotov cocktails towards members of the border guard near Rachel's Tomb, and confirmed that two border guards had been wounded after being struck by rocks and empty bottles.
The clashes come a day after heavy clashes in the camp, as locals protested against Israeli forces' killing of three Palestinians during a raid in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday.
During those clashes, Israeli forces detained three journalists and tried to use them as "human shields," one of the journalists told Ma'an.
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