Israel ends curfew on Palestinian village of Na'alin

Haaretz Last update - 10:09 08/07/2008
By Reuters

The Israel Defense Forces lifted on Tuesday a curfew it imposed last week on the Palestinian town of Na'alin, where violent protests had erupted against Israel's West Bank separation fence. "It was lifted early this morning," a military spokeswoman said. The town's mayor confirmed the curfew, which was clamped on Na'alin on Friday after violence erupted during protests at a barrier construction site, had ended and said soldiers had pulled out.

"We woke up and luckily we did not see their presence in all of the town and now we are inspecting the damage they have inflicted on us," Mayor Ayman Nafi told Reuters by telephone. On Monday, IDF soldiers fired teargas and stun grenades, wounding at least three Palestinians in Na'alin as they attempted to stifle protests against the fence. "There were discussions between the villagers and the army commanders and they decided to lift the curfew," the military spokeswoman said. "The villagers promised not to protest and to keep the village quiet." The fence cuts off some Na'alin residents from their farmland. The IDF said eight security personnel and two workers have been hurt in protests in the Nilin area over the past month. The town of 5,000 lies some 12 miles east of Tel Aviv.