GOLAN HEIGHTS: Israeli army patrols Syrian border in preparation for Land Day events

Record ID: 276346

  • Title: GOLAN HEIGHTS: Israeli army patrols Syrian border in preparation for Land Day events
  • Date: 31st March 2012
  • Summary: MAJDEL SHAMS, GOLAN HEIGHTS (MARCH 30, 2012) (REUTERS ) ARMED FORCES MARCHING UP HILL MORE OF SOLDIERS MARCHING BORDER ROAD WITH HIGH SECURITY FENCE SOLDIERS PATROLLING FENCE IN RIOT GEAR OBSERVATION POST INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) VEHICLE AT SCENE WIDE VIEW OF HILLS WITH VEHICLES AND FORCES SOLDIERS MILITARY VEHICLES DRIVING ON BORDER ROAD W
  • Embargoed: 15th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8A5XC27K9XVFOWE1KVGO9QH7J
  • Story Text: Israeli forces patrolled the Israeli border with Syria on Friday (March 30) as Palestinian activists called for a "Global March to Jerusalem" to coincide with annual Land Day demonstrations by Israel's Arab minority.
    Land Day commemorates the killing by security forces of six Arabs in 1976 during protests against government plans to confiscate land in northern Israel's Galilee region.
    Israeli army troops wore bullet-proof vests and carried weapons as they patrolled near a high barbed wired fence along the village of Majdel Shams. Israeli officials say they want to avoid a repeat of violence that flared last May, when its forces opened fire as hundreds of protesters surged towards its borders from Lebanon and Syria, killing several people.
    An Israeli army officer told Reuters the Golan ceasefire line with Syria had been fortified with a new fence and land mines.
    The army also said that U.N. peacekeepers had toured its Lebanese border last week.
    Israel also shut crossings into the occupied West Bank to try to thwart pro-Palestinian rallies.
    Palestinian organisers have said they want to stage peaceful rallies to protest against "the policies and practices of the racist Zionist state".
    Jerusalem is a focal point of conflict, as Palestinians want the city's eastern sector captured by Israel in a 1967 war as capital of a future state.
    Arabs make up about a fifth of Israel's total population. Many complain of discrimination. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently called for improved efforts to integrate Arab citizens into Israel's work force.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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