Protesters breach Israel’s security barricade

Israel’s high security wall in the occupied West Bank has been breached by Palestinian protesters.

Using a hydraulic car jack, masked youths toppled one of the huge pre-cast panels near Bilin out of position, scaling the six metre high barricade.

The demonstration was aimed to coincide with the fall of the Berlin Wall, 20 years ago this mouth.

Israeli border guards countered the protest with tear gas and a foul-smelling spray and many youths scattered when security forces tried to close the hole.

Israel began building the huge barrier at the height of the Palestinian uprising that began in 2000. It now runs along almost the entire length of the West Bank border and encroaches many points of Palestinian land.

The Israeli government claims it built the wall to prevent suicide bombers entering Israel, but many Palestinians see its construction simply as a land grab.

Copyright © 2009 euronews

tags: Israel, Palestinian Territories