Clashes broke out Wednesday for the second day in a row in al-Arrub refugee camp near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, a committee leader said. Israeli forces fired tear gas at Palestinian students and homes in the camp during a march commemorating 11 years since the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, said Ahmad Abu Kheiran, the head of a popular committee for refugee camps in the southern West Bank. Kheiran told Ma'an that Tuesday night prior to the march, Israeli forces distributed a statement to camp residents warning against throwing stones and threatening consequences for stone throwers. Israeli forces also raided several houses late Tuesday inside of al-Arrub camp, "torturing the owners of the homes," Kheiran added. An Israeli army spokesperson did not have immediate information on the incident. A spokesperson told Ma'an Tuesday that "riots" were ongoing in the camp throughout the day. Medical sources told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers had taken positions on rooftops in al-Arrub Tuesday, ordering that a school be evacuated. After staff refused, Israeli forces fired tear gas onto the premises causing several school children to suffer from tear gas inhalation. Two children were also hit by rubber-coated steel bullets, medics said. The Hebron district came under harsh Israeli restrictions over the past few weeks after the area was site to increasing violence between Israeli settlers and military and local Palestinians. In Hebron's Old City, Israeli soldiers stormed a number of Palestinian properties while settlers carried out a range of violent attacks on Saturday. Last month Israeli settlers assaulted two residents of al-Arrub camp, including a child. Al-Arrub refugee camp lies along Route 60, a major West Bank road that Israeli settlers regularly use to reach a cluster of illegal Israeli settlements in Hebron, and the camp has been site to frequent clashes with Israeli military over the past month.
