Woman Marching Towards the Qalandiya Checkpoint Picture Credit: PSCC
Around 200 Palestinian women gathered near the entrance to Qalandiya refugee camp on Saturday to protest the occupation on the occasion of international Woman's day. Arriving from as far afield as Tulkarm, and East Jerusalem, the women, joined by international and Israeli activists, marched along the main road leading to the Qalandiya checkpoint chanting "the people want an end to the occupation". when the march reached the locked gate leading to the checkpoint, protesters pushed forward the gate, and hung Palestinian and DFLP flags on the gate, while chanting "Jerusalem is an Arab city".

A few minutes after reaching the gate, border police officers who were in the checkpoint compound approached the protest announcing that it is illegal, and threw a stun grenade into the crowd of protesters, and fired tear gas and a bouncing stun grenade which exploded near the head of an international protester and scorched her hair and arm. a few stones were thrown back at the police officers. Following that, border police officers, together with soldiers and two armed, private security guards crossed the fence and approached Qalandiya camp, preparing to make arrests. The incursion failed to provoke any of the refugee camp's youth, and as the protesters dispersed by then, the soldiers proceeded no further. One woman fainted after inhaling teargas.