Foreigners, Pals hold protests in W Bank and Jerusalem

By: Ahmad Hammadi

QALQILYA, West Bank: Hundreds of foreign peace activists and Palestinians staged a demonstration against a controversial security barrier being built by Israel across the West Bank, demanding that it be torn down.

Shouting slogans, the protestors massed in front of the fence near the West Bank city of Qalqilya on Thursday.

While in Jerusalem, relatives of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli lockups holding photographs of their beloved ones protested Thursday to demand their release.

In another development, Israeli Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz directed the army to get ready for a recommencement of attacks by Palestinians amid growing pessimism over the peace process. Mofaz said in a radio interview that he fear the security situation might soon be worse than that before the Aqabah summit.

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