30
Palestinian Women Stranded As Israel Cuts Off Villages
The Israeli army surrounded 3 villages and prevented people from leaving or entering
RAMALLAH,
November 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - More than 30 Palestinian
women were stranded for the night outside their village north of the
West Bank town of Ramallah Wednesday, November 6, after Israeli troops
surrounded it and cut off the two main entrances, residents said.
At
dawn, the army surrounded three villages and prevented people from
leaving or entering. One was Beit Rima, which lies 15 kilometers (10
miles) northeast of Ramallah. The others were Silwad and Mazraa
al-Sharqiya, both some 10 kilometers (six miles) north of the city,
preventing people from entering or leaving, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
said.
However,
the army later allowed a group of women to leave Beit Rima during the
morning to shop in Ramallah on the opening day of the Muslim
dawn-to-dusk fasting month of Ramadan.
But
when the women returned in the afternoon, troops refused to let them
back into the village, the residents said.
Some
of the women went to stay at neighboring villages while others attempted
to sleep in their cars outside the village's two entrances.
An
army spokeswoman confirmed that there was ongoing activity in the
villages, as a result of military intelligence warnings.
"There
is a closure in these villages but we hope to let the people back in to
their village tomorrow morning," she said. "We cannot allow
anyone to leave or enter the village at the moment."
