12 Arabs killed for violating Golan Heights truce line

June 5th, 2011 - 11:05 pm ICT by IANS  

Damascus, June 5 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The Israeli military killed 12 Arabs, including a child, and wounded at least 220 when they tried to storm the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights Sunday, marking 44 years since the six-day Arab-Israeli War, Syrian state television said.

The six-day war fought June 5-10, 1967 resulted in Israel gaining control of the Golan Heights from Syria, which has remained the centre of the Israeli-Syrian conflict.

At midday, a small group of young Palestinian and Syrian demonstrators breached the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights. Israeli servicemen opened fire.

The press service of Israel’s Defence Army said the military had fired warning shots to begin with to stop the demonstrators.

Last week a few Arab youth organisations called on Palestinian refugees living in Syria and Lebanon to organise marches of return to the occupied territory Sunday.

On Saturday, it was decided to postpone the demonstration considering the current situation and national interests of all sides, as the Palestine Liberation Front, a militant group, put it.

Still, several buses with Palestinian and Syrian youngsters arrived at the Golan Heights Sunday morning but were stopped by the Syrians.

A few young people however managed to get through to the ceasefire line, joined by a few local Syrians, and were met by the Israeli forces.

–IANS/RIA Novosti
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