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Palestinians use ambulance as cover during riot in Ramallah

IDF says Palestinians hid behind an ambulance while throwing stones at Israeli security forces.

By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

As part of the wave of rioting and protests in Israel following President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israei capital, hundreds of Palestinians threw rocks and Molotov cocktails and rolled burning tires at IDF troops throughout Judea and Samaria on Saturday.

The IDF issued a statement describing an attempt by one group of rioters in Ramallah to use an Arab ambulance as cover while throwing rocks at soldiers, Times of Israel reported.

“The rioters knew that security forces in the field would not employ riot dispersal tactics against an ambulance, and they used it to harm the forces while shielding themselves,” the army said.

The usual methods used by security forces in such situations are to use tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.

Although the Palestinian Authority called for “Days of Rage” in reaction to Trump’s announcement, the numbers were down considerably from the thousands who participated in protests on Friday. Dozens of rioters have been arrested, and a few police officers and three civilians were lightly wounded by rocks. The three civilians were an Egged bus driver and two passengers whose bus was stoned by Arabs on Route 65 near the northern town of Ar’ara.

This was not the first time Palestinian youth used an ambulance as cover. In 2014, for example, a Hamas terrorist from Silwan in eastern Jerusalem crashed his car into the light rail stop near Ammunition Hill, killing a woman and a baby and injuring eight. The perpetrator was shot by police and died of his wounds. On the evening of his funeral, Arabs from his neighborhood rioted, shooting off dozens of firecrackers at security forces while using an MDA ambulance as a moving shield.