Shots fired as politician visits Palestinian base

A Scottish politician today claimed Israeli soldiers had fired shots over his head and struck a colleague with a stun grenade as they attempted to enter Yasser Arafat’s compound in Ramallah.

MSP Lloyd Quinan said he and 15 other members of the International Solidarity Movement, had effectively been ‘‘ambushed’’ as they responded to an invitation to visit the Palestinian leader’s headquarters at around 1pm (Irish time).

Speaking afterwards, Mr Quinan told PA News the group had entered the compound, holding their hands up as they passed a tank. Some of the group were carrying national flags to identify themselves, when soldiers fired a number of shots, and threw stun grenades.

He told PA News: ‘‘As we went through the gates there were no Israeli soldiers to be seen, there were armed vehicles and a tank which trained its gun on us and we passed with our hands up.

‘‘I was carrying a (Scottish) Saltire which had been suggested to me as a good way to identify ourselves as not Palestinian.

‘‘We were allowed to walk to the centre of the compound and then, without warning, a sequence of shots came right over our heads, between six and 18 shots.

‘‘And four stun grenades were thrown at us as well. A German woman who was with us was hit with a stun grenade, and she cut her leg badly.’’

‘‘Then a group of soldiers ran at us, I was pushed over a barricade but I only received a few minor cuts and bruises.’’

Mr Quinan said a soldier took his flag and ripped it up before the group was told to leave, and a further four stun grenades were thrown as they did so.

The MSP said he believed another group of six people, including two Britons and two Americans, had managed to get into Mr Arafat’s headquarters.

Mr Quinan, who is a list member of the Scottish Parliament for the West of Scotland, had arrived in the region in the early hours of this morning.

A vocal critic of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Mr Quinan plans to visit east Jerusalem, Nablus, Jenin and Bethlehem during a week-long tour of the region. Speaking from his hotel in Jerusalem tonight, Mr Quinan said: ‘‘I was absolutely shocked that unarmed people would be ambushed in that manner because that’s what it felt like since we were allowed into the compound before all hell broke loose.

‘‘I think this was a foolish act by the soldiers and they used a level of force entirely inappropriate since everyone had their hands up and, after they had fired shots and told to move we all did so.’’

He added: ‘‘I’ve kind of started shaking as I’ve been talking about it now. It just literally came out of nowhere, it was very frightening.’’