Israeli Arabs scuffle with police after house razed

Israeli police fired tear gas at hundreds of Arabs, some of them throwing stones, who protested at the demolition of a house in the northern Israeli village of Bartaa on Friday. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP two protesters were arrested but there were no reported casualties on either side. "About 300 Arab demonstrators protested after a house demolition in Barta," she said. "Some of them threw stones at police and blocked the main road for a time. Police dispersed them with tear gas and made two arrests," she added. Israeli media put the number of demonstrators at 1,500 and said the house was razed earlier this week on the orders of the interior ministry for having been built without a permit. The village straddles the "green line" between Israel and the West Bank but the protest was in the Israeli sector. The Israeli Arab community has its roots in the 160,000 Palestinians who stayed on their land after the creation of Israel in 1948. Today they and their descendants number around 1.3 million.