JORDAN: POLICE CLASH WITH JORDANIAN PROTESTORS

Natural Sound XFA Under heavy rain, thousands of Jordanians marched toward the main Israeli-controlled border crossing on Tuesday, then clashed with Jordanian police in fighting that injured more than 100 people and broke up the attempt to cross the frontier. Jordanian riot police used water cannons and tanks against the thousands of Jordanians, trying to march towards the border with the West Bank. They prevented the protesters from reaching the Allenby Bridge - the main crossing point into Palestinian Territory - and more than 100 people were wounded. As helicopters hovered overhead, police using water cannon and tear gas clashed with them some 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) east of the bridge. Police also fired into the air and beat rock-throwing protesters with clubs. Hospital officials said they treated 15 policemen and 120 demonstrators. A similar march in 1989 also left scores injured. More than 10,000 people from Jordan's 13 opposition parties in addition to legislators, political activists and trade unionist, participated in the "March of Return." They first staged a sit-in in front of the Martyrs Monument of Karameh, the place where a battle between Palestinian guerrillas and Israeli forces took place in 1968. The demonstrators, carrying banners reading "Yes for cutting ties with the Zionist enemy" and "Yes for the right of return," called Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to strike against Israeli like he did during the 1991 Gulf War. The (35-kilometre) 22-mile road from Amman to the border was filled with Jordanian armored personnel carriers, and security forces kept many people from reaching the demonstration. During the past three weeks, Arab demonstrators across the region have condemned Israel for clashes between its security forces and Palestinians that have killed more than 120 people, most of them Palestinians. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b549b03a83c2e65e76d9ddd5bf36e5e7 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork