Tiny Island, Lots Of U.S. Resentment
Pro-Palestinian protesters in Bahrain clashed with police Wednesday, leaving hundreds injured and anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. sentiments soaring.
"U.S. and Israel are the terrorists," read one banner carried by the protesters in Bahrain, reflecting sentiments felt by millions throughout the Middle East who see America as backing Israel's military crackdown inside Palestinian West Bank towns.
Scores of riot police kept thousands of protesters several hundred yards away from the heavily fortified U.S. Embassy in Manama, firing tear gas and rubber bullets in bids to disperse the crowd.
Doctors at the nearby Salmaniya Medical Complex said they treated and released about 450 protesters, mostly suffering from tear gas inhalation.
The protesters demanded the severing of Bahraini-U.S. diplomatic ties and for the U.S. 5th Fleet — which is based on the tiny Gulf island state — to be dismantled.
"The Americans are the enemies, not only of the people, but also of God," said a 17-year-old student protester who would only give his first name, Hussein. "We want the Americans to leave our country."
Later, a small crowd of school students smashed a McDonald's restaurant window in Saar, a district some six miles southeast of the capital Manama. There were no injuries.
The United States Wednesday warned Americans in the Middle East to be vigilant in case of violent anti-American demonstrations linked to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
A public announcement by the U.S. State Department said the United States might offer free flights home for non-emergency staff and dependents at more of its embassies in the region.
"The Department of State is concerned about the potential for further violent responses in the region and elsewhere due to the ongoing crisis in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. These have included demonstrations with anti-American sentiment.
"The Department of State reminds Americans to remain vigilant with regard to their personal safety and to exercise caution," it said.
Demonstrations against Israel and the United States, its ally and main arms supplier, have also taken place in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Morocco.
In Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria, a U.S. Embassy-run cultural center was closed Wednesday following clashes there Tuesday that left one student dead and more than 200 injured. The death took to four the number of known fatalities linked to the Arab protests. The others occurred in Bahrain, Jordan and Yemen.
"The U.S. Embassy urges all American citizens in Egypt and particularly those in the Alexandria area to exercise extreme caution," said a statement posted on the embassy's Web site.
The students were protesting U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's stop Tuesday in Egypt, where he met with President Hosni Mubarak in an effort to broker an Israeli-Palestinian truce.
Tight security was evident around the university campus Wednesday where some 3,000 students gathered peacefully — a far cry from the violent clashes a day earlier involving some 8,000 demonstrators. Some dozen truckloads of riot police parked near the university. Police said 68 students were detained for 15 days pending investigations into allegations of vandalism and inciting public unrest.
Hundreds of students prayed for their dead colleague on campus before taking to the streets. A funeral ceremony was held later near the dead student's house in Alexandria.
Thousands of students protested at other universities in Cairo and outside the Egyptian capital. Anti-Israeli protests in Egypt have grown in vigor and numbers in recent days, prompting the Israeli Embassy in Cairo to send home families of diplomats.
Wednesday's clashes in Bahrain began when protesters pelted police with stones. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa appealed to Bahrainis to express their anger at Israeli policies in a "civilized" and calm manner.
"What happened around the U.S. Embassy by some was an abuse of our acknowledged values on national and religious levels, to avoid harming any guest," Sheik Hamad said in comments carried by the official Bahrain News Agency.
In a statement, the Bahrain Human Rights society expressed concern about the "excessive use of force by authorities against ... students who tried to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people."
An April 5 protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Manama saw protesters hurl Molotov cocktails into the embassy grounds and police fire tear gas and rubber bullets. A protester died after being hit in the head by a rubber bullet.
It was one of many street protests that have swept the Middle East since Israel launched military operations March 29 in search of Palestinian militants. Some demonstrations have been directed at Arab governments, seen as doing too little to support the Palestinians in their 18-month-old uprising.
In San'a, about 300,000 Yemeni women protested, carrying pictures of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and signs bearing images of U.S. President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon carrying the words "two faces of the same coin."
In Beirut, about 5,000 Lebanese and Palestinian women chanting "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!" demonstrated near the U.S. Embassy, denouncing the Israeli military offensive.
Some 500 Syrian and Palestinian women staged a similar protest in Damascus, the Syrian capital.