Golan Heights (CNN) -- Israeli troops fired tear gas and
warning shots as protesters tried to cross the heavily fortified border
between Syria and the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said Sunday.
Syrian television said 20 protesters were killed and 325 wounded in the protests, which marked the anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately confirm the casualties, though a spokesman said that despite numerous warnings, dozens of protesters continued to approach Israel's border.
Israeli troops "were left with no choice but to open fire towards the ground in an effort to deter further actions," the IDF said in a statement.
Clashes also broke out between Palestinians and Israelis at the Qalandia crossing between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank on Sunday. At least six Palestinians were injured there, one seriously, by rubber bullets. Israeli forces also fired tear gas, while Palestinians threw stones.
Protesters in the Golan have also been throwing rocks toward the soldiers.
As the day wore on in the Golan protest, about 500 demonstrators held mid-day prayers on the Syrian side of the border, then crouched down behind a rampart Israel constructed recently in response to earlier demonstrations.
But the number later dropped to about 50.
Protesters waved Palestinian and Syrian flags.
Israeli police have a water cannon, CNN witnessed.
At least two stretchers carrying the wounded were loaded onto vehicles and driven toward Syria.
IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich told that events were "under control."
She accused Syria of "deliberately is tying to divert the world's attention from the bloodshed that is taking place inside Syria to the Israeli-Syrian border. There is no question about it, the policemen, the armed Syrian forces are looking back and not doing anything."
Syria has been the scene of months of anti-government demonstrations. The United Nations say more than 1,000 protesters have been killed by security forces.
The border between the Israeli-controlled Golan and Syria is mined and marked with barbed wire. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria 44 years ago in the Six Day War.
Demonstrators arrived in at least eight buses before the protest began.
Syrian television said 20 protesters were killed and 325 wounded in the protests, which marked the anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately confirm the casualties, though a spokesman said that despite numerous warnings, dozens of protesters continued to approach Israel's border.
Israeli troops "were left with no choice but to open fire towards the ground in an effort to deter further actions," the IDF said in a statement.
Clashes also broke out between Palestinians and Israelis at the Qalandia crossing between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank on Sunday. At least six Palestinians were injured there, one seriously, by rubber bullets. Israeli forces also fired tear gas, while Palestinians threw stones.
Protesters in the Golan have also been throwing rocks toward the soldiers.
As the day wore on in the Golan protest, about 500 demonstrators held mid-day prayers on the Syrian side of the border, then crouched down behind a rampart Israel constructed recently in response to earlier demonstrations.
But the number later dropped to about 50.
Protesters waved Palestinian and Syrian flags.
Israeli police have a water cannon, CNN witnessed.
At least two stretchers carrying the wounded were loaded onto vehicles and driven toward Syria.
IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich told that events were "under control."
She accused Syria of "deliberately is tying to divert the world's attention from the bloodshed that is taking place inside Syria to the Israeli-Syrian border. There is no question about it, the policemen, the armed Syrian forces are looking back and not doing anything."
Syria has been the scene of months of anti-government demonstrations. The United Nations say more than 1,000 protesters have been killed by security forces.
The border between the Israeli-controlled Golan and Syria is mined and marked with barbed wire. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria 44 years ago in the Six Day War.
Demonstrators arrived in at least eight buses before the protest began.
Then
they came down from a hill known locally as "Shouting Hill" - where
people shout to family and friends on the other side of the border -
towards the ramparts Israeli forces constructed last month.
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