Three journalists were injured Saturday when Israeli troops used teargas to disperse a protest by Palestinian journalists in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The protest, organized by the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate, was staged on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated on May 3.

Israeli army troops used teargas and stun grenades to disperse protesters, who marched from northern Bethlehem to Israeli checkpoint 300 in the eastern part of the city, an Anadolu Agency correspondent reported.

Three journalists were hurt in the dispersal, including syndicate head Abdel-Nasser al-Naggar, and they were treated on the spot.

"The Israeli occupation has adopted a policy of systematic repression of Palestinians in general, and journalists in particular," al-Naggar addressed demonstrators.

"The [Israeli] occupation always impedes the work of journalists and restricts their movements," he said.

Al-Naggar said that his syndicate was working "to deliver a clear picture to international organizations and institutions of Israel's violations against [Palestinian] journalists."

At least 16 Palestinian journalists have been detained by Israel, according to Abdel Nasser Ferwana, the head of the Census Department of the Detainees and ex-Detainees Affairs Committee.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian boys collect canister from the site of clashes in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of At-Tur, on 26 April 2015.

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