Palestinian police, refugee camp residents violently clash over U.N. strike, at least 50 wounded

(Reuters) - At least 50 people were hurt on Sunday in a clash between Palestinian police and residents of a refugee camp protesting against a strike in a U.N. aid agency that has paralyzed services, police and an ambulance service said.

The demonstration, in Jalazoun camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was the most violent in a series of protests over the past week stemming from a more than month-old strike for higher pay by local employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

UNRWA, which employs more than 5,000 Palestinians in 19 camps for some 730,000 West Bank refugees, has been forced to shut schools, clinics and suspend trash collection at the camps since the strike began.

"We have nothing to do with the strike and we want to make our voice heard," said Mohammed Najar, a Jalazoun resident. "The situation in the camps cannot be tolerated: no schools, no clinics and trash is piled everywhere."

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