Israeli army troops have arrested 11 people after clashes erupted during a demonstration in Walaja, a village in the West Bank.

Those arrested included Palestinian, Israeli and international activists who were protesting against the construction of Israel’s separation barrier.

“Some 80 Palestinian and Israeli activists hurled stones at Israeli forces who dispersed them with riot control gear. Eleven were arrested and the crowd dispersed,” an Israel army spokeswoman said.

The “Grassroots Jerusalem” group who organised the demonstration said in a press release that Israel was uprooting dozens of trees in the West Bank village in preparatory work for the construction of the barrier, which the International Court of Justice in The Hague has deemed illegal.

The separation barrier loops around Israeli settlements and Palestinians say it is a land grab that will cut them off from the agricultural fields they use to make a living.

Israel began building the barrier in 2002 and it is planned to extend for about 790km.

In Jabal al-Zaweh, north of the northern city of Idleb, 2,000 protesters are demonstrating according to an eyewitness present.

While there are usually around 100,000 protesters participating in Friday protests, he said that that number had diminished.

“Since the military started their operations in the area and set up check points and started arresting people their presence has discouraged people from participating,” he said. “We are almost under siege and people find it difficult to get enough food on a daily basis.”

He also said that many have fled to Turkey or other Syrian cities.

“Despite the military controlling the roads leading to Turkey some people still manage to make their way there, but the problem is that the Turkish border guards are not allowing everyone to enter the country. In some cases only women and children are allowed in and that is after they have spent days on the border waiting to be allowed in.”