Israeli forces attack fire brigade and ambulance crew during demonstration in Ni’lin

The non-violent resistance continues in Ni’lin, as the demonstrations are consistently taking place against the apartheid wall. On Friday, October 3rd, around 200 people participated in the weekly prayer demonstration that followed the Friday prayer in the fields of the village. After the prayer took place at noon; village residents, members of the village popular committee, ISM activists, members of IWPS, and Israeli activists began to slowly approach the road where Israel’s Apartheid Wall is being built.

The wall is meant to annex a large portion of Ni’lin’s remaining land to protect and expand nearby settlements. The Israeli soldiers that based themselves on the hills across the valley began to shoot tear gas at the demonstrators as they marched toward the construction area. At the same time around 50 Israeli settlers showed their support to the Apartheid wall by holding a rally on the other side of the valley.

Seeing this, the demonstrators began to move towards the settlers and after a short while they got attacked again with a heavier amount of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. At least seven people were injured by tear gas and rubber bullets. As the tear gas canisters were being constantly fired into dry bushes, the fire brigade needed to put out several fires. The soldiers did not distinguish between the demonstrators and the ambulance team or the fire team and fired directly at those trying to help the demonstrators.

After about two hours of resisting the rubber bullets and tear gas attacks by the Israeli soldiers and after one army jeep hunted demonstrators through their own olive gardens, the demonstrators spread out and went back to the village. One of the ISM activists was grabbed by the soldiers during their incursion into the fields. She was put next the military jeep and told not to move, but managed to walk away when they failed to provide evidence for an arrest.