Ni’lin demonstration manages to reach bulldozers

Thursday, October 23, 2008.

Around 10am, fifty Palestinians along with several international activists, marched towards the olive groves of Ni’lin to protest the construction of the Apartheid Wall.

The demonstrators arrived at the bulldozers and began to shout and throw rocks at the vehicle. After 5 minutes, the Israeli army showed up at the scene and began to fire tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets at the demonstrators. The Palestinians and internationals retreated into the trees but continued to shout against the army. Until 5am, the soldiers continued to shoot at the demonstrators in the fields.

During this time, the soldiers came into the village, near the Ni’lin clinic. They shot rubber-coated bullets and tear gas cannisters directly into the village, several into homes. Most of the demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation as a result of the high amount used by the Israeli soldiers, and several Palestinians were shot with rubber coated steel bullets, including one injured with a bullet to his head.

In the West Bank village of Ni’lin, a resistance against the construction of a wall which will confiscate Palestinians’ land continues. The building of the Apartheid Wall will further assist in the deterioration of lives of residents. The Wall will not only steal privately-owned land, but will ensure that Ni’lin residents will be more restricted in their movement, having to pass through a checkpoint to reach other villages.