November 2, 2008
On the 2nd November, a demonstration against the Apartheid Wall began in Ni’lin at 1.30 in the afternoon. 50 Palestinians gathered with 6 internationals by the municipality and marched towards the construction site in hopes of intervening with the construction work on the wall.
When the demonstrators were stopped by the presence of the Israeli army, they began to chant against the occupation and the wall. Within 5 minutes, the soldiers began to shoot tear gas canisters directly at the crowd. One person was hit by the tear gas canister because the widespread Israeli tactic of shooting directly at rather than above the demonstrators.
The protesters withdrew into the olive groves and the soldiers began to shoot rubber-coated steel bullets in addition to the gas. The soldiers fired rubber-coated steel bullets aiming at the demonstrators from a very close distance.
Until 17.30, the people of Ni’lin displayed their strong resistance to the construction of an illegal wall which if built will annex much of their land. A total of 5 people were injured: 2 were with tear gas canisters and 3 were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets. Ni’lin will continue their actions against the Apartheid Wall during the week and will hold their weekly prayer demonstration this Friday.