Friday 5th December
Palestinian residents of Ni’lin gathered, together with Israeli and international activists, at 11.30am for the weekly demonstration held by the medical clinic close to the land due to be confiscated by Israel. Twelve people were injured during the demonstration.
Before the prayer ceremony was carried out, the Israeli army moved jeeps and many soldiers close to the site of the clinic. Once the prayer ceremony was over, heavy tear-gas kept the demonstrators from entering the fields. Protesters were kept from going further than approximately 30 meters from the village.
The army was very aggressive and shot a lot of teargas and rubber-coated steel-bullets, aiming directly at the non-violent protesters. They also fired at the houses closest to the fields, smashing peoples windows and scaring young children inside. The violence was such that one of the families had to evacuate their house.
Ten people needed medical treatment due to injuries by rubber-coated steel bullets, one of them shot in the head. Two ware treated after being hit by teargas-cannisters fired at them from close range. One of those injured by tear-gas was an international solidarity activist. The demonstration ended at 5pm.
In the West Bank village of Ni’lin, the resistance against the construction of a wall that will confiscate Palestinian land continues. The building of the Apartheid Wall will further assist in the deterioration of the 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.