17 July 2009
On July 17 at 2am, jeeps full of soldiers invaded the village of Bil’in. After arresting Muhammed abde al Fatah Burnat (age 21), the soldiers tried removing him by foot to the military outpost. International and Palestinian activists blocked the path of the army units, demanding his immediate release. The army responded by hitting activists with their rifles, throwing percussion grenades, and spraying chemicals in activists’ faces. Additional army units arrived to dislodge the activists from the path of the arrested boy. These soldiers began chasing activists and trying to arrest them.
In the process of being chased, one of the Palestinian activists was injured. He suffered a deep gash on his leg that may require stitches and some minor lacerations on one of his arms.
The village of Bil’in has had 60 percent of its farmland confiscated by the apartheid wall and has had weekly demonstrations for the last 5 years. Recently, it has been under constant raids from the army and over 15 boys have been arrested in the last three weeks.