Tag: Demonstration

Ni’lin hold shoe demonstration against the occupation

19th December 2008

At noon on Friday 19th December, around 150 protesters from the village of Ni’lin, joined by international and Israeli solidarity activists, gathered in the village to protest against the construction of the Apartheid Wall being built on Ni’lin’s land.

This demonstration took the form of a prayer protest on land close to the construction of the Wall. The demonstrators then tried to reach the construction site in order to physically stop the construction where they held up shoes on sticks towards the Israeli forces, following the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George Bush.

Protesters then assembled road-blocks leading to the construction site in order to delay the building of the Apartheid Wall.

Even though international and Israeli activists where present, live ammunition was fired by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).

During the demonstration the Israeli soldiers damaged several buildings in the village. Two of the buildings had windows broken, one of them had four tear-gas cannisters shot though a window. A third house had a water pipe and its solar cells destroyed by the soldiers firing at the property.

A lot of teargas was fired in the demonstration and the violence from the soldiers resulted in ten injuries. Seven people were injured due to rubber-coated steel bullets and three from gas inhalation.

Two members of the press were injured, one of them was shot two times in his knee by rubber-coated steel bullets, despite clearly wearing a vest with “PRESS” written on it.

The other man was a TV reporter who fainted from tear-gas inhalation. When medicals tried to help him they also where targeted with tear-gas which resulted in one of ambulance personnel losing consciousness. Israeli forces were also witnessed targeting the ambulance that was hit with several rounds of tear-gas causing damage to the vehicle.

Friday demonstration against the illegal apartheid wall in Ni’lin

On Friday 12 December 2008 at 12 o’clock approximately 200 villagers from Ni’lin together with 15 internationals and Israelis protested against the construction of Israel’s illegal Apartheid Wall on their land.

The level of violence from the Israeli army was high from the beginning of the demonstration. They shot live ammunition in the air regularly for the entire 5 and half hours the protest lasted. The shots increased in the last hour when soldiers were very close to the protesters who were pushed back to the outer houses in the village from the olive field.

Huge amounts of round, plastic coated steel bullets, rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas were shot at the demonstration, starting even before the demonstrators had gathered by the local clinic.

At least 10 demonstrators including two Swedish and a Scottish solidarity activist were hit with plastic and rubber coated steel bullets. Tear gas was also shot at people’s homes, two of which had to be evacuated due to the gas.

Today’s demonstration started with a prayer by the local clinic. Nine Soldiers were already present on a hill top in front of the clinic and started shooting tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets at the children in the fields about half an hour before the prayer started.

Members of the Popular Committee changed the protest route to avoid the tear gas and the non-violent demonstrators got almost all the way down to the construction site of the illegal apartheid wall before the army stopped them.

The army shot live ammunition in the air and plastic coated steel bullets at head height to push back the protest.

When the demonstrators were pushed back to the village the army continued the use of live ammunition.

The soldiers shot round steel bullets covered in a thin layer of plastic at the heads of the demonstrators. A 15-year-old boy was hit right under the eye with such a bullet and had to have six stitches at the local clinic.

One family had a window broken by a tear gas canister causing an old woman and two children to suffer from heavy tear gas inhalation.

A woman in another house fainted when gas was fired into her home.

B’Tselem have previously released a statement highlighting the use of rubber-coated steel bullets in Ni’lin.

The villagers of Ni’lin have protested against the construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall since May 2008 that with its completion will annex more than 90 percent of their land. In August 10-year-old Ahmed was killed by a live bullet shot in his head from a short distance, at his funeral 17-year-old Yousef was also shot in the head with rubber coated steel bullets and later died at the hospital.

There is an Israeli military order for IOF forces to use live ammunition against Palestinian demonstrations unless internationals or Israelis are present.

In order to draw use from the clear racism in this law and attempt to give a level of security to the Palestinians who are using their right to protest, internationals have been present in solidarity with the Palestinians to every protest at Ni’lin.

Twelve people injured as Israeli forces attack Ni’lin prayer demonstration

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.

Ni’lin holds prayer demonstration against the Apartheid Wall

28th November 2008 – Ni’lin village

On Friday 28th November at 12.30pm approximately 150 Palestinians, internationals and Israelis gathered in protest against the illegal Apartheid Wall that is now under construction on Ni’lin village’s land.

The army met the protesters with teargas and rubber-coated steel bullets half a kilometer before they reached the construction site of the wall. This meant that the people of Ni’lin were now even being restricted from land that is not being confiscated by the Apartheid Wall.

Several people were hit by rubber coated steel bullets and tear-gas canisters aimed directly at persons in the demonstration.

Two Palestinians and one international activist required medical treatment after being hit by tear gas canisters. One of the Palestinians was hit in the chest, breaking a rib, and was taken to Ramallah hospital for treatment.

Todays demonstration started with a prayer close to the medical clinic in Ni’lin with the plan being to continue to the construction site of the Wall.

A bus full of students from An-Najah university, Nablus, came to support the local activists in their shared struggle against the construction of the Apartheid Wall.

The protesters were stopped on a hill top right next to the clinic by Israeli soldiers who shot huge amounts of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets from all sides of the group on the hill top.

There were several attempts from protesters to continue towards the construction site, but every time they moved forward they were targeted by the army and pushed back again.

The demonstration ran from 12.30pm to around 5pm in the afternoon.

Israeli army attacks children’s demonstration in Ni’lin

On November 20th at 1pm a demonstration for the children of Ni’lin against the construction of the illegal annexation wall gathered in the centre of the village. The demonstration was organised to mark the Universal Children’s Day

The children of Ni’lin had made signs saying “no to the wall” and “we will never forget what you did to Yousef and Ahmed”. The last, referring to 10 year old Ahmed Mousa, who was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers at close range with live ammunition earlier this year close to the construction site of the annexation wall outside of Ni’lin. Yousef Amaira, 17, was killed as the Israeli army shot him twice in the head with rubber-coated steel bullets as they attacked Ahmed’s funeral.

The demonstration was joined by international and Israeli solidarity activists. As the demonstration non-violently moved towards the construction site of the wall, Israeli soldiers started shooting teargas straight into the crowd of protesters. They were soon shooting rubber-coated steel bullets directly at the children.

At 5pm the soldiers stopped shooting and the demonstration ended.

The village of Ni’lin has had several demonstrations a week since the construction of the wall on their lands started in April 2008. The Israeli army has responded with brutal force and as well as two deaths, over 600 have been injured and more than 50 people have been arrested.

Universal Children’s Day imarks the promotion of welfare for the world’s children. In a town where many children have already been injured, arrested, interrogated and killed by the Israeli army for their participation in the non-violent resistance, it is important to recognize the protections that ought to be afforded to them as children. Those who have not suffered injuries themselves are not untouched; they must bear witness to the brutal effects of the occupation on those they love, their families.

According to the Declaration on the Rights of Children, adopted on November 20, 1959, every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, whether of himself or of his family. A broken promise on protecting of children by a signing member of the Convention on the Rights of the Children, Israel, must be challenged.