Tag: Ni’lin

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.

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

On Friday 21st of November a prayer demonstration was held in Ni’lin.

During the demonstration 6 people were injured including one international activist who was shot by a teargas canister in his arm.

Other demonstrators suffered by gas inhalation and rubber coated steal bullets.

During the prayer, two jeeps parked out in the fields close to the site where the prayer was being held. As the demonstrators tried to enter the field on their way to the construction site, the army directly started firing teargas and rubber coated steal bullets in attempt to hit peoples bodies.

The army kept close to the village, firing also at people standing on balconies and rooftops during a couple of hours. After the army pulled back the demonstration was able to enter the fields but was again violently attacked by the army and shot at with live ammunition despite an international presence, violating their own military order. The demonstration started at 11.30am and ended at 5.30pm.

Nine residents of Ni’lin arrested for particpation in popular resistance against the apartheid wall

12th November 2008

Eight people have been arrested during Israeli invasions of Ni’lin on the nights of November 10th and 11th. Another resident of Ni’lin also decided to turn himself in to Israeli authorities after his home had been invaded by the army for several consecutive nights while his wife and children were harassed by the soldiers looking for him.

All of the nine are arrested for activel participation in the popular resistance against the apartheid wall in Ni’lin since April 2008.

At approximately 3 am November 10th around 200 Israeli soldiers invaded the village of N’ilin and arrested 7 people in their homes. Those arrested were:

Mohammad Sabti Khawaja, 28

Ahmed Sabti Khawaja, 24

Mohammad Yaser Amera, 28

Mussa Khaleel Nafea, 19

Abedallah Abed Al Kareem Srour, 18

Ayham Mohammed Nafea, 23

Tariq Khaled Srour, 17

They also came looking for Hilal Abed Al Qader Nafea, 35 but he was not in his home. On 11th November he went to the check point in the entrance to Ni’lin and turned himself in to avoid further harassment from the Israeli army towards his family.

At 3am the 9th of November Wahid Taysir Nafea, 21, was arrested. After his arrest, he was so badly beaten by the Israeli soldiers, that he had to be hospitalized in the military prison in Ramla.

Israeli forces invade N’ilin at night at a regular basis in order to arrest the people who have been active in the resistance against the wall being built on their lands. The wall annex 23 hectares of agricultural land from the village in addition to the wall two tunnels that are planned as the only entrances in and out of Ni’lin will annex 2 hectares.

432 hectares of farming land have already been annexed by the Israeli state since 1948 leaving Ni’lin with only 23 hectares of land including the land the houses are build on.

When the apartheid wall is completed it will completely encircle the village together with two roads that can only be used by Israelis. The constructions turns Ni’lin into a small enclave closed of from the rest of the West Bank.

Since the start of the construction of the annexation wall on N’ilin land in April 2008 more than 50 villagers have been arrested out of which 23 are still in jail. Besides from Tariq Khaled Srour, 4 other children are imprisoned and have been so for more than a month. They are:

Ibrahim Khalqel, 16

Majed Hisham Nafea, 17

Sufyan Khawaja, 17

Mohammad Ata Mussa, 14

In the past two months the Israeli Military have tended to keep those arrested much longer and demand much higher bail for their release. The villagers suspect that the occupation forces are attempting to make it impossible for them to keep up their resistance against the illegal land theft through these arrests and bail conditions.

The Popular Committee in Ni’lin continues arranging non violent demonstrations against the apartheid wall at least once a week.

One arrested and seven injured in Ni’lin prayer demonstration

Friday, November 7, 2008

Six residents of Ni’lin and a Danish solidarity activist were injured today by Israeli forces as they demonstrated against the construction of the apartheid wall in the village of Ni’lin. One American solidarity activist was also arrested as the demonstration was coming to an end.

Immediately after a group of 300 Palestinians, accompanied by 25 Israeli and international activists, gathered for a weekly Friday prayer the army began to fire tear gas at those who attempted to enter their land. The canisters being fired were shot directly at the demonstrators, an act which caused multiple of the seven injuries. As the demonstration continued tear gas was not only fired at the Palestinians and internationals attempting to enter the land but also into the village of Ni’lin, away from the demonstration. During the four hour demonstration rubber bullets and sound bombs were also used by the Israeli army.

The Palestinians gathered in this weekly demonstration to attempt to cross their land towards the construction site of the illegal apartheid wall which would annex another 40% of Ni’lin’s land accumulating a loss of around 85% of it’s land since 1948.

The Danish solidarity activist, was taken immediately for treatment in Ramallah after having being shot from close range by Israeli forces with tear-gas cannisters, in the arm. she required 15 stitches to her arm as well as being treated for shock. The six injured Palestinians, one of which was hit in the head with a tear gas canister and badly wounded, were all treated at the local clinic. The American activist was detained by the Israeli forces and remains in custody.