Tag: Ni’lin

On the 23rd July, the father of the girl who filmed the Israeli shooting of a detainee in Ni’lin and a Canadian activist were arrested during a non-violent demonstration again in Ni’lin against the construction of the apartheid wall.

Photos courtesy of Activestills

The arrests occurred at a non-violent women’s demonstration again the construction of the wall in which the two were arrested after observing the march towards the construction site.

When the Israeli army attacked the demonstration, Amirra went in to protect the demonstrators, while Victor MacDiarmid, a Canadian citizen, took photographs. The two men were arrested within minutes.

Interviewed on Palestinian TV this morning, the 14 year old girl expressed concern that her family would be targeted by the Israeli army due her film being publicized. Her footage was broadcast throughout the world and has caused shock waves in Israel, where a soldier has been arrested and an official investigation launched.

Victor MacDiarmid is from Kingston, Ontario, and has twice been shot by rubber-coated steel bullets while attempting to take in supplies to Ni’lin during a recent a four-day Israeli army blockade of the village. He will be brought to court on the 24th July in Jerusalem, while the details of Jamal Amirra’s case are not yet clear.

This is a call out to all female Palestinian, Israeli and international activists to join the non-violent demonstration against the construction of the apartheid wall this week. We will gather on Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock inside the Municipal building (‘Baladia’ in Arabic) of Ni’lin. Once we have gathered, we will march toward the construction site of the wall. This will be the first in a series of demonstrations that is organized and composed solely of women. Transportation can be subsidized if needed and buses arranged for large groups.

For the last two months, the villagers of Ni’lin have been protesting the illegal confiscation of their lands by Israel. Up to this point, the participants have largely been men, although this is an issue that affects everybody. However, women have an important role to play in the struggle against the Israeli occupation. We hope that this demonstration can help connect women to the struggle.

Please forward this message to anyone that might be interested.

If you have any questions please contact Miriam at milla_eri@hotmail.com

On Sunday 20th July, around 50 people joined the demonstration in Ni’lin and headed for the construction site of the apartheid wall. On their way they were attacked by a large number of Israeli soldiers shooting teargas missiles directly at the protesters. Later live ammunition was used at the entrance of the town. No injuries were reported this time.

Earlier in the morning the bulldozers were delayed for a couple of hours after a successful roadblock action in the evening before.

Just before sunset on Saturday 30th, Palestinians and internationals left a large amount of stones on the way leading to the construction site of the apartheid wall. Hundreds of metres of road were covered. At the same time a demonstration was held at the site with chants and messages from a megaphone to the settlement on the other side of the valley.

On Sunday morning the bulldozers could not pass for a couple of hours since it takes a lot more time to remove hundreds of smaller stones than a few bigger stones.

The bulldozers were unable to begin working until 9:30. One and a half hour later the demonstration left the centre of Ni’leen. 50 protesters with Israelis and internationals headed for the construction site. When entering the valley the soldiers shot teargas missiles at the heights of the directly at the heads of the protesters.

After two and a half hours the people went back to the entrance of the town and some of them continued the protest. The soldiers answered brutally by using live ammunition. No injuries were reported at the time.

On the 17th July, the village of Ni’lin today continued its struggle against the construction of the illegal Israeli occupation wall that will annexe large quantities of Palestinian land. Approximately 200 locals, Israeli and international activists struck out against Israeli apartheid in a two-pronged strike on the construction site of the wall.

Photos courtesy of Activestills

The first, smaller group, was met by Israeli soldiers in a gully by the site. The soldiers fired tear gas at them from the mountain side, in the process igniting several fires. Moreover, they tried to arrest Palestinian participants without cause. They were rebuffed by international and Israeli activists who blocked the soldiers from reaching their targets. Whilst the confrontation was proceeding the fires grew and spread. The protesters attempted to extinguish the fires, but Israeli soldiers and border police hailed down more tear gas, starting new fires and causing unnecessary property damage. When the protesters were walking back they were shot at with rubber bullets and tear gas canisters used as projectile weapons. One Israeli activist was shot in the hip from less than twenty meters away.

The larger group made it to the construction site but were confronted by soldier who shot live ammunition at them, even as the protesters were going back toward the village. The soldiers pursued the demonstrators into the heart of Ni’lin. Despite the hazards inherent to fighting in the street, the army sprayed the town with live fire in there reckless attempts to punish the adolescent stone throwers. The town hospital and multiple homes were hit.

The clash is reflective of the asymmetrical usage of force used by the Israeli army when confronting Palestinians. All told, seven protesters were injured by rubber bullets. Nonetheless, the village, along with its supporters, will continue to fight the illegal seizure of its land and the gradual suffocation of its economic life by Israeli machinations.

More than 100 villagers from Ni´lin, together with international and Israeli activists, marched towards the nearby settlements that unlawfully separates the village in two.

Video by Israel Putermam

The peaceful demonstrators were intercepted at the entrance to the village by the Israeli army who used excessive force to drive them back. They fired teargas, stun bombs and rubber bullets into the crowd on sight with no provocation

Five demonstrators were injured, including one Swedish international solidarity activist who was shot by a teargas canister fired as a projectile missile causing deep burns. Others were hit by rubber bullets and one man, Salah Mohammad Al Khawaja was injured, arrested and then taken by the Israeli authorities. Al Khwaja is one of the leaders of the Committee Against the Wall in Ni’lin. The Israeli army has said that they will arrest him once he is released from the hospital even though he was a mere bystander and did nothing to warrant being arrested.

Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, the Israeli army and border police, numbering more than fifty, pursued the dispersed demonstrators into the village and continued to shoot at locals with rubber bullets for several hours after the cessation of the demonstration. Several homes and cars were battered and had windows broken during the ensuing clash between the Israeli occupation force and resistant locals. Today’s episode is another example in a protracted confrontation between locals who are fighting to keep their land intact and the Israeli government who have been using increasingly violent means to quell protest and ensure the continued building of the illegal occupation wall.