Tag: Ni’lin

On the 29th June another demonstration was held in Ni’lin gathering around a hundred villagers. The Israeli soldiers responded fast and violently on the march long before reaching the construction ground. The demonstration resulted in 17 injured persons of which a thirteen year old boy was hit in the leg by a rubber bullet and another one with live ammunition in his lower arm. Injures was also caused by abuse from the soldiers and tear gas. Of the injured there was one journalist and one Israeli activist with a badly bruised arm. Palestinian farmer Ahmad Rashida was beaten by Israeli troops in front of his eight-year-old daughter. While trying to assist an immobilized man a health worker from the Red Crescent was tear-gassed.

About hundred villagers, together with international and Israeli solidarity activists marched of from the village square at 11 o’clock. With flags and chants they marched to one of the olive-fields of Ni´lin where the Israel plan to dig away the olive trees to prepare for the wall. Immediately when the demonstration started to move down the olive fields the Israeli army fired several sound-bombs and tear-gas grenades. The demonstration got split up and more tear-gas, sound-bombs later on rubber bullets and live ammunition were fired from the Israeli army. Some Palestinians and other activists confronted the soldiers and several of those were physically assaulted.

The demonstration kept on intensively for two hours but some demonstrators kept on during the day and military kept on shooting until late afternoon. The military also came into the village hunting for boys throwing stones.

Twelve persons were injured, amongst others one thirteen year old boy was shot in the leg, and one boy was shot with live ammunition in his lower arm. One 19 year old boy was abused by the soldiers.

The village of Ni’leen is about to lose aproximately 2500 donums when the Apartheid wall is constructed. From having over 57 000 donums in 1948, the village has seen its land decrese to 33 000 donums in 1967 to about 10 000 donums in present time. The villagers fear that the next annexation will be the death blow to the village’s economy.

On the 26th June over 200 Palestinian protesters marched in the village of Nilin again, together with international and Israeli activists, against the construction of the apartheid wall that annexes thousands of dunams of land belonging to residents of the village. The response from the Israeli soldiers was once again brutal with an artillery of sound bombs, teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. 2 Palestinians were hospitalised.

As with the last demonstration, protesters again managed to reach the bulldozers, halting the construction for some time. 21 persons where however injured, 15 of them by rubber bullets and the rest by tear-gas. Two of the injured were hospitalised – Aqel Sadeq Sror with a shot in his spine and Muhammad Amera with a fractured skull caused by a rubber bullet. In the after match of the demonstration Israeli soldiers kept shooting into the Ni’lin village, including firing tear gas into a family house.

The village of Ni’lin continues to struggle against the annexation of their land, despite the brutal attacks by the Israeli army. Over 150 people have now been injured in the recent demonstrations, as people resist against the construction of the apartheid wall that confiscates land for the settlement of Hashmonaim.

In Nilin around 200 protestors marched with international and Israeli activists to the site of the construction of the apartheid wall which will take more land from the village further to that already occupied by the nearby illegal settlement. The arrival of the demonstrators forced a bulldozer to suspend work and vacate from the area.

The Israeli army immediately attacked using large numbers of sound bombs and tear gas. The demonstration lasted for three hours during which soldiers aggressively pursued people through the olive groves firing rubber coated steel bullets. Canisters of tear gas started fires amongst the trees. Soldiers prevented activists from attempting to control the blazes.

Twelve people were injured, three seriously. One demonstrator was shot in the head and another was struck by a tear gas canister. All three were taken to hospital in Ramallah.

The Israeli army brought a jeep up onto the road to the village mounted with a device to fire multiple tear gas canisters. Soldiers fired upon demonstrators and people from the village threw stones back and blocked the road with rocks to prevent the vehicle from entering the village.

After most of the protestors had returned to Nilin soldiers attacked the village approaching the boundaries and shooting at people indiscriminately. Those filming and photographing from rooftops were also targeted. Tear gas was fired at the buildings and one canister landed amongst a family who were gathered on top of their house. Recently, soldiers have repeatedly entered the village, sometimes at night, but on this occasion they left without fully invading the village.

Demonstrations have been taking place for over a month in Nilin and further actions are being organized.

On Friday 20th of June the villagers of Ni’lin gathered to pray on the construction ground of the apartheid wall. Ni’lin is the last village of this area where the wall is not yet completed. The closure of the wall will separate the village from the land that they are dependent on, meaning the village will suffer big economical consequences.

Starting one month ago, the villagers go to pray against the wall every Friday. Since it’s start the manifestations have become more and more popular among the villagers. Today around 300 men gathered on the farming land that the wall will cut them off from. The manifestation was observed by soldiers and vehicles of the Israeli army, but they never engaged. Still many villagers are too anxious about Israeli military violence to participate. Live ammunition shells and empty tear gas grenades scattered on the ground illustrate that this fear is not without reason.

The village of Ni’lin is surrounded by settlements who have reduced the Ni’lin area significantly. Compared with the situation in other parts of the West Bank the relationship between settlers and villagers has been good so far. The wall will be constructed several hundred meters from the settlements and far into the Palestinian land separating farmers from olive trees, wells, roads and property. The construction of the segregation wall will further divide the Palestinians and settlers by it’s nature and will probably worsen their relationship and the local situation.

“The aim of the wall is obviously not to increase Israeli security but to confiscate more Palestinian land.”, a representative of the local committee against the wall said.

Two years ago the Israeli occupation force (IOF) started the construction of the wall between Nilin and the settlement. Trying to stop this, the villagers went to the Israeli high court. This delayed the construction for one year. But during this time the IOF continued to build the wall at other villages surrounding Nilin. Finally the High court rejected the complaint, and now the construction is on again.

On Monday 16th June 11 am the villagers of Nilin organised a protest march against the building site of the apartheid wall near Ni’lin. About 200 people participated, among them Israelis and internationals.

The Israeli army shot tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters. Eight people were wounded by rubber bullets, among them one international, who was shot in the leg with the bullet entering his leg. Another ten had to be treated for tear gas inhalation. Witnesses report that one ambulance was being shot at by the soldiers during the demonstration.

The reason why the villagers of Nilin protest is that their land is being confiscated by the Israeli state to make way for the building of the apartheid wall. They demand that Israel follow international law and stop the building of the wall. The protests in Ni’lin have been going on for over one month and 130 people have been injured.

The protests in Nilin are part of the campaign “Summer Against Apartheid”, which focuses in pointing out the apartheid system that Israel is building, including settler roads, stealing of water supplies, checkpoints, the enlargement of illegal settlements at the expense of Palestinian land and the building of the apartheid wall.