Today 30 to 40 Palestinian, Israeli, and other international protesters marched through the West Bank village of Bil’in to the Israeli built separation barrier, ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice. Per usual, the demonstration was dispersed by tear gas projectiles and concussion grenades shortly after the marchers arrived at the gate. At least one Palestinian protester was injured and many other demonstrators were treated for varying degrees of tear gas inhalation. As of Friday evening, there have been no reported of injuries from the Israeli army.
After the midday prayer, Palestinians and internationals assembled outside in the village of Bil’in and proceeded to march to the barrier while chanting pro-Palestine slogans and waving Palestinian and Fatah flags. Tear gas and concussion grenades were initially employed to disperse the protesters, but roughly thirty minutes into the demonstration Israeli soldiers crossed the barrier line into the village and attempted to chase and detain Palestinian protesters. No arrests were reported. Several Palestinian youths wearing keffiyehs to cover their heads threw rocks and shouted insults at the Israeli soldiers. International demonstrators recorded and photographed the clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. Israeli forces invaded the village in response to the clashes with the demonstrators and eventually fell back across the separation wall over an hour after the protest began. This week’s demonstration in Bil’in marks a continued escalation of repressive tactics employed by the Israeli military. 2010 has seen a dramatic increase in night raids, arrests, and harassment directed towards the organizers of the Popular Committee resistance in the West Bank.
Six demonstrators, including three Israeli activists, were injured today in the West Bank village of Nabbi Saleh after the army invaded the village earlier today. The soldiers launched an unprovoked attack at the center of the village, even before a scheduled demonstration began. Three women and three men from the village were arrested.
Slightly after 12:30 a large military force invaded the North Ramallah village of Nabbi Saleh and began shooting tear-gas and rubber-coated bullets at people who were gathering to demonstrate against the theft of their lands by the nearby Jewish-only settlement of Halamish. One demonstrator was evacuated to the hospital unconscious, after being hit in the back with a rubber-coated bullet. Five more, including three Israeli activists, suffered less serious injuries.
During the demonstration three women and three man were arrested by the soldiers. An Israeli activist who was detained together with them was released a short time after, despite the fact that they were all arrested at the same time and place, and under similar circumstances.
Approximately six weeks ago, a group of Halamish settlers took over a natural spring located in privately owned Palestinian land in between the village and the settlement. Since then, and despite the fact that ownership of the land undisputed, the army began preventing Palestinians from accessing the area.
Two weeks ago, when villagers amassed hoping to manage and access their lands as a group, the army brutally prevented them from doing so using tear-gas and rubber-coated bullets. In response the villagers – men, women and children – blocked the settlement’s access road for over two hours.
A few days after, a DCO officer approached the village’s municipality, recognizing the villagers’ ownership of the land and promised that they will no longer be barred from accessing it. Despite this promise, the army continued violently assaulting residents of Nabbi Saleh in the past two Fridays when they tried accessing their lands.
Demonstrations also took place today in the villages of alMaasara south of Bethlehem – where a demonstrator was arrested and the Palestinian minister of agriculture was among the participants, Bil’in and Ni’ilin – where in the past month the army has been conducting an unprecedented arrest campaign against anti-Wall activists.
Eight demonstrators were injured today in Bil’in along with dozens who suffered tear-gas inhalation during a regular Friday protest against the Wall and subsequent army invasion into the village. The army used live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear-gas grenades and canisters against the unarmed crowd.
The demonstration, called by the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was joined by dozens of international and Israeli activists. Speeches were made commemorating the Palestinian martyrs, especially the late president Yasser Arafat and Bil’in resident Bassem Abu Rahmah. Bassem died after he was hit by a tear-gas canister the army shot at him from a short distance.
Demonstrators marched towards the site of the Apartheid Wall, carrying a twenty-meter long Palestinian flag. As every Friday, the protesters tried to reach their land confiscated by the Wall and nearby settlements. Immediately after the march arrived, the army, stationed behind the Wall, started shooting tear-gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Four residents of Bil’in, three Palestinian journalists and an Israeli activist were injured. At least one of them had to be taken to the hospital in Ramallah for treatment.
After the demonstration ended, the army entered the village and attempted to arrest two Palestinian activists. When the Israeli and international activists physically intervened in order to stop the arrests, the Israeli soldiers shot live ammunition into the air and attempted to surround the demonstrators.
The Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bil’in were also demanding the release of Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Committee, and Adeeb Abu Rahmah. They also protested against the arrest and continued detention of Ibrahim Ameera, Hassan Moussa and Zaydon Ameera, leaders and members of the Popular Committee in Ni’lin as well as all other Palestinian political prisoners. The Bil’in Popular Committee condemned the latest detention of Tahsin Yaqin, coordinator of the National Popular Committee in north west Jerusalem and the invasion of the houses of Mahmood Zawahreh, Hasan Berjeyyeh and Mohammad Berjeyyeh the leaders of the Popular Committee in al-Ma’asara.
On January 8, villagers from the Palestinian village of An Nabi Saleh (population approx 500), located in the north of the Ramallah district, held its third demonstration in three weeks against creeping settlement expansion and land confiscation by the illegal Israeli settlement of Hallamish (also known as Neve Tzuf). According to the residents of the village, since the settlement was established illegally on land belonging to An Nabi Saleh in 1977, there have been repeated attempts to expand the settlement. In 2009, the village successfully challenged, in the Israeli courts, the expansion of the settlement fence to land immediately alongside settler highway 465. In the past month, however, illegal settlers residing in Hallamish colony have attempted to re-annex the land alongside the highway, which now divides An Nabi Saleh’s land. In this period, the settlers have proceeded to build a shelter structure for the purpose of a memorial, on the land, which includes a fresh water spring used by An Nabi Saleh farmers and shepherds.
In response to the attempts by the Hallamish settlers to re-annex the land, An Nabi Saleh residents commenced non-violent demonstrations and actions to oppose the settlement expansion in December 2009. Prior to the demonstration on 8th of January, actions were also held on 1 January 2010 and 26 December 2009. These demonstrations included the replanting of olive trees in the area annexed by the illegal settlers.
Around 120 residents of An Nabi Saleh were joined by Israeli anti-occupation activists and internationals from the International Women’s Peace Service and the International Solidarity Movement in a non-violent demonstration, marching to the land which the Hallamish settlers have attempted to re-annex. During the course of the demonstration, the residents of An Nabi Saleh successfully blockaded 465, the illegal settler highway, for more than two hours. Mid-demonstration, one section of the non-violent demonstration also broke off from the highway and successful reached the land re-annexed by Hallamish, tearing down the illegally built settler structure.
Both sections of the non-violent demonstration, however, were met with force by the Israeli military who deployed more than 17 jeeps and at least two dozen soldiers to the area. During the course of the two hour demonstration, the Israeli military proceeded to fire up to 100 tear-gas canisters, as well as firing rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition at the un-armed demonstrators. More than 20 residents of the village were injured as a result, including three who were hospitalized. Those hospitalized, included two people injured by rubber bullets, and one teenage boy who received a head injury when he was struck in the head with a tear gas canister.
Many of the non-violent demonstrators were also injured by rocks which were thrown by illegal settlers from Hallamish from the hillside below the settlement and above the demonstration. One IWPS volunteer narrowly missed being hit by one of the rocks thrown by the settlers.
Despite a large presence, the Israeli military did little to stop the illegal settlers’ violent attack on the unarmed Palestinian demonstration. In one instance, when the Israeli military did attempt to prevent the illegal settlers from descending the hill in order to reach the non-violent Palestinian demonstration, the illegal settlers also attacked the soldiers. For several hours after the conclusion of the non-violent Palestinian demonstration, settler youth repeatedly threw rocks at passing Palestinian vehicles on the road below Hallamish colony. On 9 January, the day after the non-violent demonstration, residents of An Nabi Saleh informed IWPS volunteers that more 100 olive trees had been cut down and burnt by the Hallamish settlers on the land that belongs to the village, which the settlers were trying to re-annex.
Three residents were injured today in Bil’in along with dozens who suffered gas inhalation in a protest against the Wall and settlement building.
The demonstration was called by the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bil’in and was joined by residents of Bil’in, and international and Israeli activists. The protesters carried posters and banners calling to end the occupation, stop settlement building, stop detention and end the siege on Gaza.
The protest marched toward the Wall, where an Israeli military unit was located behind blocks of cement. The army had earlier closed the gate in the Wall with razor wire. When the protesters attempted to reach the land confiscated behind the Wall, the army fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Journalist Abbas Al-Momani and Rateb Abu Rahmah, a member of the Popular Committee, were each hit with tear gas canisters in their heads. Edo Medix, an Israeli activist, was also injured.
Last Thursday, a delegation from the US consulate in Jerusalem visited Bil’in and was welcomed by the Popular Committee Against the Wall. The delegation listened to a presentation about the experience that the residents have had in resisting the occupation, the building of the Wall and enduring late-night raids by the army. The delegation also visited the memorial statue for Basem Abu Rahmah.
In other news, Abedallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall, is still detained in the Israeli prison after his hearing last Thursday at Ofer military court. The Israeli court accused Abu Rahmah of incitement, holding weapons and throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. The Israeli court also charged Abu Rahmah with a violation they call “Participating in a protest against the wall”. Finally, Abu Rahmah was charged with “avoiding the Israeli justice” by avoiding Israeli checkpoints seven times and not being home when the Israeli army broke into his home three times. Abu Rahmah was arrested from his home on October 10, 2009 during a raid by the Israeli army.
The defense attorney responded to the accusations and the charge of holding weapons by stating that collecting empty tear gas canisters, fired rubber bullets and used sound grenades from Israeli soldiers to use them in local and international galleries is not a crime.
The Israeli court ruled on Thursday, January 7 to continue the detention of Abedallah Abu Rahmah and kept his charges open until his next court hearing. This decision was made in the absence of the defense attorney.
The Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bil’in condemned this decision and the detention of another Bil’in activist, Adeeb Abu Rahmah, for more than 5 months for his participation in demonstrations.
