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Eyewitness Report from Bil'in Protest
international |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report
Saturday July 16, 2005 22:25 by D Lynch
Eyewitness Report from Bil'in Protest OVER the past year the local people from the pretty little West Bank village of Bil’in have been holding protests every Friday against the planned building of Israel’s Wall (Apartheid Wall/Security Fence) right outside the northern section of the village. Each Friday villagers have been joined by left wing Israeli’s and international activists to march to the line where the wall is to be built. Two weeks ago (Friday 8, July) a Palestinian youth died from injuries he received while on the protest from a ‘rubber bullet’ fired by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Below is a report from the latest protest at the West Bank town. OVER the past year the local people from the pretty little West Bank village of Bil’in have been holding protests every Friday against the proposed routing of Israel’s Wall (Apartheid Wall/Security Fence) right outside the northern section of the village. Each Friday villagers have been joined by left wing Israeli’s and international activists to march to the line where the wall is to be built. Two weeks ago (Friday 8, July) a Palestinian youth died from injuries he received while on the protest from a ‘rubber bullet’ fired by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Below is a report from the latest protest at the West Bank town. |
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Jump To Comment: 1It's good to know that Israelis and Palestinians are working together so consistently in trying to end the injustice of the Wall and the capture of further Palestinian lands.
What must be a real headache for the organisors is the danger of containing their own members, especially children.
The question might well be asked: Should children be allowed or encouraged to take part in these very serious protests, fraught as they are with so much danger?
Bil'in is the village, where Israeli agents infiltrated the marchers some weeks ago and threw large rocks in the direction of their own soldiers. Later they were caught on camera arresting some of the marchers. When violence erupts at a non-violent demonstration, it is shown on TV in order to discredit the people taking part.
Non-violent protests need preparation. They need dedication. They need to be absolutely non-violent. People who want to carry catapults or slings should be discouraged from walking in non-violent demos. It is the non-violent character of the demonstration that is its most powerful characteristic and therefore the one most feared by the authorities.
Dr Marcy Newman of Boise University, who attended a similar rally in Bil'in a week ago makes the same point. She says:(
in the first link provided above
(http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3984.shtml )
"After the demonstration there was a discussion between the Israelis and Palestinians. It lasted for 2 hours and was fascinating - the desire to collaborate on future non violent protests, the desire to bring more Israelis to see the reality of the Occupation up close. But one of the main issues that some Israelis had was the fear of the youths throwing stones."
At a time when, if you open your mouth about the injustice of the Israeli-Palestinian situation, you are certain to be accused in blogs and threads of "anti-Semitism" it is so encouraging to know that countless Israelis and Israeli groups do not agree with their own Government's handling of Palestinian grievances about the Wall, new settlements, confiscation of land in the West Bank and many other injustices perpetrated on Palestinians in villages such as Bil'in. I sincerely hope that these Israelis do not lose heart in what must be for them a dangerous and thankless struggle. Thankless, that is, except for knowing that they are doing what is just and right.
It is my opinion also that the Israeli authorities should be prohibited by international law from releasing sound bombs, tear gas and rubber bullets at non-violent demonstrators. Each time this is done, it should be written down and presented to them by witnesses. A case could be built up for the courts.
Just as violence on a march takes away from its efficacy, so too the violence of the suicide bomber destroys the efficacy of non-violent opposition to injustice everywhere.