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.

Friday 15 July.
1.30: A crowd of approximately 200 people leave the centre of Bil’in to head out along a narrow road to the north of the town towards the invisible line that marks where the ‘Wall’ is to be built. Half the crowd consists of international activists (including a large contingent from the Basque country), internationals who work in NGO’s etc, and left wing Israeli peace activist. The other half is comprised of local Palestinian villagers from Bil’in.

1.35: The marchers are in good form chanting slogans in Arabic, English (many of which would be familiar to Irish people form the anti war protests and the recent demo outside Lansdowne for the Ireland v Israel match) and Hebrew against the Wall. ‘Free Free Palestine’…’This Wall has got to Fall’. A massive Palestinian flag and a banner in Arabic calling for the end of the construction of the wall led the march. The banner had been made by local Bil’in youngsters in the hours before the march.

1.40: The march reaches the line of IDF soldiers. Barbed wire is spread across the line with armed soldiers and many more soldiers with hand held camera’s standing behind the wire. At least ten soldiers fan out to the left and right of the road flanking the marchers.

1.50: After ten minutes of chanting the front row of marches shift the protest slightly to the left of the road. IDF soldiers follow suit. The march at this stage is completely peaceful. The front line of marches then move back onto the main road.

1.55: As the front row of marchers move back onto the road a slight ‘scuffle’ takes place between a protestor and soldier. Immediately the IDF lets off a sound bomb and fires at least three tear gas canisters into the crowd of protestors. At this point no stones had been thrown by local youths at the lines of IDF soldiers. There had been no violence by any protestor.

1.58 In the general reaction to the tear gas many of the protestors retreated back quickly. A number of people were vomiting in response to the tear gas and some people were clearly distressed by the gas. Local youngsters ran amongst the protestors handing out slices of onion for them to put up their noses to counteract the gas.

2.00 Some soldiers advanced along the road towards Bil’in firing further tear gas at the retreating protestors. Those at the very front line had not run and remained remonstrating with the IDF. The soldiers blocked the road splitting the protest into two and fired further tear gas at the marchers.

2.10: In response to the tear gas local youths flanked out on either side of the road and started to fire stones at the IDF ranks using slingshots. The IDF retuned fire with more tear gas.

2.10-2.30: At least five protestors were arrested from the front line. Police were moved in and more soldiers.

2.30: When the protestors started to move back towards the village, the IDF ranks followed them, firing further tear gas and moving closer and closer to the village.

2.30-3.15 At the edge of the village IDF soldiers fired rubber bullets at Palestinian youths amongst the Olive Trees who were throwing stones. The northern end of the village was further tear gassed with local men and women going about their daily business suffering the effects of the gas.

3.15- onwards. IDF and local youths exchange tear gas and rubber bullets on one side and stones and slingshots on the other. Most international protestors leave the town while others stay on in Bil’in.

Report from Bil’in protest the week before. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3984.shtml

International Ruling on Wall
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3850.shtml

Israeli justification for the wall
http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/historicaldocuments/382.shtml

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Comments (1 of 1)

Stop the Wall protests

by Justin Morahan - Peace People

Sun Jul 17, 2005 15:08

It'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.

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Eyewitness Report from Bil'in Protest

Comments (1 of 1)