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