Demonstrations against the separation wall and Israeli settlements are a staple of Friday afternoons for the popular struggle in the West Bank. Villages and cities throughout the territory express their resistance to Israel‘s actions with marches to the thorns of occupation such as the separation wall. These protests are joined by international and Israeli supporters. The Israelis often meet in one specific location in Tel Aviv that has the feeling of an activist bus station. Groups of people are going to Bil’in while others are going to Ni’ilin or Nabi Salih. There is a strong sense of community among the rag tag group of Israelis willing to give up their Friday to join the Palestinian popular struggle in solidarity.
My Friday’s begin in Tel Aviv at noon. I meet my usual comrades and we begin the journey to Ni’ilin. Of all the demonstrations which take place on Friday, Ni’ilin has a unique aura around it. While a young demonstration, Ni’ilin has been labeled as one of the most violent in terms of the Israeli army’s tactics of repression. During the past two years of struggle, five people have been killed, hundreds injured, hundreds arrested and a ten metre high concrete wall has been built in the center of the village’s precious agricultural land. Despite the repression, the protests continue but the numbers lately have been small. In the larger picture of the Friday protest circuit, Ni’ilin is one of the smallest of the weekly protests. Our day there is often short and follows a similar pattern. We approach the wall, the Palestinians chant that they are the guardians of the land and ask the army to leave. The army begins firing tear gas on the protest and the Palestinian respond with rock throwing. After an hour of this type of theatre, the army enters the village in an attempt to arrest anyone that it can. Last Friday, the army arrested a Red Crescent medical team and cynically released a press notice that ‘violent rioters’ were arrested in Ni’ilin.
Our small group often continues to Nabi Salih after the demonstration in Ni’ilin is finished. This week Soldiers responded to the peaceful march in Nabi Salih with an incursion that resulted in a day of clashes and one arrested Israeli protester.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4ANDnpIH9g[/youtube]
Residents of Nabi Saleh, supported by Palestinians from nearby villages, Israeli activists and international supporters – about 60 in number – participated in the weekly demonstration against the Occupation, annexation and destruction of a growing amounts of land and resources from the village by the adjacent Halamish settlement.The march from the village’s center headed down towards the disputed lands in a different path than the usual today, but was nevertheless impeded by the army minutes after. The soldiers, surprised by being forced to relocate from their regular positions, immediately began threatening the crowd with arrests.
Precluded from advancing any farther, some demonstrators climbed over a shut yellow military gate at a checkpoint at the entrance to the village, which was used to obstruct the march. After a while, protesters began marching back into the village, but were followed by the soldiers as a measure of provocation.
The army’s incursion successfully escalated the situation, with quickly developed into clashes with armed soldiers shooting tear-gas and rubber-coated bullets faced by youth hurling stones to stop the invasion. At some point, one Israeli protester was arrested as soldiers claimed she interrupted their work, but she was later released on restrictive conditions. The army kept its presence in the village until the evening, continuously driving in and out of the village’s built-up area, and literally taking over the streets for prolonged periods each time.
In the West Bank village of Bil’in one demostrator suffered moderate wounds from a rubber coated bullet shot by the army.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAFT25tiDs8[/youtube]
This week’s demonstration in Bil’in commemorated the 9th anniversary to the assassination of PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa by a missile shot into his home by Israel. A large PFLP delegation as well as some fifty Israeli and international activists joined the people of Bil’in.
Demonstrators also denounced the recent conviction of Abdallah Abu Rahmah on charges of incitement ond organizing illegal demonstrations. Some protesters wore masks of Abdallah’s face, delivering the message that in imprisoning Abu Rahmah, Israel only strengthen the spirit of resistance he represents.
Demonstrators got only few minutes to protest, before the unprovoked salvo of tear-gas began. The continuous firing of tear-gas forced most of the demonstrators to retreat, leaving only a small number of youth, photographers, and a few older protesters preferred risking arrest over running into the thick clouds of gas.
When the soldiers saw that these last few demonstrators couldn’t be scared away, they invaded the village, chasing after the youth. The demonstrators were pushed further back by the gas, way beyond the area designated as a closed military zone. Following the invasion, limited confrontations began as local youth attempted to hold back the army from entering the village.
The soldiers escalated the violence and added the use of rubber-coated bullets to their arsenal. Just before the soldiers finally retreated, one youth was hit with a rubber-coated steel bullet that lodged itself inside his knee. He was evacuated to the Ramallah hospital suffering moderate wounds.
In the village of al-Masara just outside of Bethlehem, Israeli troops fire on nonviolent anti-wall protest in Al Ma’sara A group of Palestinian, Israeli and international protesters gathered in the afternoon and peacefully chanted ‘no to occupation’ and ‘no to settlements’ while sitting on the floor in front of soldiers as a way to demonstrate non- violent tactics. After a short time, Israeli soldiers began using sound bombs and tear gas as a means of dispersing the protest. During a brief intermission from the gas, a number of Israeli protesters attempted to approach the site of the demonstration only to be arrested. The following video shot by Mazin Qumsiyeh PhD clearly shows one Israeli protester being arrested for no reason what so ever.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkToniKnWEs[/youtube]
The reaction to this protest coupled with the protests in Ni’ilin and Bil’in show the repression of nonviolent and unarmed struggle in the West Bank by the Israeli armed forces. Arresting unarmed protesters and medical crews demonstrates the fear which these protests cause in the minds of Israeli military planners. Despite the repression and against all odds, the movements continue to grow.
Due to fasting during Ramadan and the intense heat, this week’s action in Hebron was smaller than usual in the ‘Open Shuhada Street’ campaign in Hebron. About 40 Palestinians and their supporters marched through the old city allies, chanting against the occupation and the settlements. The march was stopped by Israeli army soldiers, who then let a settler’s march pass through the same street. After the settlers passed through the march proceeded in a different direction and was ended in front of the closed gates of the Shuhada street, beyond which the marching settlers gathered. The 3 shops that were forcibly evicted and had their doors welded by the army remain closed since August 10 in a clear collective punishment measure retaliating the 100% non-violent protests that Youth Against Settlements has been holding weekly in front of Bab Al-Balidiyah protesting the apartheid conditions imposed on Hebron by the Israeli army.