In their ongoing weekly protests, local villagers of Bil’in, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, were joined with international and Israeli peace activists who marched together against the Israeli separation wall built illegally on their village land. This week’s protest was dedicated to Palestinian workers in conjunction with Labor day.
Protesters also raised signs demanding freedom of the press in support of local and international journalists working in the region. They called for the immediate release of the kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston. Demonstrators took to the streets and marched through the village up to the gate of the wall which separates the villagers from their land. Before arriving at the gate of the wall protester were met with the Israeli.
Soldiers also fired sound grenades and tear gas at the protesters, injuring three Palestinians, including two children. Several severe cases of gas inhalation were reported by medical sources in the village. Witnesses also reported that some olive trees caught on fire after tear gas canisters landed in an olive grove. The fires were quickly extinguished by local residents
