Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly peaceful protest against the
Annexation Wall in Bil'in village, near Ramallah, in the northern part
of the West Bank, and injured nine protesters after hitting them with
batons and firing rubber-coated bullets at them.
The protest was carried out by one hundred Palestinians and twenty Israeli and international peace activists, media office of the International Solidarity Movement, and local sources reported.
As the protesters marched towards the Annexation Wall after Friday prayers in the village's mosque, soldiers attempted to stop them at the edge of the village by beating them with batons and shields injuring one Israeli peace activist, identified as Yutan who was badly hit in his face and was treated at the scene.
The Israeli peace activist was severely bleeding and received first aid.
Despite the military presence and the beatings, the villagers and peace activists continued their protest while singing and chanting slogans against the Wall, settlements and the occupation.
Later on, the protesters stood in a line facing the soldiers and a Buddhist monk started to bang his drum calmly while approximately twenty protesters held a sit-in protest.
Some Palestinian youth, who stood on a ridge away from the protest location hurled stones at the soldiers who were intensively present in the area.
The ISM media office stated that the protest was “relatively calm” as the soldiers did not fire live ammunition of tear gas at the protesters, but six Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated bullets fired by the army, three peace activists were beaten.
After the army pushed the protesters back to the village, they sat on the road in an attempt to protest the army from invading the village.
In contrary to other weeks, soldiers allowed the protesters to sit on the road, while the rhythmic beating of a Buddhist monk drum was the only sound heard.
The injured local and foreign protesters were identified as;
Yotam – hit with a shield in the face
Koby – beaten on the shoulder
Jonathan – beaten on the leg
Eyad Burnat – beaten on the leg
Adeeb Abu Rahme, 34 – beaten on the leg
Khamis Abu Rahme, 22 – shot with a rubber bullet
Sharar Mansour, 22 – shot with a rubber bullet
Wi'am Nasser, 17 – shot with a rubber bullet
Ayid Sa'id, 29, shot with a rubber bullet
Soldiers also invaded the village after the protests and broke into several houses, including the house; one of the attacked houses belongs to resident Hisham Burnat.
