The Friends of Freedom and Justice in Bil’in village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, reported Friday that one resident was shot and wounded in his left forearm and his abdomen, while dozens were treated for the effects of teargas inhalation after Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly nonviolent protest against the Annexation Wall and Settlements, and fired rubber-coated metal bullets and gas bombs.The wounded resident was identified as Mousa Husam Al-Khateeb, 19; he was treated my Red Crescent medics who transferred him to the Palestine Medical Center, in Ramallah, for further medical treatment.
The protest was organized by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bil’in; envoys from Brazil, residents of Bil’in in addition to Israeli and international peace activists participated in the protest.
The protest started after Friday noon prayers in the village’s mosque, in the center of the village, before the protesters marched carrying Palestinian flags, chanting slogans calling for unity among the Palestinians, for the destruction of the illegal Israeli annexation wall, and for the evacuation of the illegal settlements built on privately-owned Palestinian lands.
The protesters also chanted in support of the Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, and for Jerusalem, the future capital of the anticipated Palestinian state.
After arriving at the Abu Lemon natural reserve, some of the protesters managed to breach the barbed-wire fence, located a few meters before the concrete Annexation Wall, while Israeli soldiers, stationed on the other side of the Wall, fired rubber-coated metal bullets, gas bombs, and also sprayed the protesters with waste-water mixed with chemicals.
Dozens of protesters, including Israeli and international peace activists, were treated for the effects of teargas inhalation.
Clashes took place between local youths, who hurled stones at the soldiers, and the army who fired more gas bombs, rubber-coated metal bullets and rounds of live ammunition.
