Israeli soldiers, On Wedensday used force to disperse an anti-wall, anti-caterpillar peaceful protest in the village of Beilin near the West bank city of Ramallah.

According to local sources, soldiers pushed protesters, who gathered near the wall construction site, back to the village, took over several homes, and used them to hurl dozens of tear gas canisters at protesters.

Army source responded saying that taking over few homes is a routine army procedure used to protect soldiers.

 

Soldiers arrested number of Israeli peace activists who took part in the protest.

Demonstrators also protested against Caterpillar Company, the main supplier of army bulldozers, which are used to uproot trees and destroy Palestinian homes.

Resident and peace activists chanted slogans against the Wall, home demolishing and land confiscation in addition to carrying banners against Caterpillar Company which keeps selling heavy bulldozers and machines to Israel.

The Israeli army is using Caterpillar machines to level Palestinian homes, uproot the fields and erect the separation wall.

Rachel Corrie, 23-year-old student at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), was killed on March 16, 2003 after trying to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home in Rafah by a Caterpillar bulldozer.

Last month, parents of Rachel Corrie, sued Caterpillar and the Israeli government. The suit charges that CAT knowingly sold machines used to violate human rights.

The board of directors of Caterpillar would hold Wednesday a vote on whether to continue selling bulldozers to Israel or not. The meeting is met by protests in several states in the U.S.

Several international organizations sent complaints to CAT Corporation demanding it to stop providing the Israeli army with its products which are mainly used ‘in violation of Human Rights in the occupied Palestinain Terretories’, especially in home demolitions and in constructing the wall, that has been ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice in July 2004.