500 Palestinian protestors, 50 international and 100 Israeli peace activists protested against the Wall in Bil’in village west of Ramallah, and sat on the ground in front of the bulldozers; soldiers attacked the protestors and fired rubber coated bullets, one child suffered a head injury.
Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bil’in said that soldiers attacked the protestors and fired rubber coated bullets, and stun grenades at the protestors; one child identified as Mohammad Suleiman Bornat, 16, suffered an injury in his head and was hospitalized at Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Ramallah.
At least 15 protesters were injured, and three Israeli peace activists were arrested. Also, soldiers Abdullah Abu Rahma and hit him with their batons.
Israeli online daily Haaretz reported that the chairman of the Bil’in village council fainted after inhaling gas fired by the army.
In a recent development, Abu Rahma told the IMEMC that a German organization known as “Der Geist auf die Welt” the Spirit of the World” held a protest in Berlin at the same time of the protest which was held n Bil’in under the slogan “From Berlin to Bil’in, the Wall will Fall”.
The organization intends to conduct weekly protests every Friday at 12 noon, Abu Rahma said.
Bil’in protest to commemorate Yasser Arafat
Saed Bannoura-IMEMC – Friday, 11 November 2005, 11:23
Residents of Bil’in, west of Ramallah, Israeli and international peace activists intend to commemorate the late Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, on Friday marking the first anniversary of his death, the International Solidarity Movement Said.
President Arafat died November 11, 2004. He was surrounded by the Israeli army in his Ramallah headquarters since December 2001 until his sickness and death.
“The residents will wear masks of Arafat, Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela”, Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordination of the Popular Committee Against the Wall, told the IMEMC.
“Those figures are peace activists, they called for liberation”, Abu Rahma reported, “We follow their lead in our peaceful protests against the Wall, against occupation until liberation and independence”
The protest will take off on Friday at noon directly after Friday prayers at the village’s mosque, Abu Rahma added.
Usually there are 5 -10 peace activists continuous present in the village, participating in the peaceful protests against the Separation Wall and managing reports and calls to the press.
50 Israelis and 30 international peace activists are expected to participate today in the protest in Bil’in.
Over the last ten months, Bil’in has launched an ongoing non-violent campaign against the wall supported by hundreds of Israeli and International activists, and met by violence and collective punishment from the Israeli army.ÂÂ
The current route of the Wall will annex 60% of Bil’in’s agricultural land, and expand the settlement of Modi’in Elite. Plans for Modi’in Elite’s expansion have yet to be approved by the Israeli government.
