Israeli soldiers fired gas bombs at dozens of residents who protested against the Separation Wall, in Aboud village, North West of Ramallah, in the West Bank, several residents suffocated after inhaling gas fired by the soldiers, who intercepted the peaceful protest carried for the first time in the village.
Hanna Khoury, member of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Aboud told the IMEMC that soldiers fired at the residents in an attempt to bar them from reaching the construction site of the Wall to protest there.
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Soldiers also attempted to arrest a number of residents.ÂÂ
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The protest started after the residents gathered in front of Aboud village council, and headed towards a construction site of the Wall which Israel started to construct on the villagers’ orchards.
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“The protestors, Christians and Muslims living in the village marched after Friday noon prayers”, Khoury said, “soldiers did not want us to reach the construction site, and fired gas bombs; several residents suffocated after inhaling gas”.
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One resident was injured after a gas bomb fired by the army hit him in his head; another resident was hit by soldiers who attacked the peaceful protest.
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50 international and Israeli peace activists participated in the protest along with the residents of the village.
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Palestinian Legislative Council member, Fares Qaddoura, Father Attalla Hanna, the official spokesperson of the Greek Orthodox Church, Chief Justice of the Sharia Courts, Sheikh Taisir Tamimi, also participated in the protest.
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Soldiers placed barbed wires and sand-hills in the streets in order to obstruct the peaceful protest.
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Sheikh Tamimi and Father Hanna said that the Palestinian People are determined to resist the Wall “which annexes the Palestinian orchards, and separates the people”.
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This is the first protest in Aboud village against the separation wall; the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Aboud held a meeting on Friday evening to evaluate the event, and decided that the protest will become a weekly even, like the nearby village of Bil’in.
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Hanna also told the IMEMC that churches in the villages sent messages to the Pope, and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, in addition to several international churches informing them about the Israeli plans to construct the Wall, grab more orchards from the villages which already lost huge areas for neighboring settlements.
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Wall facts and effects on Aboud:
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Israel plans to annex 1800 Dunams from the village to construct the Wall, which might in some areas take the form of a fence.
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3500 Dunams planted with Olive trees will be isolated behind the Wall.
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The area Israel intends to annex includes orchards, an ancient Church and archaeological sites located between Aboud and the nearby village of Shuqba. ÂÂ
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Israel plans to install two fences, separated by 60 meters, It issued several annexation orders to grab orchards which belong to the residents and surrounded it with a 12km fence.
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The Wall in Aboud area is also meant to separate two Israeli settlements (Ophir Ben, and Beit Aries) and keep them behind the Wall after connecting them together, which will lead to further land grab.
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Attorney Mousa Makhamra, councilor of the Land Defense Committee filed an appeal, against the construction of the Wall to an Israeli court, but the appeal was rejected; Makhamra intends to file another appeal to the Israeli High Court of Justice.
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Today, Friday, the Popular Committee Against the Wall was officially formed in Aboud, and held its first official meetings, and was officially formed.
