At this week’s anti-Wall protest in the Palestinian village of Bil’in Friday, Palestinian and Israeli activists ‘hung’ themselves in mock nooses from the Wall to symbolize the ‘death sentence’ wrought by the Wall on the Palestinian people.
Both Palestinians and Israelis participated in the action, in which some of the demonstrators ‘hung’ themselves from the annexation barrier being constructed illegally on Bil’in’s land. The protestors wrapped themselves in shrouds symbolizing the death sentence that the barrier represents to the Palestinian people and economy.
Other protestors chained their arms into metal tubes and attached themselves to the wall. Israeli soldiers beat the chained demonstrators with batons and rifle butts and wounded two of the protestors. Mohammad Khatib from the Bil’in popular committee and Yossi Bartal from Israeli Anarchists Against the Wall both sustained injuries from the beatings.
The route of the wall in Bil’in was designed to allow for the further expansion of the illegal outpost of Metityahu Mizrah on Bil’in land. Israeli leaders, including Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, have stated clearly Israel’s intention to annex the Modi’in Elite settlement block that is currently under construction.
The protest in Bil’in is a weekly event every Friday, that has been going on for over a year. Abud and Beit Sira villages also hold weekly peaceful protests every Friday.
