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Israeli military forces violently attacked a peaceful anti-Wall protest in the Palestinian village of Bil’in on Friday May 19th, injuring 24, including a number of international and Israeli protesters. Fifteen Palestinian, Israeli and international protesters were arrested for crossing a razorwire barrier along the Wall construction site, and two of the arrestees – an Israeli and a Palestinian – are being held in detention, but haven’t yet been charged.
Pennie Quinton is a journalist who was at the protest:
The village of Bil’in has conducted non-violent protests against the Israeli annexation Wall every Friday for the last two years. Today’s and last week’s protest have been especially violent. Last week two international supporters sustained serious head injuries when they were both hit in the head with rubber bullets at close range, and this week at least four were hospitalized with serious injuries, and 20 others were wounded.
Seth Porcello is a journalist who was pushed by soldiers into a ravine filled with barbed wire, then choked by tear gas fired into the ditch:
This escalation of violence against non-violent demonstrators comes in the midst of the implementation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s expansion plan – in which he is pushing the completion of the Israeli Wall as quickly as possible.
For updates check the International Middle East Media Center – imemc.org.
