Dozens of Palestinian residents, along with 150 Israeli and International peace
activists, held their weekly protest in Bil'in village, near the West
bank city of Ramallah, and demanded that Israeli authorities implement the ruling of
the Israeli High Court of Justice to dismantle part of the settlement and return it to its 'pre-settlement state'.
The nonviolent protest began after Friday prayers, when some 150 residents and peace activists marched towards the construction site of the Israeli Wall, which is being built within the legal boundaries of the village.
The theme of this week's march was to protest Israel's failure to implement the decision of the Israel High Court of Justice, ruling that part of the settlement must be dismantled; as well as challenging the international community to implement the International Court of Justice decision which ruled that the Israeli Annexation Wall is illegal.
The protesters marched towards the gate of the Annexation Wall, and were stopped by a group of Israeli soldiers on the main road just few hundred meters from the center of Bil'in. The soldiers had an armored vehicle that is capable of spraying liquid at high pressure.
As the front line of non-violent demonstrators arrived in front of the vehicle, the Israeli forces announced through loudspeakers that the area was a closed military zone, and retreated behind the large vehicle. The sodliers then began to spray the demonstrators with a bright blue chemical solution that burned the skin of the protestors on impact.
In addition to spraying the protesters, the soldiers also pushed them using military shields. One protestor was detained but was de-arrested by a group of Palestinians and Israelis after he was taken to the jeep.
Also, troops fired bean-bag bullets at several protesters who remained further back on the road without approaching the construction site of the Wall. Two Palestinians, three Israelis and one international were injured.
After the protest, soldiers invaded the village and fired rubber-coated bullets and teargas canisters, one resident was injured by a rubber-coated bullet.
Other weapons, including an unknown type of tear gas, were also used by Israeli soldiers during the protest, adding to protestors' allegations that in recent weeks, Bil'in has become a 'testing ground' for new and experimental 'non-lethal' weapons.
One Palestinian and one Israeli were hit with sponge bullets, projectiles which force needles into the skin on impact and draw out blood.
