Dozens suffered from the effects of tear gas inhalation when the Israeli army showered protestors with tear gas in the village of Bil’in, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday. The wounded took part in a non-violent demonstration against the encroachment of the wall on Bil’in’s lands and against nearby settlements.
The provisional Palestinian Ambassador to Argentina was amongst those who took part in the demonstrations, which are organized weekly by the Popular Committee Against the Wall. Horacio Wamba, the Argentine Ambassador to Palestine and Cecilia Marchan, who is head of an Argentine parliamentary delegation also took part.
Mr Wamba stated that he as ‘very proud’ to stand with the demonstrations and that said that non-violent resistance of this sort has the potential to be productive in efforts to end the occupation. He said that he will convey details of what he saw in Bil’in to the Argentinian government.
Demonstrators marched from the village towards the wall chanting slogans calling for national unity, the release of all political prisoners and freedom for Palestine. As they approached the wall, where a large number of Israeli soldiers were stationed, they were sprayed with so-called ‘skunk water’ and were attacked with tear-gas and rubber coated steel bullets.
