Bil'in Weekly Protest - This is Zionism

People of Bil’in defy the decision of the military.

Dozens of demonstrators were injured today in the weekly anti-wall march at Bil’in. A number suffered from suffocation caused by the use of tear gas due to clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and international peace activists on one side, and Israel Occupation forces on the other. This is the result of suppression of the last of the weekly marches against the wall and settlement.

The demonstrators set out on the march after Friday Prayers, taking to the streets of the village and chanting patriotic slogans. They called for unity and the casting aside of differences,  confirming the necessity of holding on to Palestine and resisting the Occupation and refusing the Israeli decision to add the Islamic Holy Sites to Israeli Heritage. They also refused the Israeli decision to declare the area around the wall a closed military zone, as well as calling for the release of all prisoners.

The march advanced towards the wall, where Israeli Occupation forces were stationed behind cement blocks on the far side. After the gate of the wall was closed with barbed wire, demonstrators attempted to cross, heading for the land behind the wall which is owned by the townspeople of Bil’in. They were met by Israel Occupation Forces firing sound grenade, rubber-coated bullets and tear gas canisters. Demonstrators in the olive groves were targeted, resulting in the injury of dozens suffering from suffocation.
The Popular Committee for Opposition to the Wall and Settlements in the Village of Bil’in has condemned the decision by the Occupation government to close the areas surrounding the wall in Bil’in and Nil’in on Fridays from 8am until 8pm for up to six months (treating it as a closed military zone.) This decision is considered (Arabic translation uses سافر جدا this makes no sense in English)with the Popular Committee calling for international demonstrators and the Palestinian people to resist this decision through continued participation in the weekly events against the wall and the settlements.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, and Comrade Hisham Abu Raya Member of the Political Bureau of the Palestine Liberation Front participated in the march, called for by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and settlements in Bil'in, alongside the people of the village of Bil'in and peace activists. This is despite the Occupation government’s decision to declare the area around the wall, which is the location of the weekly protests, a closed military zone.

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi said, "The decision of the Occupation, which prohibits Palestinians from the villages of Bil'in and Ni'lin access to their land in the area of the apartheid wall and their declaration of the area surrounding the wall becoming a closed military zone is an illegal one. It comes from an illegal Occupying force. We will not accept it and we will resist it.
Barghouti has called for the international community to respond to the measures of the occupation through imposing sanctions, just as it did during the South African Apartheid. Comrade Hisham Abu Raya (“Abu Saleh”) said that it was a momentous day for Bil’in and for the Popular resistance,  to break the decision of the Occupation to declare the areas of Bil’in and Nil’in closed military zones. He continued “This is a day for supporting Jerusalem and the Islamic and Christian holy sites and resisting the Judaization of the Holy City .
Bil’in was visited the day before yesterday by a delegation from the US consulate, which listened to a detailed explanation from the Popular Committee regarding the route of the wall and the commencing of work there, as well as the decision to the Israeli occupation forces to declare Bil’in a closed military zone on Fridays for a period of six months.

 

For more information:

Dr. Rateb Abu Rahmah – Member of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bil’in:

  0597117673 saborahmeh42@yahoo.com