Close to 50 international and 16 Israelis joined the weekly Palestinian demonstration against the wall and the settlements in Bil'in. This week's demonstration included a strong presence of DFLP supporters, and commemorated one of the DFLP and popular struggle leaders, Khalid Al Azza, who died last month. The army attacked the demonstration almost immediately after it reached the gate. It used a large amount of gas and invaded the village with an exceptional number of soldiers. After the invasion the shabab and soldiers had a long gas-stones standoff, which ended when the demonstration was declared over. When all demonstrators headed back, the soldiers shot another round of gas on their path, just to show that they can.
In the weekly demonstration in Ni'ilin dozens of demonstrators arrived at the huge concrete wall cutting the farmers from their lands. Some of the village youth threw stones over the wall and the soldiers used large amounts of tear gas against the demonstrators. As the demonstration didn't decline the soldiers invaded the village fields chasing the demonstrators, and managed to arrest two.
Ni'ilin, July 16 2010
About 50 Palestinians, ten internationals and five Israelis marched towards the fence line near Wad-Rahal and were greeted by a large arrest vehicle blocking the protesters’ way. A force of soldiers and border petrol police blocked the protesters and declared that further advance will be met with violence. Arabic and English speeches were made, as well as a promise to strengthen the resistance next week. A settler who stood by the force commander voicing his disapproval with the “soft hand” practiced by the force towards the protesters and stated on site until the end of the demonstration. After about an hour, the protesters dispersed quietly, at the discontent of the soldiers.
About 100 Palestinians and their international and Israeli supporters gathered next to the closed gates of the Israeli army blockade on Shuhada street in the Saturday demonstration of the “Open Shuhada Street” campaign in Hebron. After some chanting and speeches, several Israeli soldiers attacked the demonstration and violently grabbed into arrest one Israeli protester. It was later found out that the protester was arrested after being identified by one of the soldiers in regard to last week's demo, a demo he didn't even attend. He was taken to interrogation in the Kiryat Arba settlement police station.
The demonstration continued with the usual march through the old city alleys, but without any more clashes with the army, which blocked all the alleys that are close to settlers homes, so the "distinguished" settlers won't be disturbed by the protesters' chanting. In previous demos settlers threw water, and sometimes other objects, including stones, at the march. Nevertheless, the apartheid army chose to punish and silence the Palestinian protesters and their allies by further restricting their movement in a city already cut in half by segregation.
_1.preview.jpg "Hebron, July 17 2010")
Hebron, July 17 2010
