Demonstrators emassing infornt of the gate in the wall

Under the shadow of the previous day’s Israeli Supreme Court decision approving the construction of the wall 21 km inside the West Bank, some 500 people marched in Bil'in today, in a demonstration much larger than the average weekly demonstrations, now taking place for over 20 months.

As in almost every Friday, they were met by violence and repression

Roadblock removal in Beit Ummar
Two concrete roadblocks blocking access to the Palestinian villages of Zif and Beit Ummar were removed as Israeli activists joined Palestinians in an act of resistance to the Israeli policy of restriction of movement and Jewish-only apartheid roads.

The day started at the village of Al-Jab’a, where a dirt mound and a few concrete slabs block the road between the Palestinian villages of Surif and al-Jab’a. The purpose of this roadblock is to restrict the movement of Palestinians from Surif and Beit Ummar to the north, and limit travel possibilities to one: going through the Beit Umar junction, where there is a military pillbox and a constant military presence.
As soldiers were present near the roadblock and it seemed impossible to remove it, activists headed towards a second roadblock in Zif, where a line of concrete blocks of one cubic meter (35 cubic feet) blocked a road, and where local community members were waiting.

Demonstrators marching in Bil'in. 13/10/06

The people of Bil'in, together with Israeli and international activists, converged today for the village’s weekly demonstration against the wall, and in solidarity with imprisoned journalist Emad Bornat.