This Friday in Ni'ilin, some 150 Palestinian, International, and Israeli protesters, gathered in a demonstration against the annexation of the village's land and the wall surrounding it. The protesters marched toward the gate in the wall (through which soldiers enter when raiding the village), and urged the soldiers on the other side to refuse to serve, reminding them that they are standing on a stolen land. In response, the soldiers shot tear gas at the protesters, as well as  0.22 live bullets (two-two), hitting one protester in the hip. The protester required immediate medical attention and was later transferred to a hospital.

Retreating from the scores of tear gas and live bullets shot at them, the protesters moved towards an uncostructed area of the wall. A group of soldiers, escorted with three jeeps, crossed the gate and started advancing in the fields while shooting tear gas. Two soldiers, hiding in the many olive trees that surround Niilin, tried to hunt and aim at the protesters. Once the soldiers retreated back behind the wall, a group of the village youths followed them back and confronted them there. 

Meanwhile in Ma'asara, some 50 Palestinian, Israeli and international demonstrators marched on Friday in protest against the Apartheid Wall. Soldiers and Border Policemen waited for the march just outside the village, laying razor wire on the road in a location closer to the village that the usual. Demonstrators aliened themselves opposite the occupation forces, and within three minutes police charged and grabbed one of the village youth, arresting him with no reason at all.

The demonstration proceeded, and speeches were carried in Arabic, English and Hebrew. The joint Palestinian-Israeli drumming band played to the rhythm of the slogans chanted, and some of the village children challenged the soldiers by pulling at the razor wire. Meanwhile, some of the Israeli activists presented the soldiers with a map of the West Bank and the Wall and with a specially drawn map of the area of the demonstration so that they know how far away they (and the fence) are from Israel's border. After half an hour a deal was struck with the police that the demonstration will retreat ten meters, and the detainee be released. Surprisingly enough, the police did not keep their end of the deal. The demonstration went on for another hour, with people drumming, playing football and proceeding with geography lessons to the soldiers. Eventually the detained youth was made to sign a promise not to return to the demonstrations for two weeks and was then released. Back with the crowd, he told his friends how he had been beaten inside the police car once out of sight.

In Bil'in, over 20 Israelis and about 20 internationals joined the weekly demonstration against the Israeli stranglehold of Bil'in and the Palestinian people. The procession marched on chanting merrily, waving a bunch of new Palestinian flags and sporting banners protesting European and corporate support of the occupation. The wind, however, was unilaterally pro-Israeli, and made it difficult for demonstrators to hold their stance against the clouds of gas slowly flowing down the path in endless abundance courtesy of Israeli and American tax payer's money. The shabab was very restrained and refused to use force in order to disperse the soldiers from the gate area. It was only at the very end of the demonstration that they used their free and eco-friendly means for dispersing armed oppression.