Eleven injured in the weekly protest in Bil'in village

Friday February 16, 2007 18:19 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC

On Friday, 300 protestors from the village of Bilin, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, joined with Israeli and international supporters. They marched in the weekly protest in the village against the illegal Israeli wall being built on the village's land.

The theme of today's demonstration was the exposure of the illegal activities that the Israeli settlers from the nearby Metityahu settlement are practicing. These activities include the of storage of power lines and water pipes that supply the illegal settlement, on land that the Israeli court had initially granted back to the Palestinians who originally owned it.

As soon as the protestors arrived at the gate in the illegal wall built on the village land, soldiers stopped the demonstration from proceeding to the annexed land. Protestors threw rotten eggs at the Israeli soldiers, while soldiers showered the protestors with tear gas and rubber coated bullets. Abdul Abu Rahmah, the local coordinator of the 'Popular Committee Against Settlements and The Wall' talked to IMEMC:

“The army prevented the protestors to cross, they responded by throwing rotten eggs. The soldiers then responded with tear gas and sound bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets. Troops also started beating people up, and wounded 11 protestors including six children. Some of the protestors were also hit by the rubber bullets.”

Soldiers also attacked some demonstrators with rifle butts and batons. Among those targeted was Reuters camera man from Bilin, Imad Buranat, who recently spent three weeks in administrative detention. He was shot in the leg with a rubber coated metal bullet, medical sources reported.

In addition, an Israeli activist, named as Cobi, sustained an injury along with another Israeli activist who was hit with a sound grenade at close range.
Next week's demonstration marks two years of ongoing weekly demonstrations at Bilin. A large number of participants are expected.

ramallah | non-violent action | news report ghassanb at imemc dot org