Weekly nonviolent demonstration held in village of Bil'in

Friday July 27, 2007 17:12 by R. P. - International Middle East Media Center

On Friday, the village of Bil'in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, held its weekly protest against the illegal Israeli wall that separates the village from its agricultural land.

Non-violent protest in Bil'in

The protest started shortly after Friday prayers.

As is the case each week, the local villagers were joined by international and Israeli peace activists. This week, protestors at Bil'in included visitors from an international training delegation in solidarity with the Palestinian nation. For the past ten days, they have been touring several West Bank cities like Bethlehem, Nablus and Hebron, and participating in non-violent activities protesting the Israeli occupation.

The protestors left the village and marched to the location of the wall, where they were confronted by a massive Israeli army force that opened fire on the protestors, injuring six of them. Medical sources identified the injured as Louisa and Nura from Algeria, Elan Shalif from Israel, and local village residents Soleman Khataab, Binaan Khalil and Mamoon Zalum. Sand bombs and tear gas used by the Israeli troops landed in nearby olive groves, sparking fires which destroyed a number of olive trees.

Late on Thursday evening, the Israeli army attacked the village of Bil'in and searched villagers' homes. These searches are a new method of dissuading the villagers from holding their weekly protest.

bethlehem | non-violent action | news report