Three injured at Bil'in protest

Friday October 19, 2007 18:22 by Manar Jibrin - IMEMC News

The residents of the West Bank village of Bil'in, west of the city of Ramallah, joined by international and Israeli peace activists, took to the streets on Friday carrying Palestinian flags, and chanting slogans.

The march was to protest against the construction of the Wall on village land,preventing the people of the village from reaching their olive groves for the start of the olive harvesting season.

This week's protest coincided with the filming of a movie entitled "The Holy", produced by the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement between People and directed by Italian director,Rocco Cerriella. The film focuses on the Israeli actions of land confiscation, settlement construction and the building of the Wall. It also demonstrates the hardships imposed on Palestinians through the experiences of a couple who are about to be married.

This week's demonstration was joined by a group of cyclists, members of the Palestine Cyclist Club, who travelled on their bicycles from Bethlehem.

The protestors marched to the site of the Wall where the Israeli army had placed barbed-wire. The soldiers fired teargas, sound bombs and rubber-coated bullets. Two cameramen, identified as Ghassan Banoura, from the International Middle East Media Centre and George Halata, and a Danish peace activist were injured.

Unidentified people set fire to dozens of dunums of land annexed by the Wall on Friday night. Israeli settlers use the tactic of setting fire to village land in order to confiscate it. The olive trees destroyed by fire belong to village residents Ahmad Yasen, Nathmi Yaseen, Maher Ashaa'l Musa Abu Rahmah and Mustafa Abu Rahmah.

Translated by Manar Jibrin

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