Israeli military attacks weekly Bil'in protest, 17 injured including 7 journalists

Saturday March 29, 2008 00:28 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

Scores of residents from Bil’in, a village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, took to the streets along with their international and Israeli supporters to conduct their weekly nonviolent protest against the Israeli Wall and illegal confiscation of the village land.

Bil'in Today - Phto By IMEMC's Haithem El Khatib

Israeli troops manning the wall and the gate that cuts off the villagers from their land showered the protesters with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets immediately after the protesters reached the gate. 17 were injured including seven journalists. Eyad Burnat, of the Bil'in popular committee, was among those injured:

"As we arrived at the gate in the wall soldiers showered us with tier gas and rubber-coated steel bullets, they tried to kidnap one of the village youth as I went to help him they attacked and beat me up very badly."

The parents of Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist who was killed in Gaza by the Israeli army Gaza five years ago, joined the Bil'in protest.

Rachel Corrie was killed in 2003 in Rafah city, in the southern part of the Gaza strip when an army bulldozer ran over her while she was protecting a local family home from being demolished by the Israeli army.

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