Soldiers attack a peaceful protest in Ni’lin

Monday August 25, 2008 07:30 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli soldiers attacked on Sunday a nonviolent protest against the Annexation Wall in Ni’lin village, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Soldiers fired gas bombs causing several injuries and detained an Israeli peace activist. On Saturday, soldiers kidnapped two children in the village.

Gas bombs fired by the army at nonviolent protesters in Ni’lin

Local sources reported that dozens of Israeli and International peace activists joined the Palestinian villagers in their protest against the Wall while military bulldozers continued to uprooted orchards and farmlands in the southern area of the village.

The army attempted to stop the protest but the protesters marched through the deployed forces and managed to reach a Wall construction on the village’s land.

Soldiers declared the area a closed military zone but the protesters continued their peaceful protest.  Troops fired rubber-coated bullets and gas bombs at the protesters causing a number of injuries.

Salah Al Khawaja, media coordinator of the Ni’lin Committee Against the Wall, said that soldiers kidnapped on Saturday two children after breaking into their homes in the village.

Al Khawaja added that the army declared the center of the village as a zone with permanent military presence in an attempt to bar the nonviolent protests and cause direct clashes with the army.

ramallah | the wall | news report saed at imemc dot org