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For the Second Day: People in Zawiya Confront the Occupation Bulldozers
Latest News, PENGON/Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, June 8th, 2004

Above: A man from Zawiya village expresses his grief and his outrage at the destruction of his lands by Occupation forces.

Hundreds of people demonstrated for the second day in a row against the Occupation forces building the Wall on their lands in Zawiya village, west of Salfit.

Large numbers of Occupation forces invaded the village today and started marking more of Zawiya's lands for the Wall's path. These new marks show that the Wall will pass less than 50 meters from the high school and the nearby houses in the village.

At about 2:30 today hundreds of men, women, and children headed towards their confiscated lands. The people followed the Occupation soldiers marking their lands, and forced them to leave the area. The demonstrators then continued marching towards the lands being destroyed by the Occupation bulldozers. However, Occupation soldiers surrounded them in one of the valleys from all sides and fired tear gas into their midst, which led to the trees catching fire, while many of the people were overcome by the gas, and fainted. Many of the demonstrators were also beaten by Occupation forces, including a child of fifteen years old. Another young man from the village, Adnan Shqier, was hit by a rubber bullet in the neck.

The Occupation forces continued working to destroy the village lands in Zawiya throughout the day, and the people are planning for another demonstration tomorrow.