Palestinians took to the streets and fields today in protest against the Apartheid Wall, marking four years since the International Court of Justice ruled the project illegal and the Wall to be torn down.
***image2***In Jayyous, Niâlin, Bilâin and al-Khader, villagers marched to the Wall and confronted the occupation forces.
In Jayyous, one of the first villages hit by the Wall in the first phase of construction in 2002, hundreds of people gathered to hear the Governor of Qalqiliya, the mayor and other figures speaking out against the Wall, before marching to the gate to the north of the village. As the people were leaving, clashes ensued and the occupation forces unleashed tear gas and sound bombs. The village has been the resisting the Wall for fives years, and people say that they are now planning to redouble their efforts, with weekly protests.
***image3***In Niâlin village there have been demonstrations over the last two months since the Occupation announced a new phase of the Wall around the village, climaxing in intense resistance over the last week. Today, some 700 people gathered and held prayers on the hill, before going to the site where the bulldozers are tearing up the village land. Clashes ensued, and work on the Wall was disrupted, before the occupation forces attacked with tear gas, sound bombs and rubber bullets. One villager was seriously injured, and three dunums of land with 50 olive trees were set on fire by exploding tear gas shells. The villagers are tonight marching towards the settlement which has been built on their land to continue the protest.
***image4***In Al Khader, some 60 people went to the fields and prayed in the open. They were surrounded by soldiers, and began chanting slogans against the Wall and Israeli apartheid, calling for the boycott of Israeli goods.
Since the Israeli occupation began building the Wall in 2003, they have met with fierce popular resistance. Weekly demonstrations and direct action in villages like Jayyous, Bilâin and Budrus among many other have disrupted and set back the construction program, and brought the ongoing Israeli crimes under the glare of international attention. However, the international community has so far failed to live up to its responsibilities, and Palestinians will continue to defend their land until they achieve justice.