A unity and solidarity demonstration in Niâlin stopped the Occupationâs bulldozers and prevented them from for hours from carrying out their usual destruction.
A central demonstration made up of hundreds of Palestinians and solidarity activists took off from the center of the town of Niâlin and headed towards the towards the Occupations bulldozers last Thursday. The demonstration came after the killings of Niâlin 12-year-old Ahmad Mousa and 17-year-old Yousef Amaira, which took place earlier this week.
Ahed Khawaja, coordinator of the anti-Apartheid Wall committee in Niâlin, stated,
âFor the past week, the people of Niâlin were kept busy with the funerals and their proceedings and the Occupation forces and their bulldozers used that time to accomplish more destruction of the land in order to build their apartheid wall [..] on account of the fact that we were not demonstrating, the occupation accomplished one of its three tasks in ninety days, and that just shows the importance of our stance and defiance in this popular struggleâ
The demonstration headed towards the confiscated lands of Niâlin from the center of the village. The area is surrounded by barbed razor-sharp wires, put up by the Occupation forces to protect their bulldozers which are razing the land to prepare for the construction of the Apartheid Wall. As soon as the soldiers who were guarding the wires spotted the demonstration heading towards them, they started shooting rubber coated bullets, tear gas, and sound bombs at the demonstrators, injuring tens of Palestinians and international solidarity activists. The demonstrators then started throwing stones at the soldiers, defying their bullets and bombs to reach the bulldozers. They surrounded the bulldozers, where they showered them with rocks and succeeded in stopping their progress.
The Popular Committee condemned the confiscation and razing of the village lands, calling for the official humanitarian and legal institutes to take a stand against the colonial practices of the Occupation. They also called for the popular mobilization of resistance against the Occupation, in both Niâlin and across Palestine.