***image1***Residents of Bilâin, joined by international and Israeli supporters, marched to Wall on Friday afternoon. In addition to chanting slogans and carrying flags, participants also carried sacks for the olive harvest. Protestors approached the Wall only to be forced back with tear gas and sound bombs.
Denied access to their land and groves, they instead harvested the empty tear gas canisters that litter the fields near the Wall. Hundreds of rounds have been fired over the past weeks, which were collected and piled on the ground.
The olive harvest began in October, and villages are often unable to access land isolated behind the Wall. Permits, which are rarely issued, often only permit harvesting at certain times and set limits on the equipment that can be used, making the traditional harvest difficult, if not impossible, in hundreds of villages.