al Maâsara: Occupation forces suppress weekly anti-Wall march held in commemoration of the martyr Dalal Maghrebi
The weekly demonstration was held this Friday on the 32nd anniversary of the death of the martyr Dalal Maghrebi. Demonstrators from al Maâsara were joined by international activists in front of the local school, from which they walked along the main street of the village intending to reach their lands isolated beyond the Wall.
Demonstrators made their way through the streets of the village carrying Palestinian flags and chanting against the Occupation and its racist and criminal policies. They also chanted for national unity and in support of the revolutions of the Arab people against their repressive, dictatorial regimes.
When they arrived at the entrance of the village, seven military vehicles and soldiers closed the main street and stopped the protest from moving forward, pushing and shoving marchers back. Occupation forces attempted to disperse the march with sound bombs, and demonstrators responded with stones. No one was injured during clashes.
The media coordinator for the Campaign in Bethlehem, Mohammed Brajiya, spoke during the march. The anniversary of death of Delal Maghrebi coincides with International Womenâs Day, and he affirmed the central role played by women, as mothers, strugglers and workers, in the resistance, adding, âThe Palestinian woman is not half of the society, but rather the whole society.â Brajiya also saluted the Arab revolutions from the sea to the gulf as an inspiration for achieving national unity, bringing down the Occupation and gaining freedom.
Bilâin: Demonstrators face tear gas during weekly march
There were dozens of cases of severe asphyxiation from tear gas inhalation as a result of confrontations which occurred in the village of Bilâin, Occupation forces suppressed the weekly march protesting the Wall and settlements in the village of Bilâin.
Residents of Bilâin, alongside dozens of Israeli peace activists and foreign solidarity activists, participated in the weekly march that was called for by the Popular Committee to Resist the Wall and Settlements in Bilâin.
During the march participants raised Palestinian flags and pictures of the martyrs Jawaher and Bassem Abu Rahamah, as well as yellow banners with the pictures of the imprisoned leader Marwan Barghouthi and Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Popular Committee to Resist the Wall and Settlements in Bilâin, and posters calling for the end of the division and the occupation.
Demonstrators made their way through the streets of the village chanting national slogans calling for unity and the setting aside of differences, emphasizing the necessity of holding fast to core Palestinian values, and for resistance to the Occupation, freedom for all prisoners, and freedom for Palestine. They chanted, âthe people want to end the division, the people want to end the occupation!â
The march approached the Wall, where a military force from the Israeli army had made a human chain of soldiers close to the Wall gate on the west side in order to stop demonstrators from entering their lands beyond the Wall. A large number of soldiers were spread along the path of the Wall with a large vehicle for spraying demonstrations with green wastewater mixed with chemicals. With the demonstrators attempt to pass toward the soldiers, the army began to shoot sound bombs, rubber coated metal bullets, and tear gas bombs, and to spray demonstrators with wastewater toward them from all directions, leading to dozens of cases of severe asphyxiation.
A delegation from the French Foreign Ministry visited Bilâin, including Ms. Dominique Waj and Mr. Thierry Vallat. They met with the Popular Committee to Resist the Wall and Settlements in the office of the International Solidarity Movement in the village and listened to a detailed explanation from the Popular Committee about the experience of Bilâin in popular, peaceful resistance over the past six years, the accomplishments which the Popular Committee have achieved, the role of effective international solidarity in the popular resistance in Bilâin, the factors which contributed to the continuation of the popular resistance for a long period in the village, and the price which the village has paid. Afterwards, they took a tour of the Apartheid Wall in Bilâin.
al Nabi Saleh: Two international activists arrested, demonstrators injured during weekly protest
In solidarity with Palestinian prisoners of the popular resistance, in particular Naji Tamimi, the coordinator of the popular committee in the village, the people of al Nabi Saleh began their weekly demonstration from the center of the village, heading toward their land that was stolen by settlers.
In addition to residents of al Nabi Saleh, international solidarity activists and Palestinians from the surrounding villages joined in the protest.
As is routine, Occupation forces closed all entrances to the villages prior to the protest, besieging it from all sides. Soldiers were concentrated in the center of the village and on the road connection al Nabi Saleh to the village of Kuft âAyn. Journalists were not able enter the village as a result of this closure.
As soon as demonstrators arrived at the entrance of the village, they faced a barrage of tear gas, along with sound bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets. Occupation forces chased demonstrators, and over the course of the protest wounded one international activist by a tear gas canister in the leg. Dozens more were severely affected by tear gas.
Occupation also occupied several homes, taking over the roofs to better target demonstrators, and brought in a vehicle to spray chemical wastewater in the center of the village and on the road that connects al Nabi Saleh to Aboud.
According to eyewitnesses, Occupation forces intentionally targeted international solidarity activists on Friday. Soldiers were able to capture and arrest two activists, and immediately after residents helped other activists escape and avoid arrest.
Soldiers also beat Mohammed Waji Tamimi, but while trying to arrest him villagers intervened, attacking soldiers and freeing Mohammed.
As soldiers began to withdraw from the center of the village, demonstrators hurled rocks at a group of soldiers who, with the support of military vehicles, fired live rounds along with rubber bullets and tear gas toward homes before withdrawing completely.
Niâlin: Dozens affected by tear gas during weekly march
The weekly demonstration began after Friday prayers on land near the Apartheid Wall. Demonstrations from Niâlin, joined by international activists and Palestinians from nearby villages, made their way towards the Wall with the intention of reaching their isolated land.
Despite the pouring rain, demonstrators made their way through the streets waving Palestinian flags and calling for freedom for Palestinian prisoners in the jails of the Occupation and condemning its repressive, colonial policies. They also demanded that the international community stand with the Palestinian people in their fight to win freedom and independence.
When protestors arrived at the Wall they were met by soldiers who fired tear gas, sound bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets toward demonstrators. Demonstrators responded with stones, and a number suffered severe asphyxiation from tear gas during the clashes. One protestor scaled the concrete wall, after which soldiers opened the gate and pursued demonstrators toward the village.
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Photos: Iyas Abu Rahmah