In honour of Prisonersâ Day, held on April 17 every year, the Niâlin popular committee dedicated this Friday to the struggle to free the prisoners. The march was attended by hundreds of people from the village on Niâlin and the neighbouring villages. International solidarity activists joined the people of the village, and demonstrators marched carrying Palestinian flags and photographs of prisoners of Ni’lin. Some protestors had even produced T-shirts bearing pictures of the prisoners.
The demonstrators chanted against the occupation and its policies and saluted the prisoners held in occupation jails. They sent a message to the interrogators in the prisons who daily attack the dignity of the prisoners: âNiâlin will never forget their prisoners in the occupation jails!â Before the march arrived at the gate of the apartheid wall the IOF attacked the crowd with tear gas, causing many people to suffer breathing problems. Many of the participants, including journalists, collapsed and were unable to continue because of the tear gas. After these initial attacks by the IOF, clashes broke out between the occupation forces and the young people in the protest, who responded to the tear gas and rubber bullets by throwing stones at the IOF.
After half an hour of clashes, the occupation forces opened the gates in the Wall, and crossed over by force to where the protesters were, chasing them into the village. The youth blocked the main road and did not allow the Israeli military to get deep into the village. The Israeli military responded by opening fire in the streets of the village with live ammunition. At the same time, another group of soldiers tried to enter the village from the other direction in order to arrest the demonstrators, but this attempt was foiled. Finally, the occupation forces were forced to retreat without being able to arrest any protestors or cause further injuries.
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