***image1***Bilâin: Women mobilize to honor Jawaher in Bilâin
Hundreds of Palestinian and international activists, members of Palestinian womenâs institutions and unions, and Palestinian political officials and leaders joined in the protest in Bilâin this week to honor Jawaher Abu Rahmah.
Protestors raised Palestinian flags, as well as the flags of various factions, alongside pictures of Jawaher and pictures of the martyr Basem Abu Rahmah as they marched through the village. Posters carried the messages âOur people remain rooted to return, freedom and independence!â and âStop security coordination! Let us unite in resisting the occupation!â
Marchers wore yellow Stars of David, reminiscent of the stars Jews were forced to wear during the days of Nazi Germany, stating âour message is that the Occupation is bringing down on us what was practiced against the Jews by the Nazis, using all its deadly weapons to exterminate the Palestinian people.â
Dozens of soldiers were stationed behind concrete blocks and along the Wall, and they opened fire on the marchers with gas and sound bombs, in addition to rubber-coated metal rounds, and chased demonstrators through the fields.
A number of people were injured during the march, among them Eyad Bornat (39), head of the popular committee, who was hit in the hand. âAwda Abu Rahmah (21) was hit by a tear gas canister in the hand, along with Mahmoud Yusif Abu Rahmah (16), also injured in a similar manner. Dozens of others were severely affected by tear gas and skunk water, and were treated by medics in the field.
Photo story of the Bilâin protest.
Al Nabi Saleh: Breaking bones, but not resistance
Arrests and broken bones failed to quell the protest in al Nabi Saleh this week. Despite injury, siege and massive amounts of tear gas, Palestinians confronted soldiers for hours on Friday in an angry protest against the settlement of Hallamish.
As has been the case in weeks past, Occupation soldiers had closed the roads to al Nabi Saleh prior to the march. According to one eyewitness, protestors were shocked at the massive number of soldiers deployed around the village, which were estimated to number nearly two hundred.
Occupation forces proceeded to rain tear gas and rubber bullets on marchers, leading to the injury of at least three protestors. Two young men, Iyas Sarhan (25) and Mahmoud Tamimi (18), both suffered broken feet after being struck my metal tear gas rounds and were hospitalized in Salfit. A third, âAmr Saleh Iyub (22), was also injured by a tear gas round, but treated in the field.
In addition to the injuries, soldiers also dragged away and arrested a young man after beating him.
Occupation forces also tear gassed homes, which is a regular occurrence in al Nabi Saleh. This week, tear gas filled the home of Mahmoud Samir Shehada, suffocating everyone inside. Mahmoudâs wife was knocked unconscious by the gas and rushed to Ramallah hospital for treatment. Only a week ago, Jawaher Abu Rahmeh of Biâlin died after inhaling gas.
Al Maâsara: Protests succeed in reclaiming threatened land
Protestors confronted soldiers during an angry demonstration this week in al Maâsara, protesting the killing of Jawaher Abu Rahmah, who died last week after inhaling a large amount of gas in Bilâin. A group of protestors in al Maâsara succeeded in reaching a hill close to the settlement of Efrat, where they raised the Palestinian flag and began reclamation work, planting trees in an effort to block Occupation plans to confiscate the hill and turn it into a cemetery for settlement.
The demonstration headed out from the Zawarah school, and participants carried pictures of Jawaher and Palestinian flags, chanting slogans against the policies of the Occupation and its crimes against Palestinians. Occupation forces, as usual, were waiting at the entrance of the village, and when demonstrators tried to pass they were forced back by soldiers, who kicked and hit them with rifle butts.
A member of the popular committee, Mahmoud Alaâadin spoke during the protest about the importance of the popular resistance and condemned, in the name of the popular committee, the killing of Abu Rahmah. He called on the international community to stop the attacks on the popular resistance, which regularly comes under fire from soldiers.
Niâlin: Residents mark the 2nd anniversary of two martyrs
The people of Niâlin commemorated the second anniversary of the loss of âArafat and Mohammed Khawaja, both killed in a protest during the attacks on Gaza, as well as the martyr Jawaher Abu Rahmah, in their weekly march against the Wall.
After prayers, protestors marched to the Wall where soldiers stationed behind it fired barrages of tear gas. The gas affected dozens, and protestors responded with stones, with confrontations continuing for hours.
Prior to the demonstration, Occupation forces closed the village and set up checkpoints on all the entrances. They also sent soldiers into the trees to pursue solidarity activists who tried to enter through the olive tree groves on foot.
The coordinator of the popular committee in the village, Ahad Khawaja, stressed that lately the Occupation has been increasing its attacks against the popular resistance, shown by the closure of the villages and the killing of Jawaher. The Occupation, he stated, is embarrassed by the continuing popular resistance and has taken a decision to crush it.