Photography by Lazar Simeonov.After 1:15 AM, on Thursday 7 February, many hundreds of Israeli soldiers, with bulldozers and sound bombs, invaded the Palestinian protest village of Ein Hijleh.
Hundreds of volunteers from across the West Bank were scattered across the area, with dozens severely beaten and detained, including activists, journalists, men, women, and children. In total, more than 40 people suffered injuries.
The brutal eviction follows increased media attention, visits from international delegations, and major renovations, including the tree planting, the introduction of heavy machinery, and the installation of solar panels. Many more activists, protestors, and volunteers were expected to gather the following day, as demonstrators from across the West Bank were to converge on the burgeoning protest site.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Member of the Palestinian Parliament and Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, has been present in the village since it was reclaimed one week ago, and he was beaten during the forced eviction. Speaking with Palestine Monitor, he said, “Tomorrow was going to be the largest gathering of popular nonviolent resistance in recent times. We would have had thousands of people in the village, and Israeli occupation authorities wanted to abort this success by this attack that is not justified by any means. They used brutal power, and hit everybody and injured everybody, but they will not break our will or our resistance.”