Weekly Protest Video Round-Up
Bi’lin
Once again, creativity distinguished Bi’lin protest. Activists dressed as figures representing Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela joined anti-Wall protesters in Bil’in, marching to commemorate their nonviolent struggle against occupation, oppression and colonialism. “The struggles of Gandhi against oppression and occupation in India , Martin Luther King, Jr. against racism in the USA and Mandela against the apartheid in South Africa are all similar to Bili’n’s ongoing struggle against occupation here”, a statement from the Popular Committee said.
International and Israeli activists, delegations from the Freedom Theater in Jenin and the Palestinian People’s Struggle Front also joined the rally. Protesters marched towards the separation barrier, chanting slogans and singing national songs. The protesters carried Palestinian flags and called for the national unity against the Israeli occupation. The gate which cuts villagers off from their lands was already closed and guarded with barbed wire. Israeli army dispersed protesters with sound bombs, tear gas, and rubber bullets, causing dozens to suffer gas inhalation.
The Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements condemns the recent Israeli policies to confiscate the Ibrahimi mosque and bring it under the authority of the Israeli Ministry of Antiquities and called on the international community to protect all Islamic and Christian holy sites.
Ni’lin
A group of around 150 demonstrators marched in Ni’lin, chanting slogans against the wall and the settlements’ expansion. As activists reached the wall, Israeli army bombarded them with tear gas canisters and sound bombs. A young Palestinian was injured by a rubber-coated bullet and taken to the hospital. Salah Khawaja of the popular struggle committee said “the popular non-violent strategy is achieving its commitments on international level” and called for boycott actions on Israel until it stops “its Apartheid policies.”
Al Ma’sara
- Photo: by Julien.
The demonstration passed peacefully, with no reported confrontations between Israeli Army and demonstrators. Around 70 took part. Demonstrators marched through the village towards the route of the wall, and were stopped by an army reserves unit which blocked the road with barbed wire several hundred meters deeper into the village than usual.
- Photo: by Julien.
- Photo: by Julien
The group composed mostly out of officers presented a closed military zone order, barring the march to pass the wire. Earlier in the week, Mahmoud Zwahre from the local popular committee was stopped at the container checkpoint in Wadi Nar on his way to Ramallah. He reported that “A Border Police officer recognized him from the Friday demonstrations in al-Ma’sara and began harassing him for 1h30.” During the interrogation he was beaten. The Popular Struggle Committee reported that “between December 29 and January 15, five threats were issued against members of the al-Ma’sara Popular Committee by both the Israeli military and "security", warning that its members would be beaten and arrested should they continue to mobilize for their weekly demonstration”.
- Photo: by Julien.
- Photo: by Julien
An Nabi Saleh
150 protesters, the majority residents of the village, numbering around 25% of its population, marched in front of the Hallamish settlement, the villagers’ main grievance. The residents of An Nabi Saleh have been holding regular demonstrations against the creeping confiscation of their lands by the adjacent Jewish-only settlement of Halamish. Protest was sparked after settlers, abated by the Army, forcefully took over a natural spring belonging to the village. Since demonstrations in the village began, nine of its residents, roughly two percent of the Nabi Saleh’s population, have been arrested on protest-related suspicions and dozens were injured. Yesterday, a Palestinian 14 year old boy was seriously injured during the demonstration: Ehab Fadel Barghouthi was wounded with a rubber-coated bullet shot in his head by Israeli forces. Until now, he remains unconscious and in critical conditions.
Sheikh Jarrah
“We will not be stopped!’ that is the slogan calling for a mass rally that will take place today in Sheikh Jarrah, east Jerusalem at 7.00 pm. During the last week a video obtained by Ynet was circulating: it depicts Jewish residents of the neighborhood during the Purim celebrations singing songs of praise for Baruch Goldstein, a Jewish terrorist who killed 29 Palestinians in 1994 at the Ibrahimi Mosque. The video can be seen at the following link:
RSS 2.0