Bil'in Friday Demo - September 11, 2009

bilin demo 11 09 09 by haitham al katib:

"Bil'in demo 11.09.09

Bil'in residents and Israeli and international activists once again held their weekly demonstration today. Despite lots of tear gas being fired by the Israeli forces, the protesters stood their ground. They displayed huge banners 'We Want Peace' in Arabic, Hebrew, and English while chanting. One demonstrator in a wheelchair was heavily tear-gased at some point and another suffered from skin burns from the gas.

Once some of the protesters had succeeded in pulling the barbed-wired inner gate open passing through it toward the Apartheid Wall, half a dozen soldiers stormed through the door in the Wall ready to arrest whoever was in the open space. However, tear gas drove them back while the protesters in the front lines retreated behind the gate. The occupation forces remained in a position of alert but no arrests were made. As the demonstrators returned to the village, the Israeli forces heavily tear-gased the house closest to the Wall where a Palestinian man was sitting watching the unfolding event.

In spite of the army's violent response to these nonviolent demonstrations and the ongoing intimidating night raids in Bil'in, the weekly demonstration continues to be held without fail. The sense of resistance to the military occupation is deeply ingrained in the people of this village. They have been resisting since the construction of the Wall five years ago, and they are determined to continue their struggle in spite of all odds."



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