This is a weekly report from the Palestinian village of Bil’in. Every week villagers accompanied by international supporters, including Israelis, march to protests against the illegal wall cutting into their land. Each week they are met with tear gas and rubber bullets. Each week someone is injured. This week casualties are relatively light.
Friday February 15, 2008- ffj
The villagers of Bil’in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, along with international and Israeli supporters, conducted their weekly protest against the illegal Israeli wall being built on village land. Israeli troops attacked the protest and injured one journalist.
As the case each week for over two years now, the protest started after Friday prayers, with participants marching from the village center towards the construction site of the Wall, which, according to both the International Court of Justice and the Israeli supreme court, is being built illegally on village land.
This week the protesters managed to reach the gate of the wall separating the villagers from their lands. Troops closed the gate and fired tear gas and sound bombs at the peaceful demonstrators. Soldiers then fired rubber-coated steel bullets which injured a journalist, Imad Burnate and broke his Camera.
While the protest was happening a group of Israeli soldiers were using Palestinian homes located at the gate as shoot out posts, local and international peace activists intervened and managed to make soldiers leave the homes.

For more information:
The Bilin Friends of freedom and Justice -society
Email
Tel: 972 547 847 942
Website
The protest is in the context of non-violent action which Palestinians patiently persist in spite of extreme provocation. Bil’in is but one example. An article from the Electronic Intifada insists that they should continue to do this. The storming of the wall dividing Gaza from Egypt was a spectacular vindication of such a policy. The Israeli government’s portrayal of all Palestinians as terrorist may be wide of the mark, but this is how the extreme violence (and terrorism) practiced daily and widely by the Israeli army is justified.
The article was sent to me by Jewish Voice for Peace.