7 peace activists injured during protests against Israeli Land-Grab, Apartheid Wall in Al-Khader, Bil'in

Five Injured in an Israeli Attack on a Peaceful Demonstration South Bethlehem

Friday June 27, 2008 15:00 by Laila Ewaiwi - IMEMc News

The Israeli occupation army attacked a peaceful protest organized by the villagers of Al-Ma'assarah located near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem on Friday morning, five were injured.

Local sources said that scores of villagers supported by Israeli and international peace activists marched from the main entrance of the village heading towards the lands that are in threat of being confiscated due to the building of the Wall.

The participants held Palestinian flags and banners condemning the Israeli actions of building of the wall also calling for the unity among Palestinians.

Soldiers attacked the protesters using riffle but and batons injuring the five activists including one international supporter.

Two International Injured in Bil'in Weekly Protest

Friday June 27, 2008 17:21 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

On Friday, villagers from Bil'in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, marched in their weekly nonviolent protest against the illegal Israeli wall built on the village's land. They were supported by international and Israeli peace activists.

Protesters carried banners demanding the removal of the Israeli wall and settlements and calling upon the international community to help Palestinians retain Jerusalem. They demanded that the Israeli army stop killing Palestinian civilians and an end to the use of live ammunition against Palestinian civilian protestors

Residents of Bil'in have been demonstrating every week for the past three years. The protests started after the mid-day Friday prayers were finished in the mosque, villagers from Bil'in, along with Israeli and international peace activists, marched towards the separation Wall which separates the village from its land.

Immediately after the protest reached the gate of the Wall, soldiers showered the protestors with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Two internationals injured Shown Burg from the US and Shown McCurry from Ireland in addition scores of protesters were treated for gas inhalation.

Moreover an outpost built by the popular committee in Bil'in on the village land near the settlement of Matityho East, which is built on the village land, was rankest by settlers who tried to set the outpost on fire and stole equipment as well.

For the past month the Israeli Army prohibited the villagers from staying for the night in outpost. The outpost was built to protect the land and the olive trees from the settlers and the Israeli Army.

In related news the Israeli army released on Thursday Tarek Mohammd Tafuik Al Kathib from Bil'in after they held for one week for taking part in the weekly nonviolent actions.

Peaceful demonstrators protest illegal Israeli Wall in Al-Khader, near Bethlehem

Date: 27 / 06 / 2008  Time:  15:15
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

More than 100 Palestinian men and boys, supported by a handful of international volunteers, held a peaceful demonstration against the Israeli Land-Grab, Apartheid Wall in the West Bank village of Al-Khader, near the city of Bethlehem on Friday.

The demonstrators gathered for the Friday Muslim prayer in intense midday heat on a settler bypass road in Al-Khader, close to the intended construction site of the wall. Two Israeli army jeeps, an armored personnel carrier, one border police jeep, and one Israeli civil administration jeep prevented the protesters from reaching the construction site.

Local officials say the completion of the wall will result in the de facto annexation to Israel of more than 90% of the agricultural land the town depends on for its livelihood. The villagers of Al-Khader have been protesting the wall’s construction every week since January.

In delivering the Friday sermon, local educator Issa Ghunaim talked about the status of Jerusalem, the occupied Palestinian capital, calling the city “the heart of Palestine,” saying that the city’s status is “non-negotiable."

Ghunaim also expressed frustration at the lack of progress in the current final status negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. “We gave more than ten years to negotiations, and still they [the Israeli authorities] did not remove one roadblock,” he said. He was referring to the network of over 600 checkpoints and roadblocks Israel maintains as a part of its occupation of the West Bank.

An American solidarity activist named Tre said that after attending more confrontational demonstrations in other West Bank towns, such as Bil’in, near Ramallah, he wondered if his presence was more needed in situations where the Israeli military responds violently to protest. “I feel more of an urgency to show up where Palestinians are being hurt,” he said.

Samer Jaber, a member of the Al-Khader Popular Committee Against the Apartheid Wall and Colonization, defended the peaceful nature of the demonstration, arguing that a more confrontational approach would alienate the Palestinians he is attempting to mobilize to action. “Internationals should just show solidarity and go with the flow,” he said, “If they go fast, it raises some questions. You have to move at the speed of the slowest one.”