Israeli occupation forces injure 21 protesters in anti-wall march in Ni'lin near Ramallah

Date: 26 / 06 / 2008  Time:  19:08
Ramallah - Ma'an -

About 21 protesters were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas fired by Israeli occupation forces during a peaceful protest march against the separation wall in Ni'lin, west of Ramallah, on Thursday.

Despite the violent response of the Israeli forces, participants were able to reach the Israeli bulldozers and stop them from working during the protest. The regular marches and sit-ins organised by Ni'lin residents have managed to slow the destruction of the village's agricultural land. So far, the bulldozers have razed 1,200 meters of the wall construction site in the village, but they are behind schedule. The Israeli company has recently brought in three additional bulldozers in an effort to speed up the work.

During the protest, Israeli troops severely beat Majdi Salah 'Amira, who stood on top of a bulldozer to prevent it from working, and Rizk Dabbous, who lay on the ground in front of a bulldozer. Clashes continued until late Thursday afternoon, and Israeli forces stormed houses in Ni'lin and fired sound and gas bombs.

The separation wall will result in the de facto annexation of 2,500 dunams of land belonging to Nil'in residents once it is fully built. Together with four neighboring villages, Nil'in will be isolated from the rest of the West Bank by the wall and an expanding system of Israeli settlements, checkpoints and roadblocks.