Israeli Army invades Bal'in, enforces curfew

Israeli Army invades Bal'in, enforces curfew on nearby village of Saffa.

This Sunday, June 26th, the villages of Bil'in and Saffa were invaded by the Israeli Army, and curfew imposed on the inhabitants of Saffa. Roadblocks were placed between the two villages, and a further roadblock prevented entry from the direction of Ramallah.

The village of Bil'in has been organizing non-violent demonstrations against the barrier being built on their land for many months now. The entire village has suffered at the hands of the Israeli army for their persistence in non-violent resistance.

The army commander in the area, Lieutenant Colonel Tzachi Segev was recently quoted as saying: "The stronger the activity against the fence, the stronger our operations will be. We reserve the right to enter the village at any hour ... sometimes there is no escaping collective punishment, even if it has a negative impact. Collective punishment is closure, prohibiting people from entering a certain village, blocking the Bilin-Safa road as a lever of pressure if the village does not behave properly." (Meron Rappaport - Gandhi Redux - http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/586551.html).

All forms of collective punishment are illegal under the terms of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

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