International Solidarity Movement Update
International Solidarity Movement Update
At five o'clock
on the morning the 4th July, the Israeli army
declared
the village of Ni'lin as a closed military zone and
blocked
the three entrances to the village. The village
was now under curfew.
The Israeli army prevented the
Palestinians from entering and leaving
the village. The
committee against the wall had planned a
non-violent
prayer-demonstration, as every Friday, at
twelve o'clock. Usually the
demonstration takes place at
the construction-area of the wall but
because of the
closed military zone today it took place close to one
of
the roadblocks. 600 villages participated. 15 Israeli
and
international activists joined the protests after
they managed to
enter the village through the
fields.
During the day 24 persons were injured by
rubber-bullets, live
ammunition and tear-gas. Three homes
were attacked by tear-gas and had
their windows smashed.
Four Israeli activists were arrested while
leaving the
village after the protests. One news reporter from AB
News
was arrested while trying to enter the
village.
The roadblock prevented workers from going to
their job, villagers to
visit friends and family both
inside and outside of Ni'lin, because
one of the
roadblocks divides the village in two parts. The
Israeli
army also stopped ambulances at the roadblock and
prevented them to
pass even though there were people
injured. One 65 year old woman
named Fayqa Hussni Khawaja
was in need of hospital treatment, but
because of the
roadblock could not go. Soldiers drove into town
several
times to disturb the villagers. Boarder-police were
also
present in the village.
The demonstration was one
of the biggest in Ni'lin's history. Despite
the curfew,
600 villagers protested by joining the
prayer-
demonstration. This was a peaceful protest
against the collective
punishment of the village. The
demonstration was attacked by sound-
bombs, tear-gas,
rubber-bullets and live ammunition. The protests kept
on
until about 6 o'clock in the afternoon.
The last two
months 160 persons have been injured by
rubber-bullets
and 300 have been severely effected by
tear-gas during demonstrations
against the building of
the wall, the settlements, the checkpoint and
the
collective punishment of the village. Amongst these there
are
children between 8 and 20
years.
ends