Today,8 August 2008, after the Friday Prayers, the inhabitants of Bilin, Israeli, and international peace activists participated in a demonstration against the wall. They raised Palestinian flags and signs with slogans that condemn the policies of the occupation. The slogans condemned the construction of the wall, the confiscation of Palestinian lands for the construction of settlements, the road closures, and the seizure of Palestinian villages, towns, and cities. The protesters also carried signs with slogans against the killing of innocent civilians, especially children. In addition, the slogans condemned the attacks on detainees, in particular, shooting at them while detained, hand cuffed and blindfolded.
The protest started from the centre of the village, and the protesters chanted similar slogans in addition to those that called for national unity. Upon arrival to the wall, the protesters while raising photos of the murdered children, Ahmed Husam Yousef Musa and Yousef Ahmed Amera, attempted to cross the wall in to their land. The action was a symbol of protest against the monstrous violations that Israeli soldiers commit against Palestinian civilians. Israeli soldiers murdered Ahmed 10 days ago, 29 July 2008, and Yousef 3 days ago, 4 August 2008 - both while participating in non-violent protests against the construction of the segregation wall in Nilin.
Today, the protesters succeeded to arrive at the location of the wall, and they repeated chants and slogans against the occupation soldiers and their officers that command them to shoot unarmed civilians. Soon after, confrontations started, the soldiers started firing tear gas, and sprayed us with toilet water. We would like to take a sample for analysis. Many people immediately had to be sick after being sprayed with this water. This is not the first time they use water, but this time was the first that they used water from the toilets. In addition to the water, the soldiers use many types of weapons on the Palestinians. For example they use many types of gas, many types of rubber bullets, clean water, water mixed with gas, scream, saltball, sackbeans. All of these are new weapons.
From a different point, the Israeli Supreme Court gave 45 days (52 as of today) to the Israeli army to correct the current track of the segregation wall that passes through the village. Israeli Chief Justice, Dorit Beinisch, and two of her fellow colleagues, condemned the Israeli government neglictance of the Supreme Court ruling last year, which ordered the correction of the current track of the wall.
Chief Justice Beinisch confirmed to the Israeli government representative, Avi Lisht, her ruling to correct the track of the wall and added; we ruled that the current track cannot sustain as it does now.
The people of Bilin submitted a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court in 2005, hoping to prevent the Israeli occupation army from confiscating their lands. The confiscated lands would be used to build the segregation wall and further annex the remaining of the land in favor of constructing the illegal settlement, East Metateaho.
On July 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court decreed the illegitimacy of constructing the wall on Bilin lands, and further ordered the government to propose a different track of the wall without harming the nature of the village. A year after the ruling, and because the Israeli government did not act in accordance with the ruling, the people of Bilin through their advocate, Mikhael Sfard, decided to return to the Supreme Court. The Israeli government further continues the same policy without acknowledging the Supreme Courts ruling.Iyad Burnat- Head of Popular Commitee in Bilin
Head of Friends of Freedom and Justice in Bilin
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