Palestinin Village of Bil'in Celebrated Four Years of Stuggle Against the Apartheid Wall

The village of Bil'in has fought for four years against the Apartheid Wall. The wall steals much of the villagers land and is part of the Israeli plan to smash Palestine into tiny pieces. For the anniversary many villagers, journalists, foreign and Israeli activists and even politicians came. The day started with prayers in the mosque. There was a march of over 500 people to the Wall. The Apartheid barrier is called the Wall but in this location it is made up of two rows of razor wire, a trench, two fences and an access road. The fence not only takes up a swath of Palestinian land but allows soldiers to control access to the land on the other side at all times. We marched to the Wall, fence and several people opened a gate. The soldiers were ready on the other side and fired tear gas. May people ran away but others moved closer. The soldiers do not have gas masks and thus do not use gas too close. Many people argued with the soldiers in a diversity of languages. Finally they threw enough tear gas that everyone was driven back. Young men and boys then used slings to throw stones at the soldiers. At the end of the day the soldiers used a contraption that fires 64 tear gas canisters at once. This drove off many people but a few stayed to throw more stones.

For more information see:
http://www.awalls.org/protest_and_resistance_in_bil_in_and_ni_ilin