Four injured and two arrested in Bil'in anti-Wall protest
07/12/2007
Source : IMEMC
by Manar Jibrin
After the weekly Friday prayers, residents of the West Bank village of Bil’in, near Ramallah and a group of International and Israeli peace activists took to the streets of the village.
The protesters carried Palestinian flags and banners celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the first Intifada. They chanted slogans which called for the dismantling of the separation wall and the settlements, the removal of military checkpoints and the release of Palestinian detainees from Israeli jails.
The Israeli army installed a barbed-wire roadblock to try and prevent the protesters reaching the construction sight. However, the protesters managed to pass the road block and staged a one hour protest at the site.
When the protesters were returning, the army showered them with tear gas and sound bombs; they also fired rubber coated bullets at the crowd. Some protesters were pursued by military forces back to their homes and bombs were fired at the home of Na’eem and ‘Auni Burnat.
Many protesters, including young children, suffered from tear gas inhalation. Four protesters were beaten harshly by the soldiers including a female peace activist, a journalist and an elderly local man.
An Israeli journalist identified as David Reep and an Israeli peace activist who was identified as Shmuel, were detained during the event and released shortly after.
