Facing violent oppression, "legal" persecutions, media de-legitimization campaigns – the three weekly Friday demonstrations in Bilin, Niilin & Maasarah took place this weekend, and were also joined by a fourth Saturday demonstration in Deir-Al-Ghousson.

This Friday, mass demonstrations held in Bil'in, Ma'asara, and Ni'ilin, marked the 20th anniversary to the fall of the Berlin wall. In Ni'ilin, demonstrators brought down a section of the eight meters tall concrete wall that cuts through the village's land. This is the first time since Israel began the construction of the wall in 2002 that demonstrators succeeded in toppling down a part of the wall.

Bil’in’s weekly demonstration against the Wall and settlements was devoted to calling for the release of Abu Rahmah, as well as to protesting the ongoing attempts to eliminate the village’s resistance. Protesters marched on Friday wearing masks of Adeeb, declaring “We are all Adeeb Abu Rahmah”.

Over 35 Israelis and a similar number of internationals joined the weekly Palestinian demonstration against the wall and occupation in Bil'in. Prominent among the participants were the "Shministim" (Israeli conscientious objectors who refure to serve the occupation, who had had two of their comrades put in jail just the day before), and retired PA workers, who led the demonstration with their original slogans and chanting.
Demonstrators carried broken cardboard rifles as a sign of the nonviolent struggle and solidarity with the Shministim.

The October days, revealing even hotter than these at the summer height, did not prevent the ongoing campaign against the wall and the occupation – with the three repeating demonstrations in Bilin, Maasarah & Ni'ilin.

Demonstration in Bili'n, October 16 2009

Bil'in tear-gas harvest

Some 30 Israelis and 40 internationals joined local Palestinians for the weekly demonstration against land theft and the violent oppression of Bil'in's people. The procession was accompanied by an inspiring march-poem read by one of the popular committee members and echoed by the marchers. When they arrived at the gate in the fence, the demonstrators asked the soldiers to let people through to clear the land behind the wall to prepare for the olive harvest. The soldiers responded with tear gas. And so, the demonstrators went on to harvest another kind of local produce: the fallen gas and shock grenades littering the entire fence area. The soldiers responded with tear gas. A couple of kids throw a few stones at the soldiers. The soldiers responded with tear gas. The demonstrators went on to harvest grenades somewhere else. The soldiers responded with tear gas. Finally, with bags full of tear gas and sound grenades, the demonstrators returned to the village. The soldiers responded with tear gas.