Israeli troops using teargas against protesters, al Ma'asara

On Friday - coinciding with the May 1st, International Workers’ Day - Israeli and international activists joined residents of al Ma’asara (near Bethlehem), Ni’ilin and Bil’in (near Ramallah) for their ongoing protest marches against the Apartheid wall, this week with an added emphasis on labor rights. Arrests, teargas projectiles, concussion grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition formed the arsenal with which the Israeli military tried to contain, disperse and suppress the protests against the wall. Several people, both demonstrators and regular residents of the villages, were injured as troops attacked the assembled crowds without provocation. Video inside.

Bassem Abu Rahmeh, moments after being shot by soldiers during demonstration against the wall. Photo: Lazar Simeonov

During the weekly Friday demonstration against the Wall in the village of Bil’in, Israeli soldiers killed Bassem Ibrahim Abu Rahme, a 30 year-old resident of the village. Bassem, who had been standing on a hill alongside several journalists, removed from the main body of the demonstration, was targeted directly and shot from a short distance with an “extended range” teargas projectile - the same kind that critically injured Tristan Anderson in Ni’ilin five weeks ago. Bassem was buried in his village on Saturday, with over a thousand mourners in attendance, including Palestinians from neighboring villages as well as international and Israeli friends and activists. Later on in the evening, more than 400 people took part in a protest march through the streets of Tel Aviv, ending in front if the Ministry of Defense, where they called for an end to the occupation and the Apartheid Wall. Video inside.

Protesters at the Separation Barrier taking cover behind a makeshift shield, Bil'in. Photo: AP/Muhammed Muheisen

On Friday, Israeli and international activists joined residents of al Ma’asara (near Bethlehem), Bil’in and Ni’ilin (near Ramallah) in their continuing weekly demonstrations against the Apartheid wall. Just as before, and while Israel is in the midst of Passover celebrations - also known as “the freedom holiday” - the Israeli military did its very best to trample Palestinian freedom, stifle Palestinian protest and deny these villages the very right to demonstrate against the theft of their lands. Several people were injured by teargas projectiles and live ammunition (video inside).

Protesters sabotaging the fence at the the separation barrier, Ni'ilin

On Friday, residents of alMa’asara (near Bethlehem), Bil’in and Ni’ilin (near Ramallah) were joined by Israeli and international activists in their weekly protests against Israel’s wall and its ongoing, brutal military occupation. As is usually the case, Israeli soldiers and border police were at hand, deploying a wide range of weapons and tactics to violently prevent these Palestinian villages from demonstrating and expressing their dissent. Several people were injured from rubber-coated steel bullets as well as live ammunition. (video inside)

Weekly protest against the wall, Bil'in. Video by Yisrael Puterman

On Friday, residents of Bil’in and Ni’ilin, two West Bank villages in the Ramallah area, were once more joined by Israeli and international activists in their weekly protest marches against Israel’s wall, whose construction involves expropriation of Palestinian agricultural lands on a massive scale. Protests in both villages were violently repressed by the army, resulting in several injuries from teargas as well as live ammunition.

Video by Israel Potterman

Over thirty ancient olive trees were uprooted yesterday in the groves of Wadi arRasha and Ras atTira in the Qalqilya region, as part of the construction of a new path for the wall in the area. The uprooting was secured by an overwhelming presence of soldiers, police and riot police, who prevented the villages' women attempt to obstruct the destruction.