Nilin demonstration, 20.04.2012

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Ni'lin, 20.04.2012.

I have not been back to Ni'lin demonstration since such a long time. The protest is still going on but after 5 martyrs and hundreds of protesters arrested over the years; the number of participants is quite low. Still it does continue, and this is a voice which says again and again: we still resist.
The best part was the walk through the stunning landscape, passing through these old olive trees, before we arrived to the ugly Wall which kills the view and prevents the villagers to access most of their lands, leaving plenty of room for the expansion of the nearby settlement. The Israeli soldiers did not bother to cross the Wall and shot from the other side, repeatedly also at level heads, some tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets.

Report by PSCC:

Dozens joined the protests against the Wall in Ni'ilin this week. During the demonstration, Israeli soldiers shot tear-gas canisters directly at protesters, against its own open-fire regulations. One boy was injured by a rubber coated bullet and evacuated.

Some fifty residents of the village of Ni'ilin, and a handful of Israeli and international activists joined the weekly protests against the Wall and settlements in the village this week. Shortly after the Friday prayer, which took place in the olive groves, protesters marched towards the Wall. As they were approaching the concrete wall that surrounds the separation fence, they were targeted by Israeli soldiers stationed safely on the other side. The soldiers also used the "skunk", foul-smelling water cannon, aiming to disperse the demonstration. At this point, protesters moved to the western stretch of the Wall, where clashes erupted between the army and the local youth. During these clashes, the army shoot tear gas canisters directly at protesters, in head level, against its own open-fire regulation. Several protesters have been severly injured in the past due to this manner of shooting. Mustafa Tamimi from the neighboring village was killed earlier this year when a tear gas canister was shot at him from close range. The army also used rubber-coated bullets, which led to the injury of one youth, who was evacuated to the hospital to receive medical treatment.

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Je n'avais pas participé aux manifestations à Ni'lin depuis longtemps. La protestation continue, mais après 5 martyrs et des centaines de manifestants arrêtés au cours des dernières années, le nombre de participants est assez faible. Cependant, ces manifestations existent et portent une voix qui dit encore et encore: nous continuer de résister et de refuser la spoliation de nos terres et de nos droits.

La meilleure partie de cette manifestation a été de marcher à travers les magnifiques paysages autour du village, en passant près des ces vieux oliviers centenaires, avant que nous arrivions face au Mur hideux qui gâche à jamais la vue et empêche les villageois d'accéder à la plupart de leurs terres, laissant beaucoup de place pour l'expansion de la colonie voisine. Les soldats israéliens n'ont pas pris la peine de franchir le Mur et se sont contenté de tirer des gaz lacrymogènes et des balles en acier recouvertes de caoutchouc de l'autre côté du Mur, à plusieurs reprises au niveau des têtes.