Hadash Chairman Muhammad Barakeh participated yesterday, Friday, at an anti-fence protest staged in the Palestinian village of Bil’in, west of the city of Ramallah. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was also present.

The protesters brought a bulldozer to the site in order to dismantle the fence, and were actually successful in removing part of it. Live ammunition was reportedly fired toward the bulldozer’s wheels and teargas grenades were hurled at the protesters. The driver of the bulldozer fleed the area and escaped arrest.

500 protesters rallied at Bil’in, and one person was seriously injured in Fridays protest, according to a statement from the Popular Committee Against the Wall. Samer Mohammed Burnat was wounded when Israeli soldiers fired a tear gas canister directly at his foot, according to the committee. This was in addition to the dozens of cases of choking induced by tear gas in the weekly march. Eight people were injured including French activist, witnesses said.

 

Occupation forces near Bil’in (Photo: Ma’an)

Speaking to the crowd, Fayyad said “four years since the Israeli High Court ruling, which at long last started to be implemented. It’s not the end of the road, but it’s the beginning and it encourages us and our people here in Bil’in and elsewhere,” he said, adding that “it underscores the immense power of nonviolence.

“This occupation has to end, not only because it’s oppressive to us Palestinians but because its corrosive to Israelis. That’s what this event represents to us. That’s what it signifies – it has huge significance,” Fayyad said.

On Wednesday, the Israeli occupation military forces began taking down parts of the fence around the village. The length of fence set to be removed from Bil’in is 2.7km long. The new route of the fence, which is set to replace the existing one, is 3.2km long. It stands to be mostly a concrete wall in proximity to the settlement Modi’in Elite..

The anti-fence protests in Bil’in date back seven years. The Palestinians’ protests, with the participation of Israeli peace activists and international solidarity militants, against the barrier in Bil’in have met with a deadly response from the Israeli occupation forces. In January, a woman protester, Jawaher Abu Rahmah, died after inhaling tear gas. Her brother Bassem Abu Rahmah died in April 2009 after being struck on the head by a tear-gas canister.