Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle in Bil'in overcome harasments of stae forces 23 Sep 2006

This Friday the demonstration against the separation fence and the occupation was a bit more lively. It seems it was because of the Wednesday "hafla" party at the outpost of Bil'in center for joint struggle for peace (built on the Bil'in lands the separation fence intend to rob). It was for celebrating Limor Goldstein out of hospital after the operation to extract the bullet shot to his brain about a month ago in the Friday demo in Bil'in. At noon, we started the usual march from the center of the village on the road leading to the route of the separation fence. We were about hundred people - Palestinians from the village and from the region, Israelis of the Anarchists Against The Wall initiative, and internationals. It was the usual chanting and singing till we reached the outskirts of the built area of the village. There, we encountered the Israeli state force of border police gendarmes blocking the road. This time, like the previous one they did not declare the demo illegal or the area closed military zone for the out of village participants. It seems the media scandal and our refusing to yield forced a change in policy. As they were 20 meter inside the village built zone, the verbal confrontation with them even resulted in their retreat these 20 meters to the exact point in the road.

After a non friendly confrontation there with chanting and exchange of words with them the 30 minutes of the demo previously decided on ended. As the stone throwers were already in positions on the two sides of the road leading to the center of the village, we took a detour path around the village buildings. When we cleared the blocked road we could hear the commander of state force order his gendarmes to advance towards the village to confront the potential stone throwers. Their advance was responded with a barrage of stones one of them broke the jaw of one of them.

While the confrontation of stones versus shock and tear gas grenades and shots of rubber coated bullets continued, we completed our detour, but as the road was not free to pass some of us were accepted the invitation to sit in the shade adjacent to a hose near the road. The state forces - in a measure never taken before during the year and a half Friday demonstrations, forced us to leave the shade and tried to push us to the road leading to the center of the village as a live shield to them in their confrontation with the stone throwers. Though they threatened with arrests, pushed us and threatened with arrests and hit with their batons, we refused to yield to their wish. We "escaped" between the courtyards of the neighborhood on the side of the road, (except only one member of the village comity who was arrested and released after an hour or so). With the help of the members of the village popular comity for the nonviolent struggle against the separation fence and occupation we found our way through courtyards and fences. They made special efforts to help us two oldies (me 69 and S. 77) to find the easiest way and pass the fences.

The younger participants infiltrated back to the outskirts of the village confronting the state forces who were forced to retreat from the village.

Then, while the confrontation between the stone throwers and the state forces continued we took the transportation back to Tel Aviv.