Sunday, March 9, 2008

Palestine-Israel, The "tsumud" (persistence) of the joint struggle in Bil'in against the separation fence and occupation Mar 7 2008

This Friday joint struggle was in the shade of the shooting in the educational center of the national-religious ideological core of the settler colonialists in Jerusalem. Other joint demonstrations were canceled due to the fear of Israeli state force harsh suppression expected... but not in Bil'in. In spite (or because) of the shooting during the week of Wa’am Burnat*, age 18 as he was working in his family’s olive groove near the separation fence, the Friday noon demonstration was not in question. At noon, local villagers enforcement by Palestinian Democratic Federation Party (Fida), internationals, Israeli anarchists against the wall and media marched towards the route of the separation fence cutting half of the village lands on its western side.

The joint struggle in Bil'in against the separation fence and occupation that started three years ago was not initiated or promoted by the various political organizations or the Palestinian authority. However, once the struggle in Bil'in became a focus of regional and international media, they found it hard to resist the temptation to come and share with the fame. The Bil'in arena (mainly the Friday demonstration) became a visiting location for Palestinian parliament members, ministers and even the whole government. Palestinian parties came with their contingents at election time and other special dates....

Political organizations not only joined to share with the fame, as even the national leadership intervened in favor of the joint struggle in Bil'in when local reactionaries distributed leaflets calling to put end to the cooperation with the Israeli Jews.

This week it was "the turn" of the Palestinian Democratic Federation Party (Fida) who came to celebrate the eighteenth anniversary of the party.

When we reached the foot of the hill the gate in the separation fence is located on its top (a point we were usually blocked at for months till few weeks ago) we converged there and a leader of the Fida gave a speech. When it ended we went to the near by section of the separation fence. As the state force were in small number due to their deployment to the Jerusalem crisis, we were not attacked at once. Activists even succeeded to cut an entrance in the fence protecting the route of the separation fence the electronic fence run in its middle, before they started to attach us.

First the state force shoot one round of bullets coated with rubber and a tear gas canister. Gradually, when the stone throwing youth started their activity the intensity of state force fire increased.

Gradually the participants of the nonviolent demonstration left the arena and returned to the village.

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* http://www.imemc.org/article/53281e
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF3TQLxlU9o

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