At the height of the Second Intifada, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made the decision to construct a barrier between the West Bank and Israel. In 2003, 180km of the barrier had been completed. It was already clear that the barrier was to cause great hardships to Palestinians, especially those in areas adjacent to it. Palestinian movement was severely restricted, agricultural lands were lost and access to health and emergency services limited. Despite a 2004 ruling of the International court of Justice against the barrier, Israel carried on with its construction.
Concomitant with the construction of the wall, communities most affected by it began to organize demonstrations and invited Israeli and international activists to join. The first demonstrations occurred in Masha, Beit Sira, Kharbata and Bil’in, where determined protesters eventually brought Israeli court to move the wall further towards the nearby settlement. Gradually, more Palestinian villages joined this struggle, including communities not directly affected by the wall, such as Qaddum and Nabi Saleh.
Protesters in Bil’in, Palestinian, Israeli and international, marched together towards the separation wall, to commemorate the death of Muhammad ‘Asfour from the village of ‘Aboud, killed by rubber bullets fire by the IDF. They also paid homage to Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela who passed away earlier this week. The IDF responded with barrages of…
During the weekly Friday demonstration in Nabi Saleh, Palestinians and solidarity activists commemorated the first anniversary to the martyrdom of Mustafa Tamimi, killed by a tear gas canister shot by an Israeli soldier as well as Rushdi Tamimi, who was shot and killed three weeks ago. Protesters were carrying banners in Hebrew and Arabic naming…
A group of Palestinian and international activists blocked the Route 443 for more than half an hour …
During the weekly Friday demonstration in Nabi Saleh, the IDF attempted to disperse protesters using skunk water, tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets. Resisting these attempts, the village’s youth hurled stones at the invading army until the soldiers finally retreated and the main gate was opened. …
During the weekly demonstration in Nabi Saleh, a group of protesters descended to the al-Qaws spring which had been expropriated by the settlers of Halamish. During a confrontation with the soldiers, Nariman Tamimi, a local leader, was brutally arrested by the Israeli troops in front of her traumatized weeping children, who were forcefully held back…
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