Any hope for calm as a result of last night’s deal, in which most of the 2,000 Palestinians on hunger strike in Israeli jails, ended their fasts, in exchange for assurances from the Israeli prison service to improve jail conditions. The deal however, did not include an end to holding Palestinians without charge.

Hundreds also gathered at the nearby Ofer military prison, and at the Qalandiya crossing. Crowds of young people launched rocks from slingshots at Israelis soldiers who responded with tear gas and sprayed the crowd with skunk cannon, which soaked the crowd with foul smelling liquid

The biggest protest was outside Israel’s Ofer Military prison, where there had been a large scale hunger strike. One wonders had this hunger strike been anywhere else, would the world media have made more of it? They made very little of this hunger strike.

PAL Red Crescent services said that 216 were treated for gas inhalation and 64 had rubber bullet injuries. While 19 more were hospitalised.

One youth was caught and the soldiers attempted to arrest him. He was beaten brutally and was freed by several other Palestinian youths who were throwing stones. He was injured to the head and taken to hospital. The clashes continued until 6.30.

“We proclaim that the land of Israel is for the people of Israel” said the settler leader Daniella Weiss, former mayor of Kedumim settlement, who spoke at the land grabbing event. Weiss also spoke about the support the settler enterprise recieves from the trustee fund Nachala, an international organization dedicated to settlement expansion in the West Bank.

A core of young men and women had prepared to stay at the site. “We reclaim our patrimony, which has been waiting for us for 2,000 years” one of the young settlers said to comment on their land theft obviously not giving much thought to the people that have tended to the land for the two last millenia.

The Palestinian owners of the land have been unable to reach the area for many years due to the construction of the annexation wall, that was built for “security reasons” in 2008. Since the occupation of the West Bank started in 1967 the village of Ni’lin has lost 50.000 out of it’s original 58.000 dunums. 43.000 dunums of this land has been lost due to the illegal expansion of the five settlements surrounding the village to the east, west and north. Because of this theft of land some 7000 villagers have left, seeking a better life as their lands have been stolen. The people of Ni’lin are farmers and have no means of supporting themselves finacially without access to their lands.

Ni’lin is a clear example of how the settler enterpise effectively will drive away the Palestinian population if it is allowed to continue unhindered. These recent events also show how the annexation wall and the Israeli military fit into this equation by physically seperating Palestinians from their lands and by procting settlers as they break the law.

When the demonstration reached the gate in the wall the protestors were surprised to see two new military towers that had been recently constructed to make a outlook point for snipers. More barbed wire had also been brought in meaning that there now are three kinds of barriers in Ni’lin: concrete, barbed wire and the electrical fence.

Before the protest reached the gate the Israeli soldiers began shooting massive amounts of tear gas straight towards the demonstration. A female journalist was hit by a tear gas canister but received treatment on site in the ambulance.

After a while the soldiers switched to using rubber coated steel bullets fired by snipers from the newly installed towers along with foul smelling chemical water sprayed at the crowd from an army truck. As a response to this some protestors started throwing stones. A group of soldiers who were hiding in the fields tried to flank the stone throwers in order to arrest them. However the soldiers were discovered before any arrest could be made and instead the soldiers surrounded and pushed the protestors back towards the village. During this phase dozens of protestors suffered from tear gas inhalation and the soldiers displayed a high degree of violence.

“Ni’lin will not stop its protests due to the increase in violence from the army” was the message sent out from the Popular Committee of Ni’lin to the soldiers after this Friday’s demonstration. The Popular Committee also demanded the immediate release of Hana Shalabi, who as a part of her deal with her captors to end her hunger strike now risks deportation to Gaza, and sent their blessings to all other demonstrations this day in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza.

The Israeli occupation has burned and uprooted and cut more than 1100 olive tree in Ni’lin as a punishment to the farmers and the people of Ni’lin because of their unarmed struggle against the apartheid wall that confiscated their lands.
Ni’lin was famous with the olive oil industry but now it is suffering from the less of the olive oil.

On 24.03.2012, the first olive trees replanting event began in Ni’lin next to the apartheid wall as a support to Ni’lin farmers and as a respond to the abuse of the occupation against this village and its people. Dozens of internationals and Israeli peace activists alongside with the farmers of Ni’lin joined in the replanting day.

As the Ni’lin popular committee welcomed all the internationals and the Israeli activists who joined them and all the freedom and loving peace people all over the world who participated in buying the trees event.

The ni’lin popular committee has also declared and confirmed on the importance of the supporting of the Palestinian farmers in Ni’lin and all over the occupied Palestine inorder to be able to face and steadfast in the face of the military occupation and the brutality of the settlers in everyday life.
Also the committee stated that ‘as the olive trees considered to be as a symbol of peace,we will protect it and will never let the occupation kill it or destroy the hope of peace on earth, and if they uproot one olive tree then we will replant 10 instead of each one .
The farmers of Ni’lin expressed about their deep happiness about the event and confirmed that they will continue their struggle against the occupation until it end, come what may.

After the event was finished, a presentation was given in the center of Ni’lin committee discussing about the situation of Ni’lin village and the future challenges of its just struggle against the occupation,and the ongoing on situation in everyday life.

For long minutes, the dog would not release its hold of the bleeding arm, even as its handler arrived at the scene and tried to order it to do so. The Border Police officers then arrested Shtawi, despite the fact he was in obvious need of medical attention. Morad Shtawi, a member of the village’s popular committee, tried to reason with the commanding officer into releasing young man. He was then pepper-sprayed and arrested as well.

Two other residents of the village were injured during the demonstration, after being hit by tear-gas projectiles shot directly at them. One was hit in the leg and another in the shoulder.
The weekly protest in Kufer Qaddoum, west of Nablus, was dedicated to the memory of Rachel Corrie – an American protester who was killed after an Israeli D9 bulldozer drove over her in Rafah exactly nine years ago, on March 16, 2003.

In Nabi Saleh, at least three protesters were injured during the demonstration, including an Israeli woman who was hit in the head by a rubber-coated bullet. The two others were hit lightly injured, one by a rubber-coated bullet and the other by a tear-gas projectile. The woman was evacuated to the Ramallah hospital.
Earlier today, large forces entered the village and sprayed a foul-smelling liquid known as the Skunk from a water cannon.
During the night, the army staged yet another raid on the village, the fifth in a week’s time.

In Ni’lin,, demonstration was held despite the rainy weather, the demonstration was dedicated to the American activist Tristan Anderson who was shot by high velocity tear gas projectile in his head by the Israeli soldiers in 13.03.2009 in the middle of Ni’lin village. also commemorating the anniversary to the killing of Rachel Corrie in gaza strip by an israeli military bulldozer.
Israeli soldiers fired massive tear gas canister at protester,rubber coated bullets and skunk water,one demonstrator was hit with a rubber bullet in his hand and was treated directly.

once demonstrators arrived to the gate of the apartheid wall, army started shooting massive amounts of tear gas canisters, followed by volleys of sound grenades and rubber coated bullets and skunk water. one activist was injured with rubber coated bullet and other dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation.

The demonstrators kept on and managed to make a hole in the concrete wall by putting water on the warm concrete after it was burned, then following with striking on the concrete with an ironic machine to make the concrete fall.
However, the people of Ni’lin sent a message to the Israeli occupation saying that’’ this wall will never break us and we will continue our struggle until we dismantle this unlawful wall from our lands, as we dismantled it before ,your walls will never work because it’s not for security reasons as you pretend, it is meant to steal our lands. All walls didn’t work all over the world, even Berlin wall has fallen and this wall will fall, we have no doubts’’.

The army chased the protesters toward the village after the appeared from a new gate was made recently by the occupation, continuing shooting tear gas canisters and rubber coated bullets at protesters. Luckily no one was arrested.

Background
Hana Yahya Shalabi (30) from the Burqin village near Jenin was released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal, after being held in administrative detention for over two years (Sep. 2009 to Oct. 2011). During her arrest she was sexually harassed, put in solitary confinement and was denied trial. No allegations were brought against her by the Israeli security forces. On February 16th 2012 she was re-arrested and put under administrative detention for six month along with several other Palestinian prisoners released in the Gilad Shalit deal. Hana began a hunger strike, inspired by the hunger strike of Khader Adnan, to protest administrative detentions and abuse during interrogations and arrests. Hana Shalabi and over three hundred Palestinians are imprisoned for long periods without any charges and are never brought to trial. As a woman, Hana Shalabi faces a great risk of humiliation and sexual abuse, and has already been harassed in the past. Her strike calls attention to the physical and mental violence suffered by Palestinian women and men in Israeli jails.

Protestors from Palestine, Israel and the rest of the world marched together with Palestinian flags and pictures of Khader Adnan raised. Slogans were chanted against the inhuman comments that had been heard from the Israeli right wing regarding the tragic accident this Thursday that took the lives of ten Palestinian children. Five year old Marwa Muhammed Rida Amireh from Ni’lin was one of the deceased and we honor her memory.

Slogans were also directed towards the Israeli practice of using administrative detention against politically active Palestinians. Administrative detention can rob Palestinians of their freedom six months at a time without them being charged of anything. This is of course a helpful tool to keep influential activists away from the political arena.

When the demonstration reached the apartheid wall a group of protestors tried to open the gate in order to gain entry to their stolen lands. The Israeli soldiers responded by firing tear gas on a wide front. The demonstration proceeded to the western end of the wall where there is still only an electric fence separating the village from the stolen land. Some protestors managed to cut and burn pieces of the fence but when the Israeli soldiers caught up tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets were fired straight into the crowd. Two protestors were hit by rubber coated steel bullets and two by tear gas canisters, one fainted from tear gas inhalation and several others suffered from suffocation after inhaling the toxic gas. A number of protestors started throwing stones in response until the demonstration finally dispersed. The wounded were treated on site and no one had to go to the hospital despite the Israeli military’s reckless use of their weaponry

The protestors who gathered by the apartheid wall in Ni’lin this friday was demanding justice for Khader Adnan and wished to call on the attention on the rest of the world to Adnans case. International actions need to be taken instantly if Adnans life is to be saved. Together with international and israeli peace activists joining in solidarity the Palestinian protestors held up posters of Adnan alongside with Palestinian flags.

When the demonstration reached the gate of the apartheid wall they managed to pry it open and therefore tried to reach their land on the other side. The Israeli soldiers however pushed the crowd back with tear gas and sound bombs causing suffocation from tear gas inhalation in many protesters to the point where one of them fainted. Some of the demonstrators managed to reach the electronic fence on the other side of the wall and started cutting it but were met with stern force from the Israeli soldiers and one of them where hurt.

After about 30 minutes of shooting tear gas the soldiers had pushed the crowd back far enough to close the gate again while they continued to shoot tear gas at the crowd from behind the security of the gate.

Finally the demonstration dispersed at 3.00pm. The protests will continue until the wall is no more.

One person got hit by a tear gas bomb to his foot and was treatment immediately at Ni’lin pharmacy. The soldiers then began to invade houses and took control of two. They climbed onto the roof of the houses and after an hour of this they left. This was followed by five military jeeps that came into the village and began shooting more tear gas. Saeed Amireh was arrested and they then left. He was detained for two hours and then released.

Later in the morning of Thursday at 02:00 am, soldiers returned and invaded the village again and this time took a computer and a lap top as well as a camera from the house of Muhammed Amireh, one of the leaders of the Committee of Ni’lin. Around twenty five soldiers invaded the house and ruined the floors of the house with their muddy shoes where they had walked in the rainy fields. They showed no regard or respect for the occupants of the house.

Moreover, on Friday, the weekly peaceful demonstration in Ni’lin was met with very much brutality from the occupation forces. The Israeli soldiers shot live bullets direct at protesters. Luckily no one has been injured.
The Israeli army are using all kinds of violence and violating the international laws by using illegal weapons against unarmed civilians, this all aims to drive the people from being un able to maintain their non-violently struggle against the occupation which Israel is afraid of.

On the other hand, Ni’lin popular committee has condemned the Israeli occupation attack and the targeting of the civilians, and confirmed that despite all the brutality, the people of Ni’lin will continue their just struggle till the wall is down, and Palestine is free

Three years and a half has passed since the non-violent resistance against the apartheid wall began in the west bank village of Ni’lin.

five people were brutally murdered,hundreds got critically injured and hundreds were brutally arrested, but the people continued their struggle with a strong will and determination to dismantle this illegal wall from their lands despite the so much future challenges for their struggle.

” I want to tell the international community that there are only two choices. to decide weather you are for it or against it, being silence with it is like being for it, so the entire world must do something to help us ending this racist occupation” Saeed Amireh said.

Here’s An interview with Saeed Amireh,20 years old guy, a member of Ni’lin popular committee against the apartheid wall presenting  the situation of his village during his European Speaker’s Tour 2011 .

Part 1 – Introduction About Ni’lin:

Part 2 – Non-violent Resistance:

Part 3 – Israel’s Brutal Answer:

Part 4 – How can you support?