The village of Ni’ilin maintains weekly protest despite the heavy price. This week, the village marked three years to the killing of Mohammed Khawaje and Arafat Khawaje. Report by the International Solidarity Movement.

Volleys of tear gas, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition is how the Israeli Army met a small demonstration in remembrance of 2 martyrs, in Ni’lin today. Starting after Friday prayers approximately 55 Palestinians and 7 internationals made their way from the village through olive groves to the Apartheid Wall to commemorate the murder of Mohammed Khawaje and Arafat Khawaje on the 28th December 2008. Mohammed was shot in the forehead with live ammunition and Arafat was fatally shot in the back when attempting to rescue another villager who had been shot by an Israeli sniper.

The protest was immediately greeted with the full arsenal of the weapons available to the Israeli military. There was nearly as many heavily armed soldiers as demonstrators. A Palestinian demonstrator pleaded through a megaphone in a fog of tear gas for the soldiers to “Stay Human.” The reply was a callous round of live ammunition fired at the demonstration. As the demo drew to a close, an armored Humvee packed with soldiers taunted the protest before a final set of shots were fired.

Ni’lin has been holding these weekly demonstrations since the Aparthied Wall was first planned. The Wall has annexed over 30% of the land of Ni’lin and has cost the lives of 5 martyrs. The protest continues weekly.

Source: supportibrahim.com

By:Saeed Amireh

Another Attempt To Silence Us – Night Raid At My Family House

I have spent the last 3 months in Europe, travelling to speak at numerous events about Palestine, about our suffering, about our dreams and our hopes. I have learned so much and I have seen wonderful things. But the most important thing that I have experienced was how it is to sleep in safety and without fear and stress for 3 months. It was the most amazing experience of my life.

Last Friday, 9.12.2011 after a long and arduous trip, I managed to come back to Palestine – to my lovely village Ni’lin. My family and my friends were waiting for me, they welcomed me back home. I really missed them a lot.

Two days later, on Sunday, 11.12.2011 at 1am, while I was sleeping at my family house, the Israeli occupation soldiers invaded my uncle’s house, which is close to my family house. Another group of the Israeli Occupation forces invaded the house of my other uncle and they forced him to come  with them to my family house – I have no idea why?!? Then, they started bashing the door of my family house and shouting at us to open the door. I was sleeping when my elder brother woke me up: “The soldiers are trying to break the door!” At first I didn’t understand. It all felt so strange. Half asleep, I told my brother: “What are you talking about? What the hell is going on? How could the Israeli soldiers come to Sweden? Did they follow me here?? And since when are they allowed to make nightraids in Sweden?” My brother shook me: “Are you crazy? Wake up! We’re in Ni’lin, at home, get ready because the door is about to break!”

It didn’t take long until about 25 soldiers, who came from the side of the Apartheid wall (which is very close to my family house), opened the door by force and raided our house. I felt very nervous, since I was sure that they were coming to arrest me. They put all of us in one room, as they always do when they invade a house in a night raid. After 5 minutes they came for my younger brother Muhammed Amireh, who is 18 years old. They pushed him into another room, where they took pictures of him. After that they gave him interrogation papers, stating that he has to present himself at the Ofer military prison on thursday, 15.12.2011 at 10:30am, where they will interrogate him. They left the house after about 30 minutes.

We are very worried, since it would not be for the first time that someone is summoned to an interrogation and does not come back. In december 2009, for example, Ibrahim Srour, an 18 year old from my village was requested to come for an interrogation. Once he presented himself, they arrested him for 22 month and a fine of 3500$ (instead of spending an additional 12 month in jail). Ibrahim was set free only one month ago.

Until now, the situation is very stressful because we don’t know what is going to happen to my brother Muhammed. Currently, he is currently studying at the Birzeit University. It was very hard for us to find money to pay the fees for the University. He is in his first year. In case he will get arrested, he will lose this year. I really wish and hope so much and pray that nothing bad will happen to my brother. Please pray for him.

On friday,after the friday prayer under the olive trees in the fields, a massive peaceful demonstration started,joint by dozens of demonstrators from Ni’lin along with number of international peace activists. the demonstration was called by Ni’lin popular committee against the Apartheid wall.

the demonstrators commemorated the 7th anniversary of the killing of the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat. the demonstrators chanted slogans condemning the building of the apartheid wall on Ni’lin’s land and calling for the palestinian unity and carried palestinian flags.

Before arriving to the gate of the apartheid wall, the israeli soldiers starting firing tear gas grenades at the crowds,and started suppressing the demonstration even before it arrived.
moreover,they shot 5 live bullets in the air to scare the demonstrators, and started shooting rubber coated steel bullets direct at the demonstrators which led to the injury of four demonstrators in different places in the body. and another five others suffered alot as a result of inhaling tear gas.

nevertheless, the demonstration continued until 03:00 pm,the demonstrators managed to send their weekly message to the occupation that this wall is illegal and we will never give up until it fall down.
no arrests were recorded

The weekly protest in Ni’lin started this weekend after the Friday prayer in solidarity with the Palestinian political prisoners. The prisoners are suffering and have been on hunger strike for thirteen days to highlight the brutal suppression policy of the Israeli occupation against them in the military jails.

The committee of Ni’lin sent a message to the Israeli occupation once the demonstrators reached the gate of the apartheid wall saying.
‘Our demonstration today is in solidarity with the Palestinian political prisoners, who are on hunger strike to highlight the brutal abuse they face. It has been thirteen days but our spirit is strong and we will never give up and we will never surrender. We will continue our struggle until this racist occupation is at an end and we dismantle the illegal apartheid wall from our lands. It is time to let us live in peace and justice and freedom on our lands.

Hasan Mousa, the spokesman for f the Ni’lin Popular Committee stated and confirmed on that the Israeli propaganda is getting weaker and losing its power day by day. The world is waking up and becoming aware of what Israel is doing against the Palestinians.

The soldiers responded with a noisy voice so as not hear the message. They finally suppressed the demonstration by shooting sound bombs, tear gas grenades and rubber coated steel bullets which led to the injury of 3 demonstrators and others suffering tear gas inhalation.

The demonstration ended at 03:00 pm
No arrests were recorded

Despite the murdering of 5 people from Ni’lin during the peaceful protests, and despite the arrests of hundreds of Ni’lin sons and the shootings of hundreds of the people in Ni’lin and despite the grabbing of thousands of dunoms of the village’s land, the village’s fight continues and is still going strong. The people of Ni’lin will never give up.

Last friday demonstration in ni’lin, dozens of Palestinians together with a number of internationals and Israeli peace activists gathered in a peaceful march against the nearby Apartheid Wall. The demonstration was called by Ni’lin’s  Popular Committee and started at 01:00 pm after Friday prayers under the olive trees  in the fields.

The demonstrators raised Palestinian flags and carried a grave with “Good bye Occupation” written on it  and chanted slogans condemning the last speech of the American president Obama who showed his full support for Israel and its ugly policy in Palestine.

Upon arrival at the gate of the Apartheid Wall, Palestinians, in a  speech to the Israeli army, said that Palestinians will never give up or be scared by the Israelis threatening our existence and that freedom and justice will prevail someday. All the world is waking up and everything will change and Israel will pay for its crimes against the Palestinians.
The army responded with tear gas grenades and rubber coated steel bullets which caused a back injury to one Palestinian – dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation.

The demonstration continued until 03:00 pm

A new U.S. diplomatic cable out of the American embassy in Tel Aviv from February 2010 reveals that Israelis at that time were becoming increasingly frustrated with non-violent demonstrations by Palestinians in the West Bank,specially in Ni’lin and Bil’in.

The cable — released recently by WikiLeaks — notes that one Israeli military official “warned that the IDF will start to be more assertive in how it deals with these demonstrations, even demonstrations that appear peaceful.” Later, the cable includes a striking quote from an Israeli defense official:

Less violent demonstrations are likely to stymie the IDF. As MOD Pol-Mil chief Amos Gilad told USG interlocutors recently, “we don’t do Gandhi very well.” The IDF impatience with these demonstrations may also be connected to the recent arrests of foreign NGO workers with expired or solely tourist visas who have been attending, and often organizing, the protests.

For more than three weeks Ni’lin village has been witnessing several brutal midnight invasions and raids of local houses. But this time it’s different. The raids are not for arresting people, but instead just for training and getting ready to suppress the popular struggle uprising next September in different
villages of the West Bank such as Ni’lin, Bil’in, Nabi Saleh, Masarah and Beit Ommar.

The Israeli army is adding new units of soldiers who are in the army reserve, training them to get ready for this event. The recent night raids into the West Bank village of Ni’lin over the past three weeks, as well as comments made in Israeli media, attest that a new type of gas has been developed for next September which causes the diarrhea. Demonstrators in Ni’lin on 26 August reported a new type of gas being used by military in the last peaceful demonstration.

Upon arriving at the gate of the annexation wall, Israeli soldiers started to shoot tear gas grenades in a high volumes, which led to dozens suffering from tear gas inhalation, Demonstrators separated from each other to deffrent places along the Apartheid Wall where they found shot up cardboard photos of Palestinians installed in the ground in sensitive sites next to the Apartheid Wall, used for trainings on for aiming and sniping.

The demonstration continued until 03:00 pm. Some of the demonstrators managed to cut some pieces of the electrical fence. Iraeli soldiers used rubber coated steel bullets against the demonstrators which led to the leg injury of one demonstrator

The demonstration was organized by the Ni’lin Popular Committee against the Apartheid Wall in joint with dozens of people from the village as well as a number of international activists.

Despite the heat and fasting during the last few days of Ramadan, the people of Ni’lin will to continue their just struggle against apartheid.

Ni’lin is paying a heavy price for its fight against the Israeli occupation.

Since July 2008, Ni’lin is mourning its dead. Yousef Ahmad Younis Amera (17) and Ahmed Husam Yusef Mousa (10) were assassinated by the armed forces of occupation.

Arafat Rateb Kawaje (22), was shot in the back
and killed on December 28th while taking part in a demonstration in solidarity with Gaza. Mohammed Kasim Khawaje (18), who was shot in the head during that same demonstration, died on December 31st.

On Friday, 5 June 2009,Akil yousef Srour (36) was shot in the chest with 0.22 caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.

Today, Saeed Amireh and Muhammed Amireh who were eye witnesses at that time talks on behalf of Ni’lin popular committee and explains how exactly the brutally murdering of the five martyrs happened on the ground.

On the 7th of August at 2:30am, 13 military jeeps entered the village of Ni’lin, took control of its southern region, and proceeded towards the nearby village of Qibya to arrest a Palestinian following an aggressive raid the previous night. Locals curious about the raid  have yet to ascertain why the man was arrested.
This comes following an incitement to escalate tension by the Israeli military in a raid the previous night at 11:20 pm, when two military jeeps raided the town of Ni’lin from the opposite side of the illegal Israeli separation wall through the adjacent fields, and began firing loud flares into the air, resulting in brush fires across these fields.
“The two military jeeps continued their commute until they reached our houses, and raided the house of Ilayan Mousa and started searching the house in an investigation of Mousa. They left the house after half an hour and no one was arrested. They moved from Mousa’s home to the rest of the village, raiding it and stopping in the middle to shoot tear gas grenades at the people and surrounding homes in the streets,” said one local, Saeed, who lives near the Israeli separation barrier that has been the focus of Ni’lin and other village advocacy campaigns and forms of peaceful resistance.
“The wall encloses Palestinians to limit travel, usurps Palestinian land, is a tool for illegal, Israeli occupation, and is a demeaning symbolic and physical injustice to the definition of freedom,” said an international observer from the United States.

One man was hit in the leg with a tear gas bomb and dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation.
The military jeeps left the town yet a group of approximately 45 Israeli soldier raided the fields near the houses and started shooting tear gas bombs and flare bombs, and stayed there until 02:00 am.
According to locals Israel has raided the village of Ni’lin at least four times a month in the past six months. Locals claim the purpose of the military invasions is clear, harassment with various weaponry and constant investigations and interrogations are two of many variables to incite fear in the villages that peaceful resist illegal Israeli occupation . But the ploy of fear tactics is futile, according to Saeed.
“We never get scared or stop protesting. We are continuing our struggle with a strong will and determination.”

It has been three years since the brutal killing of nine year old Ahmad Mousa by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). Ahmad was struck by a single bullet from an M16 assault rifle. The bullet entered his forehead and exited the back of his head. Ahmad was part of a peaceful protest demonstrating against the building of the apartheid wall in the West Bank on the land of the village of Ni’lin on the West Bank. It was 29th July, 2008.

Today on the same date, the people of Ni’lin commemorated this important third anniversary of the killing of Ahmed Mousa. Dozens of people of Ni’lin, together with a number of Israeli peace activists joined in the demonstration organized by The Ni’lin Popular Committee against the apartheid wall. Raising Palestinian flags, the Norwegian flag and posters with pictures of Ahmed, the demonstrators chanted slogans against the construction of the Apartheid Wall.

Upon arrival at the gate of the apartheid wall, the spokesman of The Ni’lin Popular Committee against the apartheid wall, Mr Hassan Mousa, sent a message to the Israeli occupation forces in his emotional speech.
‘we will never forget how you killed Ahmed in a brutal way, but this will never scare us and it will increase our spirit and make us more determined to continue our struggle until we free our lands and free Palestine from your racist occupation. He told them.

Mousa also had a message of solidarity for the people of Norway on behalf of The Ni’lin Popular Committee and the people of Ni’lin, telling them that we are in solidarity with the Norwegian people and condemn the religious fatalism. He sent condolences to all the families of the innocent victims in Norway, on behalf of Ni’lin and told them, ‘we are all with you in our hearts and thoughts.’
Ibrahim Amireh, coordinator of Ni’lin Popular Committee, stated:
‘On the third anniversary of the killing of the Ni’lin son, Ahmad Mousa, we promise his soul to continue our struggle and the blood of Ahmed will remain a stigma on the blunders of the Israeli government. The way that they killed Ahmed Mousa was cold and brutal and it showed to the world the truth about how these merciless killers gun down Palestinian children and blow out their brains!. We are not a terrorists, we are a human beings who seek peace and justice for our men, women, and children, here in Palestine.
Peace freedom and justice will prevail someday.

However, today, the Israeli occupation forces responded with heavy shooting of tear gas projectile, which led to many protesters suffering gas inhalation.
The demonstration ended at 03:00 pm
No serious injuries were recorded