Israeli Occupation Forces Disperse Nil'in Protest With Tear Gas, Concussion Grenades, Flash Bombs

Israeli Occupation Forces dispersed hundreds of Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank village of Nil'in near Ramallah Friday with so-called "less than lethal" weapons during an anti-Apartheid Wall demonstration that also marked the 45th annivesary of the founding of the Fatah political party.

The village of Nil'in and her 5,000 residents are located outside of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, near the neighboring village of Bil'in. Like Bil'in, Nil'in is a symbol of nonviolent popular Palestinian resistance. The Apartheid Wall has choked off more than 40 percent of the village land since construction began in Nil'in in 2008. The town is also surrounded by illegal Israeli Jewish settlements that are visible just over the Apartheid Wall.

The Israeli Army set up a checkpoint at the main entrance to Nil'in, so the taxi I took from Ramallah dropped myself and another international off several hundred yards down the highway from the checkpoint and the driver told us to cut through the village land until we were inside city limits. After 45 minutes of walking through groves of olive trees, cacti, and jumping over barb-wired fences, we managed to stumble into the village without being spotted by the apartheid state security forces.

After the noon prayer the gathered crowd began marching down to the Apartheid Wall. Just beyond it was the Israeli Jewish settlement that was built on Nil'in land illegally annexed by Israel.

As soon as we reached the wall the Israeli Occupation Forces responded by firing tear gas, concussion grenades, and flash bombs, slowly driving the demonstrators back across the rugged terrain. Scattered skirmishes continued for nearly an hour, but things began to heat up again after Israeli soldiers crossed the barrier and began advancing on the demonstrators on foot.

Village youth began firing stones at the soldiers from home-made slingshots and a real back and forth running battle between the soldiers, with their high-tech weaponry, and the village Shabab, with their slingshots and stones, took place. In the end, of course, the Palestinians retreated without any serious injuries on either side. Several Palestinians were treated for tear-gas inhalation by the International Committee of the Red Crescent.

I hitched a ride back to Jerusalem with three members of Anarchists Against the Wall.

"Without protective accompaniment from Israelis, internationals, and journalists, these demonstrations could never take place," one anarchist from Tel Aviv said. "Every week there would be fifty arrested and ten dead and pretty soon, no more protests."