Isn’t she lovely?

This is an example of what she is holding.

These live and “rubber” bullets have been fired at the Palestinian youth and elderly, at Bil’in village, near the city of Ramallah, occupied Palestine.

 

These are the types of bullets that are fired by Israeli soldiers on a regularly basis at non-violent demonstrators. In the village of Bil’in, these weapons are being used against protesters armed with banners, cameras, flags, and an uncrushable spirit of resistance. Long before young boys pick up rocks, demonstrators have been subjected to a barrage of tear gas, sound bombs and bullets, for the crime of marching on their land, demanding the return of their land which has been divided by the Wall, and moreover for not consenting to the oppressive tactics of an occupying army and government.

 –“These are just from the last 2 demonstrations. And they are only a portion of what was shot at the demonstrators at these protests.”–Abdullah, Bil’in Popular Committee.

 Fortunately, the tear gas canisters are labeled with warnings about the chemical danger of the weapons, a concession to those being assaulted.

 

Canisters also come labelled with the origin of manufacture, so that US taxpayers know how some of the over $4 billion of their money goes to support Israel’s invasions and further occupation of Palestinian land.

*Some scenes of tear gas attacks on protesters.

When in the cloud of gas, it is truly debilitating, rendering one unable to see, much less stumble over rocks and out of the gas.

The violence of the tear gas also wounds the land, starting fires among the olive trees.

Some of the weekly Bil’in protesters. They carry flags, march, chant, repeatedly take rubber bullets to various parts of the body, are repeatedly gassed, are arrested, and are prevented from even crossing their land before the Wall.

Having already been shot by a live bullet which left him paralyzed, this Bil’in villager is always at the lead of the protests, taking the tear gas and sound bombs at close range.

bassem

*Update: This man, Bassam abu Rahme was later murdered by the Israeli army while he was himself trying to protect another protester from being injured or killed–an Israeli soldier fired a high velocity tear gas canister directly at him from short distance, the canister boring into his chest. He was a gentle soul, known as “Pheel” for elephant.


 ‘Rubber’ bullet wounds.

Three demonstrators were injured by rubber bullets in another of the weekly non-violent demonstrations against the Wall and land grab in Bil’in village. A 29 year old American journalist was hit in the stomach, while two Palestinians from Bil’in took rubber bullets to the head and stomach respectively.

The Wall at Bil’in village, along with illegal Israeli colonies, has stolen nearly 60% of Bil’in residents’ vital agricultural land. As has happened for the last 2 years, demonstrators amassed and left from the town centre, winding their way down the road towards the Wall. As with the previous Friday march, demonstrators were neither able to walk on their own land all the way to the wall, nor were free of showers of tear gas, sound bombs, and rubber bullets.

Before the assault broke out from the waiting Israeli soldiers, protesters attempted to negotiate crossing the barbed barrier obstructing the road to the Wall. Demonstrators having pushed aside the razor wire and crossed the line, soldiers soon after began their fire of gas, sound bombs, and later “rubber” bullets.

The Palestinian Medic Relief team in Bil’in comprises a team of about 7 Palestinians trained in basic first aid who volunteer their time week after week to care for those wounded during their non-violent struggle.

The American wounded by a rubber bullet to the stomach was here in solidarity and to document first-hand the weekly incidences of violence against a non-violent protest, taking this valuable information back to young audiences in the U.S. “I want to tell the youths of America what is going on here. I present real material to them in a young voice, in a way they can understand. I want them to care, to be concerned about what is happening to our Palestinian friends,” he explained.

Back in a community meeting centre, Abdullah, of the Bil’in Popular Committee, emptied sacks of sound bombs, empty tear gas canisters, and a mixture of rubber and live bullets into 2 large oil-barrel sized containers. “These are just from the last 2 demonstrations. And they are only a portion of what was shot at the demonstrators at these protests,” recounted Abdullah. The rest have been either confiscated by the Israeli occupation forces or collected and sold for their aluminum value by Palestinian youths, ironically earning a pittance from the very weapons and military that assault them.

It strikes me again and again that it seems a horrible war game is being played out in Bil’in, an optimal training ground for Israeli soldiers, where the risk of danger is limited to stones lobbed by youths football fields away. Watching the soldiers take turns assaulting and re-distributing themselves along the surrounding fence and amidst the olive trees, it becomes more clear that they have a nice training ground.

Yet, the resolve is impressive of Bil’in villagers who face the theft of their land, the attacks and incursions of the army, and the health risks resulting from all of this. Bil’in is another example of a once-calm village, surrounded by lovely scenery and comprised of historic homes in occupied Palestine. And it is an example of a people who will not be pushed off their land, and who will continue to resist injustice.