Ni’lin demonstrates in Solidarity with Jerusalem.
Several protestors suffered from tear gas inhalation and ten injured during the weekly demonstration in Ni’lin

Ni‘lin 31 October 2009

Hundreds of people joined yesterday the Friday prayers in the village of Ni’lin.  Shaikh Salah al-Khawaja Tayeh declared “Today we dedicate our actions not only to our ongoing struggle in the town of Ni‘lin; we also want to protest for the recent events in Jerusalem against the Holy places where continuous operations have been carried on by Israeli authorities and several restrictions have been imposed on Palestinians”. Al-Khawaja went on saying that “all the forces involved are responsible for the restoration of unity and national preservation”.

After the prayer, hundreds of Ni’lin residents participated to the weekly demonstration, joined by a group of international supporters and peace activists from the Green Party and left-wing parties from Sweden, Norway, and Spain. Despite the stormy weather and heavy rain, they marched protesting against land confiscation, carried on by the Occupation Israeli forces in order to build the Apartheid wall. Over 2500 acres have been confiscated and 120 families have been affected in the southern region by Israeli plans.

The demonstrators marched among the olive groves near the apartheid wall, inciting for the unity and the continuation of joint struggle and resistance. Suddenly the Israeli occupation soldiers fired dozens of tear gas canisters and dirty water on protestors: several peace activists were injured and more suffered from gas and dirty water. Live ammunitions and sound bombs were also fired.

Participants marched until the gate’s barrier and knocked on it, damaging the electronic wires and the cameras placed by Israeli Occupation army. Participants also set fire to several tires near the wall as a symbol of breaking the Wall. Israeli occupation forces then mobilized Army’s special units to suppress the demonstration which turned into confrontations until late afternoon, according to local sources.

Salah Al-Khawaja, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative and member of the Committee Against the Wall in Ni‘lin, declared that “Israeli violence escalations in the areas affected by the wall and against Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as settlements expansion, uprooting of olive trees and continuous attacks on Palestinian farmers represent a systematic policy imposing fait accompli, as it appears clearly in Lieberman intentions declaring that the Palestinians must accept facts on the ground. This turns us into a people without land, without a cause, a without a nation.” “This confirms that betting on a political solution with Netanyahu and Lieberman government means is equivalent to betting on a mirage” went on Al-Khawaja. He also called for the restoration of a national unity and the coalition of all forces under a unified command of the Palestinian people.
”Together we must establish a strategy compatible with the popular resistance against the occupation and the restoration of the national spirit as during the first Intifada” said Al – Khawaja.

Non-violent popular resistance and its examples in Ni’lin, Bil‘in, Al- Masarah, Susya, Tel Rumeida, the Old City of Hebron, Jayyous, Iraq Burin, Karyot, and Sawiya as well as in more than 70 villages,  should rise up all together to show to the world that daily occupation, colonialism and settlements expansion carried on by Israel must be stopped. Only combining boycott and sanctions campaigns against Israel with non-violent popular resistance, all forms of Israeli racism and oppression can be stopped.