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Tear Gassed in Bil'in(continued)The Wall in Bil'in is built to expand the Israeli community of Modi'in. The new housing is called Modi'in Ilit. It goes seven kilometers into the West Bank, roughly four miles of Palestinian land and olive trees. Modi'in is a magic word for every Jewish school boy. This is where the Macabees started their rebellion to win freedom and to guarantee us Hanukkah presents. For Palestinians Modi'in means a settlement of Orthodox Jews enjoying cheap real estate at their expense. We arrived in Modi'in after observing the prisoner release in Ramallah. 250 of the 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners were let go during this "Make Nice" with the West Bank period. Most on them had almost fulfilled their sentences, but no matter. Their families were overjoyed to see them. Cars honked and flags waved in the streets. In Bil'in it was a different matter. 80 or so demonstrators filled the small street to march to the wall. They were mostly Palestinian, but also many "internationals". Later I found some were from Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, France and the USA. They marched down the road to the wall. The wall is completed in Bil'in. The land seizures started over two years ago and despite fierce but non-violent confrontations the soldiers had indeed finished their work. Yet, Palestinians try to break down the fence and the demonstrations continue every Friday afternoon. To get near the wall the marchers walk down a long rocky path. Lately the Israelis attack before anyone gets anywhere near the fence. Today they started with tear gas grenades shooting them high in the air. You hear a loud pop and a whoosh. The shells land a football field away saving the soldiers from discomfort. The grenades are very hot and one started a fire in the brush. Several demonstrators tried to beat the fire out, but as they did so the army targeted them with more tear gas. The march broke up into smaller formations. One could hear people screaming, "Fascists" and "Tear Down the Wall" and curses. This continued for an hour or so and then I and another observer made our way to the main body of demonstrators. No sooner had we gotten there when someone yelled, "Run". The army was shooting rubber bullets. "Rubber" bullets are actually metal bullets with a thick black rubber coating. They don't kill as often as "live ammunition", but they hurt like hell and often cause serious injury. One young woman was hit and yelled with pain, but kept on running. We made our way back to the safety of our starting point, a house a quarter mile from the wall. "Safety" is a relative term. The Israelis in the past have come right into the town and have fired tear gas into the houses. We thought things had gone off pretty well until we saw one of the leaders of the "Popular Committee Against the Wall" with his shirt covered with blood. He had not been hurt, but his cousin had been shot in the head with a rubber bullet. He had carried him to the ambulance. It appeared that his cousin had been gravely wounded. For the next hour we all sat very tensely just going over events and talking with other "internationals". Then came word that the cousin had regained consciousness. We visited the hospital in Ramallah and after he came out of intensive care we talked with him briefly. We didn't learn the extent of his injuries. An "international" had been hit by a bullet or tear gas grenade and had suffered for months. Ibrahim Bornat, the man who had been shot in the head was the brother of a man in a wheel chair. He had been shot a long time ago at a demonstration in Ramallah. Still he took part in all the demonstrations. We learned that he had been shot by a rubber bullet in today's demonstration, but "only" in the foot. An excellent website about Bil'in can be found by clicking here Video Shot by Mazin Qumsiyeh and Stanley Heller July 22 (50 seconds of action video and then an interview with Eyad Bornat, head of the Popular Committee Against the Apartheid Wall in Bil'in and an interview in Ramallah hospital with Ibrahim Bornat, cousin of Eyad, who was shot at the demonstration) Other Video about the day's demonstration is on Youtube here and here Short Account of Aug. 3 Demonstration |
