WEST BANK, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacked on Friday afternoon the peaceful marches against the segregation wall and settlement in the West Bank villages of Masarah and Nabi Saleh.
The Israeli troops intercepted Palestinian villagers of Masarah and foreign activists as they were trying to reach the Palestinian land near the apartheid wall, and physically assaulted them.
The protestors, afterwards, responded by throwing stones at the Israeli troops who attempted to advance into the village.
IOF persist in suppressing W. Bank peaceful marches
Why do 'peaceful' marchers always wind up hurling rocks. Did they never hear of MLK,Jr?
It is simple. When the Palestinians have a peaceful march, Israel sends in its goontards to start a fight.
PFTinmore,
And it has even been uncovered that the Palestinians who we are told are throwing stones and rocks at these demonstrations are often actually Israelis.
So, when we hear a demonstration has become violent because of stone throwing Palestinians, it as likely that the ones throwing stones are Israelis.
Tuesday, June 12 2012|Noam Sheizaf WATCH: IDF officer stones, shoots at Palestinian protesters
The video below was taken by Palestinian photographer Bilal Tamimi in Nabi Saleh on June 1, 2012. I received it from the spokeswoman for the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, an umbrella organization for various local unarmed resistance initiatives in the West Bank (like the ones in Bilin, Nilin and many other places).
The video was taken during the weekly unarmed protest in the Nabi Saleh. It clearly shows an IDF officer throwing stones and shooting at two Palestinian stone throwers. The delay between the shots and their sound can be explained by the fact that the photographer is standing on an opposite hill. You can see the dust rise next to the Palestinians, from the bullets fired at around 1:20, and again later in slow motion. According to local testimonies, the officer was shooting live ammunition (thats what the video seems to indicate as well). I will update this post later with an IDF spokesperson response, if and when I get one.
Palestinians in the tiny village of Nabi Saleh have been holding weekly demonstrations since 2009, protesting the seizure of a local spring by settlers from the nearby settlement of Halamish. So far, one protester was killed, and dozens suffered serious injuries by IDF soldiers during the Nabi Saleh demonstrations. Hundreds, including Israelis and internationals who take part in the protest, have been arrested.
The struggle in Nabi Saleh is so important, because its one of the only efforts taking place right now to directly confront Israels policy of settlements and land confiscation, which had such enormous effects on the Palestinian population in the West Banks rural areas. The measures against the people of Nabi Saleh are not limited to the demonstrations: There are night raids, long prison terms, and what seems like arbitrary punishment against the residents, like the one caught on camera.
WATCH: IDF officer stones, shoots at Palestinian protesters
Commander admits: Undercover Israeli officers threw stones at soldiers in Bilin
Seven years after the incident took place, an officer in the elite Metzada unit of the Israel Prison Service admits that his subordinates threw stones at soldiers in Bilin as part of their mission
Now, seven years later, the IPS admits that its combatants threw stones at soldiers. As published in Haaretz Monday morning, a commander in the Metzada unit admitted as much in a trial against MK Mohammed Barake (Hadash). Barake, who attended the demonstration, is charged with assault against a Border Police officer at the scene, apparently as an attempt to de-arrest a local activist captured by the undercover agents. During his testimony the commander told the court that his subordinates had thrown stones in the general direction of soldiers. He and other unit members also repeated the claim that they saw Barake strangling a policeman.
Commander admits: Undercover Israeli officers threw stones at soldiers in Bil’in
Sherri