In spite of the scalding heat, dozens of villagers from Bil’in marched once again together with international and Israeli solidarity activists to the Separation barrier in protest to its illegal annexation of 60% of the village’s land for the construction of Jewish-only settlements. As every Friday, in various locations throughout Palestine, activists attempted to implement international law, international humanitarian law – under which settlements constitute a war crime -, and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice with ruled in July 2004 that the illegal Wall and its associated regime should be dismantled.

Waving the Palestinian flag and images of martyrs and prisoners of the popular resistance, protesters chanted for freedom and justice, against Apartheid, and for the release of all political prisoners. As usual, the army opened fire at the protesters even before most had reached the Wall, shooting a type of tear gas that is considerably more harmful than the types ordinarily used in Europe or the US, throwing sound bombs, and spraying them with a petrochemical liquid that activists have termed the “skunk“ due to its nauseating odor which lingers for days.

Dozens of activists suffered from tear gas inhalation, which is aggravated by the harsh summer heat, and in various places, crops caught fire and spread quickly. The army continued to shoot at protesters even while they attempted to put out the fires.