01 Jan 2010

Protester marking the 45th anniversary of the Fatah movement in Ni'ilin
Protester marking the 45th anniversary of the Fatah movement in Ni'ilin

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Ni'ilin, Reports, Fatah, First Intifada, Injuries, Ni'ilin, Popular Struggle, Wall
Ni'ilin Marks 45 years to Fatah. 8 Year Old struck in the Head With a Rubber Bullet; 2 Arrested

An eight year old boy was struck in the head with a rubber bullet todayy, during a 500 strong protest in Ni'ilin marking the 45th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah movement. Two other protesters, 15 and 17 years old, were arrested.

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Some 500 demonstrators came to Ni'ilin today to mark the 45th anniversary of the Fatah movement and protest the construction of the Wall on Ni'ilin's lands. This week's demonstration enjoyed the support of Israeli and international activists, villagers from across the Ramallah region, as well as high profile Fatah members such as Dr. Sabri Saydam, Tawfiq Tirawwi, Ra’ed Radwan and Mahmoud alAloul. In trying to prevent the demonstration from taking place, the main entrance to the village was blocked by the army, significantly lowering the number of participants from outside Ni'ilin.

Recently statements from PA officials and Fatah activists have been made, calling for a return to the strategies of the First Intifada and an adoption of the popular struggle module.

Following the Friday prayer and a speech by Mahmoud alAloul, demonstrators marched towards the 8 meters tall concrete Wall, waving flags and chanting slogans against the Occupation and calling for national unity between the factions.

As demonstrators neared the Wall, they were attacked with a volley of tear gas projectiles and rubber-coated bullets. Clashes erupted between the soldiers and stone-throwing youth who responded to the provocation. Some protesters managed to climb on the wall and mount Palestinian and Fatah flags on it.

A short while after, a large contingent of soldier and border patrol officers crossed through the gate and advanced through the olive groves, pushing demonstrators towards the village as they barraged the protesters with massive amounts of tear gas and rubber bullets.

In the groves, soldiers attacked a group of onlookers, among them a team of Red Crescent volunteers. Two youngsters from the neighboring village Shuqba, 15 and 17 years old, were arrested and beaten. Juma'a khawaja, one of the Red Crescent volunteers was also beaten up and required medical attention.

A few hundred meters from there, at around the same time, an eight year old boy was struck in the head with a rubber-coated bullet, and was immediately evacuated to the Ramallah hospital, where he was stitched up and x-rayed.

A few hours after the demonstration had ended, two military jeeps had entered the village, shooting tear gas and live ammunition, but have left without making any arrests or causing injury.