The hilltop village Nabi Saleh has a population of approximately 500 residents and is located 30 kilometers northeast of Ramallah along highway 465. For the 4th week in a raw, demonstrators protested the illegal seizure of agricultural land and the uprooting of hundreds of olive trees by the Hallamish settlers the previous week.
Conflict between the settlement and villagers reawakened in the past month due to the settler’s attempt to re-annex land despite a December 2009 Israeli court decision that ruled the property rights of the land to Nabi Saleh residents. The confiscated land of Nabi Saleh is located on the Hallamish side of highway 465 and is just unfortunately one of many expansions of the settlement since it’s establishment in 1977.
On Thursday, a day before the planed demonstration, a representative of the Israeli Civil Administration contacted Nabi Saleh, recognized their rights to access the lands, and assured them they will not be prevented from doing so.
On Friday, however, as villagers marched down to their lands accompanied by their Israeli and international supporters, they were met military jeeps, Israeli soldiers and unsparing amounts of tear gas. Despite the massive clouds of tear-gas, the march manged to advance a few hundred meters from which the procession towards the fields could continue through a valley between the road an the village. Soldiers and Border Patrol officers defended the settler-confiscated lands from multiple points including the road leading up to the village, highway 465 and a hilltop in Nabi Saleh using tear gas, sound bombs, rubber coated bullets and live ammunition.
An elderly demonstrator clubbed by a Border Patrol officer in an attempt to suppress a demonstration in Nabi Saleh. Picture Credit: Yotam Ronen/ActiveStills
Major struggles to reach the land occurred in the valley and on the lower portion of the access road to Nabi Saleh with sporadic outbreaks of force throughout the area. By 4pm, soldiers were forced into retreat to the base of the road (tear gas canisters rained intermittently until dusk) and a deal was made between the Popular Committee and the military for the release of the seven Palestinians arrested during the demonstration, three of which were woman arrested at the demonstration’s inception. Accounts of military violence during their detention at the Hallamish settlement were reported by multiple arrestees. One Palestinian demonstrator was wounded by a tear gas canister resulting in a large gash in his head requiring his emergency evacuation to the Ramallah hospital.