PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Army turns violent in West Bank
by Andalusia Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006 at 3:36 PM

An interview with Jonas Moffat about an action against the Apartheid Wall in West Bank in which the Israeli Army fired rubber bullets at close range at protestors

audio: ogg vorbis at 4.5 mebibytes

The Israeli Army and Border Police fired rubber bullets and sound grenades on protestors on Friday August 11th as they marched through Bil'in (pronounced beelaiyin) a village in the West Bank. For over a year the people of Bil'in have been holding weekly demosnstrations against the Apartheid wall that is being constructed through the West Bank. Israel claims it is a security barrier that merely exists to separate the West Bank from Israel. Palestinians and many internationals feel otherwise. The Wall in Bi'lin annexes 618 acres of land that is the livelihood of many Palestinian olive farmers. This annexed land will be used for Israeli settlements. Bil'in does not stand alone in their struggle against the wall. Communities throughout the West Bank have protested the land confiscation, restriction of movement, and limited access to water that accompanies the construction of the wall.
During this recent protest, fourteen people from Bil'in, Israelis and internationals, have been injured, including an Israeli in critical condition who was shot on the neck and head with 3 rubber bullets at close range. He has had surgery at Tel Hashomer hospital to remove a rubber bullet that was lodged in his skull. Another demonstrator has suffered a fractured skull and brain contusion after a soldier beat her with the butt of his gun. Jonas Moffat, a Pittsburgh activist who has been working with the International Solidarity Movement or ISM and the First Palestinian Circus School was also shot with rubber bullets.