Demonstration in Qaddoum. Picture by Yotam Ronen/Activestills

July 13, 2012

Weekly demonstrations against the Wall and settlements persist despite the scorching heat. Several injuries from tear-gas canisters and rubber coated bullets reported in Qaddoum and Bil'in


Some 300 Palestinians and a handful of Israeli and International solidarity activists joined the protest in Kufr Qaddoum. The demonstration opened with speeches, following which the crowd started marching towards the main road of the village. Without waiting very long and without any provocation, the army started attacking the march with ear-gas canisters and rubber coated bullets, as well as the 'skunk'. Large military units surrounded the village from all sides and continued shelling residential areas. Three people were injured and required medical treatment.

The protest in Ni'ilin started with a sermon and prayers on the land, following which the demonstrators marched to the gate in the wall. The army unit that was stationed on the other side of the wall used tear-gas canisters against the demonstrators, but did not make any attempt to cross the wall and conduct arrests. In Bilin, demonstrators marched to the Abu Lamon grove and burned tires near the barbed wire protecting the wall. The soldiers reacted with a barrage of dozens of gas canisters, shot all at once, causing direct impact injuries to several demonstrators and journalists.