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Palestine Monitor Demonstrations In Ni’lin: Routine Or Resistance? Walking through the olive groves separating the village of Ni’lin from the West Bank barrier, a group of Palestinians heading the opposite direction shake their heads at us in warning. “Trouble” is all they say. Trouble is a weekly occurrence here, signified by tear gas, rubber bullets, and arrests. Trouble is punctuated by tragedy, as the Friday demonstrations often end in tear gas, rubber-coated metal bullets, arrests, and sometimes death. The history The protests have occurred every Friday since May of 2008, when Israel began to build their 8-metre barrier wall across the village of Ni’lin, in order to “protect” the Jewish settlements of Modin Illit and Hashmonaim. Over 8,600 dunhams (34,400 acres) of Palestinian land were stolen for the construction and roads to the settlements. The placement of the barrier wall annexed another 50% of the remaining Ni’lin property to the Jewish settlers, with over 6,000 of the oldest olive trees lost to the occupiers. Despite the unanimous ruling by the International Court of Justice in 2004 that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are a breach of international law, the settlers have continued their expansion. Yet, when unarmed protesters began to gather in May of 2008 to protest the construction of the wall through Palestinian, the Israeli military responded with violent, oppressive tactics. Five unarmed Ni’lin residents have been killed since the demonstrations began in 2008, including ten-year-old Ahmad Moussa, and eighteen-year-old Yousef Ahmed Younis Amera. Video footage has captured the prolific use of metal-covered rubber bullets on children, as well as the close-range shooting of a blindfolded, handcuffed man in the foot. The Israelis defend their aggression by asserting the protests are illegal: Military Order 101 outlawed political dissent since 1967 and the beginning of Israel’s brutal occupation (Never mind the ambiguity of the term “political dissent”). The UN Security Council ruled the occupation itself was illegal under Resolution 242. The Friday showdown Unfortunately, the demonstration has turned frustratingly repetitive. A group of 20-50 demonstrators gather to march, chant and sing for ten minutes before the Israeli army begins firing tear gas into the crowd. The tear-gas does its job, intimidating and disorienting the small crowd. When the canisters are launched over the wall, protesters back away from the plumes of smoke that waft unpredictably in the wind. Demonstrators fall to the ground coughing, and friends struggle to guide one another, half-blind in the acrid chemicals. The older contingent immediately retreats to join the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) workers who wait at the rear, ready to provide medical assistance to the hurt or injured. Photographers hunker down in the field to capture the action with impressive telephoto lenses, while the remaining demonstrators try to stand their ground. A few Palestinian youths separate themselves from the other demonstrators, braving proximity to the soldiers’ gate to throw rocks at the wall. The next step in the confrontation begins and shouts are heard. “The soldiers are coming!” As the soldiers’ gate opens, the crowd disperses quickly, running into the olive groves in every direction. Palestinian and foreigners flee while shouting warnings to one another, tearing off gas masks as they widen the distance between themselves and wall. Instincts of self-preservation takeover. Each person finds his or her own path, clumsily picking the way through rocks and thorns in the uphill run. Though the village looms ahead, there is no zone in which safety can be assured, as the Israeli soldiers use the demonstrations as an excuse to terrorize villagers and impose their military presence on the Palestinians peacefully residing in their homes. The soldiers often use tear gas in the village proper, and continually raid the homes of Palestinians suspected of participating in the weekly protests. The hasty retreat is followed by the soldiers to the end of olive groves that border the town, and demonstrators are left free to catch breaths and tear thorns out of clothing and skin as the soldiers watch from the hillside. Each week, relief is tempered by the understanding that safety and security are rarities among the villagers of Ni’lin. Is it working? Depends on who you ask. In comparison to other demonstrations, Ni’lin has its limitations. While Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem is known for its non-violence and draws a surprising number of leftist Israelis, Ni’lin lacks the same draw. Perhaps it is the village’s relative inaccessibility. Maybe it is the Israeli soldier’s propensity for violence. It could be the stones thrown by Palestinians. The stones are common occurrence. One who watches a 15-year old Palestinian boy throw a rock at an 8-metre wall realises the futility of the action. The rocks fall impotent against the concrete barriers, bullet-proof vests, tear gas, Hummers and bullets of the Israeli army, if violence is the true aim. In fact, the stones represent the opportunity for a dialogue that Palestinian youth are not otherwise provided. Israelis live on Palestinian land, imposing their policies on the Palestinian people, while villagers have little to no contact with their oppressor. Children throwing rocks are expressing their frustration the only way they can. But rocks are clearly not part of a strategy of non-violence. Salah Khawaja, the coordinator for Ni’lin development and organizer of the demonstrations, explains that things have changed over the past two years. “The children throwing rocks do not fully understand why they are throwing rocks – maybe they only know that their brother or father has been arrested last week,” he said. “They have not joined the other demonstrators and realized it takes more power not to throw stones. We are trying to train the children instead to work together and be active in other ways… to make music or sing.” Khawaja said Ni’lin’s strategy of non-violence is working. “In 2008, 100 of 200 people attending the demonstrations would throw stones. Now, maybe just two or three.” An anonymous international activist agrees. “We appreciate that the Ni’lin Popular Committee is really working in a democratic way – their inclusion of women and children in organizing and their attempts to really make the demonstration non-violent.” However, Ni’lin could development even more, following examples of other Palestinian grassroots organization. “There are not enough people who come to Ni’lin. In Bi’lin the protest is very well organized,” the activist said. “People can confront the soldiers at the electric fence, and can give them posters, pictures, messages. There are a lot of people there, and themes each week… Ni’lin needs more media coverage, more flags, posters, artwork.” Ni’lin has taken much of its cues from the nearby town of Bi’lin, whose residents began protesting the planned construction of the wall in 2005. Bi’lin has also suffered its share of tragedy, including the death of Bassem Abu Rahmeh, who passed away in the spring of 2009 after being hit in the chest with a tear gas canister. However, Bi’lin’s campaign finally saw some results. In February 2010 Israel military began rerouting 1700 metres of high-voltage fencing that marked the future placement of the wall, reuniting Bi’lin villagers with 650 dunhams (2,600 acres) of their farmland. Although the land represents only a fraction of the Palestinian land stolen near Bi’lin, activists and villagers alike were understandably pleased. As Ni’lin’s wall has already been constructed, there seems little hope of its removal. Its aging graffiti is a reminder of the wall’s relative permanence, and in the end the Ni’lin demonstration seems little more than a repetitive game: demonstration, tear gas, soldiers, running. Israel doesn’t appear to plan to remove their barrier wall anytime soon, and the weekly demonstrations remain largely a weekly conversation in which the whispering of Palestinian and international activists are drowned by the shouts of the Israeli occupying power. |