- for immediate release: Thursday July 9th, 2009.
Photo: ActiveStills. Israeli occupation soldiers at popular protest in Bil’in, Palestine.
Military raids launched by Israeli forces in Palestine in parallel to court case in Quebec
Israeli army forces are launching night-time military raids on Bil’in village in Palestine.
Bil’in recently made headlines in Canada after the village launched a lawsuit in Montreal against two Quebec registered companies constructing Israeli settlements on the village’s land.
“Almost every night the Israeli military is invading our village and arresting people, especially the youth who are participating in the demonstrations. They are attempting to punish us Palestinians for demanding our rights, for our popular movement in Bil’in,” explains Mohammed Khatib, of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Bil’in, “Thus far the Israeli military has arrested nine Palestinian youth, some who are still in prison. They have not been charged with anything; it is an illegal detention of Palestinian children, illegal under international law.”
Bil’in is celebrated around the world for its consistent protests against the Israeli apartheid wall. Launched in early 2005, the protests are based on principles of non-violent resistance and have taken place every Friday for over four years, drawing wide participation from both Israeli and international activists.
Protests in Bil’in are focused on Israel’s apartheid wall, built on Palestinian lands in Bil’in, which has annexed almost 60% of Bil’in’s agricultural lands and was deemed illegal in an advisory decision taken by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2004.
This week over 100 Israeli soldiers raided Bil’in village in the early hours of the morning attempting to arrest key Palestinian activists involved in organizing the weekly popular protests in Bil’in. During the military raids both international and Israeli activists quickly responded arriving in Bil’in, in many cases only to be beaten by Israeli soldiers.
“When Palestinian, international, and Israeli activists arrived at the scene of the latest raid they were subjected to violence and intimidation by the Israeli occupation forces,” outlines Mohammed Khatib from Bil’in.
“These raids began exactly at the same time that we began court hearings in Canada,” continues Khatib, “so the raids really are aiming for us to stop our struggle, they are collective punishment, but we will keep our struggle, which is our right, we will continue until the end of the Israeli occupation.”
For more info visit: Bil’in www.bilin-village.org
Honte aux sionistes !
تعليق j-marie dalcq — 9 juillet 2009 @ 10:52