- photo essay by Valerian Mazataud
Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Palestinians in Bil’in raise Palestinian flag at weekly protest.
Bil’in village in Palestine holds protests every Friday in opposition to the Israeli apartheid wall, which cuts directly through Bil’in’s agricultural territory, effectively annexing over fifty percent of the village lands.
Every week villagers from Bil’in, backed by international and Israeli activists, gather to protest the Israeli ‘separation wall’, a popular protest ritual that has made international headlines globally, Protests in Bil’in have attracted thousands of international activists to join the Palestinian-lead protests, including celebrated South African anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu.
Activists from Bil’in toured throughout Canada last summer, building support for a lawsuit launched by the village at the Quebec Superior Court in Montreal against two Quebec-based companies, Green Park International and Green Mount International, currently constructing illegal Israeli-only settlements on Bil’in lands.
Bil’in village continues to seek justice within the Canadian courts and has recently filed an appeal at the Cour d’appel du Québec. Photojournalist Valerian Mazataud, based in Montreal, is currently visiting Palestine and documented the weekly protest in Bil’in against the Israeli apartheid wall on Friday, October 23rd, 2009.
Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Protester in Bil’in surrounding by Israeli military tear-gas.
Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Palestinians continue to protest in Bil’in against all odds.
Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Protesters in Bil’in attempt to take cover from Israeli army.
Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Demonstrating at the Israeli apartheid wall in Palestine.
Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Israeli occupation soldiers fire tear-gas at protests in Bil’in.
- Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Israeli occupation soldiers in Bil’in, Palestine.
Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Palestinian youth launch stones at Israeli military jeeps.
Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Palestinian youth maintain popular resistance in Bil’in.
Valerian Mazataud is a photojournalist based in Montreal: www.focuszero.com
