Day 23 - June 12, 2009

Today we went to the Palestinian village of Bil'in. In 2005 a wall was built in the village separating the farmers (60% of the village's workforce) from their lands. 1000 olive trees were uprooted in order to build the wall. Permission is only given to the owners of the land to cross the fence - Abdullah, the coordinator of the local resistance committee to the wall and settlements, told us that his grandfather owns the land that his family harvests, however his grandfather died several years ago and his family is not permitted access to the land. The land has since been burned and destroyed in order to build an Israeli settlement. Interestingly, this settlement was not permitted by Israel, and is instead tied to a mafia group. Two CANADIAN companies, Greenpark and Greenmount, are currently illegally constructing the settlement (note for those who are looking for Canadian companies on which to put pressure and / or boycott). There is currently a court date set in Montreal on June 22, which some of the Palestinians we met are hoping to attend.
On September 4, 2007, the wall was deemed illegal by the Israeli supreme court and ordered to be moved back. To date, no action has been taken. Protests have taken place at the wall, encompassing Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals alike, every Friday since February 20 2005 (today's protest being number 225). Tear gas, "rubber bullets" (metal coated in rubber), and sand bags are used everytime. 1300 have been injured since the protests began, including Tristan Anderson, an ISM member who was shot in the head with a tear gas cannister a few months ago. Bassem Abu-Rahme, a local Palestinian resident, was killed in April when he was shot in the chest with a tear gas cannister close range while attempting to assist a French protester who had been injured. Tear gas cannisters are supposed to be shot away from the protesters, often upwind so that the gas goes towards them, however recently the IDF have been shooting them directly at the individuals, essentially rendering the cannisters as massive bullets. When not protesting, the participants often beaten in their homes, sometimes infront of their families, as well as threatened with death, their family's death, or with the burning of their homes. And yet every week they return to ask for permission to cross the fence to land that is rightfully theirs.