In light of growing military violence towards demonstrators in Nabi Saleh recently, protesters attempted to march to their lands in two separate groups, which were both aggressively blocked by the soldiers and Border Police officer well inside the village.
An injured demonstrator treated by a Red Crescent medic
While one group was attacked by massive amounts of tear-gas from afar, the second group – mostly composed of women, international activists and older men, was attacked with tear-gas and pepper spray, at close range, and for no apparent reason.
The village was then swarmed with huge forces of soldiers and Border Police officers, who took over three houses, shooting demonstrators from their rooftops with scores of rubber-coated bullets and tear-gas projectiles.
The clashes that evolved after the army has attacked the demonstration continued until dark, when the soldiers finally left the village and retreated to the checkpoint at its entrance. 22 people were injured at varying degrees of severity, including a 10 year-old girl who was shot in the arm with a rubber-coated bullet, two journalists and a twenty year-old woman, who broke her ankle after being hit with a tear-gas projectile. In total, seven people required hospitalization.
Shattered windows in a car belonging to an Israeli activist after Border Police officers shot at it
After the soldiers have left, an Israeli activist noticed that all the windows of his car were broken. An eyewitness saw Border Police officers take pictures of the car and afterwards shooting rubber-coated bullets towards it. A few of these bullets were found inside the car.
The residents of Nabi Saleh have been holding regular demonstrations against the creeping confiscation of their lands by the adjacent Jewish-only settlement of Halamish since December 2009. Protest was sparked after settlers, abated by the Army, forcefully took over a natural spring belonging to the village.
The hilltop village of Nabi Saleh is home to approximately 550 residents and is located 30 kilometers northeast of Ramallah along highway 465. Residents have been holding regular demonstrations against the creeping confiscation of their lands by the adjacent Jewish-only settlement of Halamish since December 2009. Protest was sparked after settlers, abated by the Army, forcefully took over a natural spring belonging to the village.
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