Bilin protest (archives)
Photo: Rabbi Arik Akerman
Anti-fence protestor: Palestinians' rights ignored
Weekly rallies in West Bank villages mark sixth anniversary of Hague court ruling which stated separation fence illegal
Hundreds of Palestinian, foreign and Israeli left-wing protestors flocked to the West Bank villages of Bilin, Naalin and Nabi Salih on Friday for the weekly anti-fence rallies.
One of the protestors told Ynet, "The State of Israel continues to build the fence while ignoring the ruling and the rights of the Palestinians." He said the weekly protests were not just the symbol of a struggle, but "the forefront of the Palestinian resistance against occupation and injustice."
The protestors marked the sixth anniversary of a ruling issued by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which stated that the separation fence built by Israel was illegal.
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Israel Defense Forces officials said many attempts had been made to reduce the violent protests, which have been repeating themselves on a weekly basis on the Ramallah area, but that the protestors continued to flock to the Palestinian villages every Friday.
Colonel Sa'ar Zur, who was appointed Thursday as commander of the Binyamin Brigade, plans to try to put an end to the protests. Zur replaced Colonel Aviv Reshef, who is set to embark on a mission in the United States on behalf of the army.
The outgoing brigade commander said during the change of guard ceremony on Thursday, "We, the Binyamin soldiers and commander, have been and will be prepared for the challenges created by our enemies. We will fight those wishing to harm us, will defeat them, win and remain human."
Colonel Zur said that the brigade "is facing long years between Israeli and Palestinian civilians, between thwarting activities and defensive activities, and is fulfilling its main mission – to defend the residents of the State of Israel."
The protestors said they couldn't care less about the new brigade commander. "He represents the army, which has decided to continue this injustice against the Palestinian people. The soldiers today continued firing tear gas and shock grenades at the anti-fence protestors," one of them said.
IDF sources said the demonstrators had pelted the soldiers with stones. Three Israeli protestors and a Palestinian civilian were arrested following the riots. Two additional Israelis were detained for questioning.
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