On New Year's Eve 2010, whilst much of the world was celebrating, over 1,000 people demonstrated in the Palestinian village of Bil'in against Israel's encroachment on the village's land. Israeli tear gas and rubber bullets rained down on the protesters and Jawaher Abu Rahma, who had joined the march to the apartheid wall and retreated to the sidelines after the first volleys of gas, choked to death as the allegedly non-lethal gas enveloped the village.
A report from Bil'in residents said that Israeli soldiers fired tear gas "from the moment protesters entered their sight." [1] "It is obvious that, for the army, the mere presence of unarmed demonstrators is reason enough to use chemical weapons against them," it added.
Bil'in, a symbol of popular resistance
Since 2005, the village of Bil'in has been resisting Israel's apartheid wall and settlements encroaching on the village's land. In February 2010, the community's steadfast resistance finally won an announcement by the Israeli military that the wall's route around the village would be altered. [2]
The village has become a symbol of a new popular resistance to the Israeli occupation and has attracted international solidarity from all over the world. Bil'in's fight has become a foundation of the joint struggle by Israeli and Palestinian activists against the occupation and has spurred the birth of the 'popular committees' movement against the illegal wall and settlements. Statements from Bil'in have often provided a compass for the global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid.
Bil'in's successes, however, have come at a price, which is baldly illustrated in the story of the Abu Rahma family. In 2008, Ashraf Abu Rahma was badly injured after he was shot at close range while detained by an Israeli soldier. [3] In April 2009, his brother, Bassem, was shot in the chest by a tear gas canister at close range and died from his wounds. [4] Abdallah and Adeeb Abu Rahma have both served hundreds of days in prison for their involvement in the popular struggle. [5] Despite all this, their sister, Jawaher, kept returning to the demonstrations week after week for four years, until she collapsed from tear gas inhalation on 31 December, 2010, and died in a Ramallah hospital, aged 36.
In a blog published a day after her death, Bil'in residents reasserted that action for change is necessary and that the BDS strategy is "a means for activists to unite under one manifesto." Celebrating their past victories in spite of the tragedy, they added: "Corporations are divesting from Israel, trade unions are passing motions to boycott settlement goods, universities are refusing to collaborate with their Israeli counterparts." [6]
Israeli activists have responded to a call-out by the Bil'in residents by blocking a main street in Tel Aviv and holding a procession to the US ambassador's house to 'return' tear gas canisters fired at demonstrators in Bil'in. [7] 12 protesters were arrested for charges including 'conspiring to possess weapons', despite the fact that all they were carrying was the spent canisters.
Calls have also been made to target the manufacturers of the tear gas used by the Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians, [8] in particular Combined Systems Incorporated (CSI) and Defense Technology, which is owned by BAE Systems.
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