As the summer comes to an end with waves of religious holidays in Israel and Palestine, fall is beginning with military raids and pockets of violence towards Palestinians throughout the West Bank. The leading Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, is reporting that a small clash broke out between settlers and Palestinians in village of Iraq Burin this afternoon as settlers attempted to pick olives from Palestinian olive grooves. The Israeli military responded to the settler violence with repression of the Palestinians in the form of tear gas and sound bombs.
The Israeli army continued its campaign of repression of non-violent protest in Bil’in this afternoon with a raid on the village. According to the Bil’in popular committee against the wall: Israeli troops stormed a number of homes and tried to arrest local youth, during the search campaign, soldiers fired tear gas at local youth who responded by hurling stones at the soldiers.At least a dozen civilians suffered effects of tear gas inhalation and were treated locally, witnesses reported.The village of Bil’in organizes a weekly anti wall protest for the past five years; after long fight in the Israeli courts, the army was ordered to remove the wall built on villagers lands; tell the day the military refuse to implement the court order and attack the weekly nonviolent actions organized by the villagers along with their international and Israeli supporters. Last year the military fire killed, Bassem Abu Rahma, a local activist in Bil’in during the weekly actions. The army stepped up its campaign to target local activists who organize the weekly protest and arrest six of them during raids like today’s one.
The coming olive harvest will bring more tension as settlers attempt to harass Palestinians in the following weeks as we descend into winter.
