The Palestinian village of Bil’in, located in the West Bank, is a flashpoint for the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since 2005, Bil’in has been the site of Friday demonstrations attended by hundreds of Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals in protest of the impending construction of the separation wall, the division of Palestinian-owned land, as well as the continued building of Israeli settlements. According to the protestors and Palestinians the barbed wire security fence, which serves as a temporary separation, also prevents farmers from accessing their land.
The weekly rally sometimes turns violent. In the past, protestors have thrown rocks at Israel Defense Forces soldiers; occasionally IDF forces have fired rubber-coated bullets at the crowd.
The IDF typically uses “skunk bombs”—a putrid-smelling liquid— and tear gas to disperse the demonstration. The tear gas canisters, propelled at high speeds, sometimes injure protestors. In March of 2009, American Tristan Anderson was critically injured when he was struck in the head by a tear gas canister. In April of 2009, Palestinian Bassam Abu Rahma was hit in the chest by such a canister and died.
Read the full story: A different kind of activism.