Army invades Ni'ilin injuring 17 demonstrators

150 anti-wall demonstrators were attacked by the army in Ni’ilin today. The force, composed of border policemen, was positioned at the edge of the village, only meters away from the built-up area and about a kilometer away from the path of the wall, and on sight started pushing and beating demonstrators, who were doing nothing but to calmly walk to the village’s lands. A Swedish protester was so badly beaten that her leg is apparently sprained after she was pushed down on the floor and stepped on.

Using tremendous amounts of teargas and rubber-coated bullets, the army pushed the people inside the built-up area of the village, where clashes evolved. The army had entered the village’s infirmary and occupied for several hours, also holding an Israeli demonstrator who was arrested there. A Palestinian protester was also arrested during the demonstration and 17 were injured.

Today’s demonstration took place after tonight, at around 2am, the army invaded the village and arrested popular committee member Ibrahim Amireh while he was in his bed, asleep. Amireh is not suspected of any crime other than taking part in organizing demonstrations. This is the second time Amireh is arrested in a similar way. He was already taken from his bed about two weeks ago, but was released without even being questioned a few hours later. In an obvious attempt at intimidation and harassment, military incursions in which nightly arrests are carried out have become almost daily routine. Nine people have been arrested in these incursions so far, but to date all of them have been released without charges a few days after. Ibrahim Amireh is still awaiting his release.

http://awalls.org/army_invades_niilin_injuring_17_demonstrators