Palestinian youths, men, women, elders and foreigner supporters against the coward Israeli Terrorist Forces, protesting building part of the Apartheid Wall on Na’alin – near Ramallah, Occupied Palestine.

Update:

On 27th May 2008, Robert Birch, an Australian retiree from Pacific Palms, was shot in the lower-back by a rubber-coated steel bullet while participating in a non-violent demonstration against the construction of the Israeli segregation wall in the Palestinian village of Ni’lin.

The Israeli army launched dozens of tear-gas cannisters into the march and proceeded to shoot Mr Birch while he was unable to see or breathe. 29 other protesters were injured in the demonstration, including 5 who were hospitalised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eIqOgLoMKY

Ni’lin and Al Midya are surrounded by the illegal Israeli settlements of Nili and Na’ale to the west; and Modi’in Illit, Hashmon’im, and Mattityahu to the south - meaning that by the time the apartheid wall is completed, villagers will be surrounded on three sides by the wall, leaving only the north open to them. Local activists explain, however, that part of Israel’s master plan for the area includes the construction of an apartheid (Israeli only) road from Nili to Tel Aviv, cutting Ni’lin in two with only a one-way tunnel planned to enable movement between the two parts of the village; effectively denying half of the residents access to the rest of their village and the services located there.

Approximately 140 families are losing their land with the construction of this part of the apartheid wall - one of the last portions of the wall to be constructed. The land that will be lost is some of the most fertile in the area - a common theme of the route of the wall and part of the reason it is commonly referred to as the annexation wall, because of the huge amounts of Palestinian land that it works to annex to Israel. Many of the families that will lose their land rely heavily on it, such as an elderly man who has just his 100 dounums (approximately 25 acres) to provide for his wife and two older, unmarried daughters.

Many Thanks,
Adam

Mr Birch is available for interviews. He can be contacted on +972549721855

Photos of his injuries are available on request. Phone +97222971824 or email palreports@gmail.com