Bil'in protesters mark anniversary of Berlin wall fall

[ProgressiveMuslim]

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall, demonstrators in Bil'in once again gathered in the village center and marched toward the site of the separation wall, which cuts the village from its agricultural, for a weekly protest.

"On 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall came crumbling down in two days that inspired hope for a world in which walls could no longer keep people apart," a statement from the Popular Committee in Bil'in read. "Today, a wall twice as high and five times as long is being built by
Israel in the West Bank, in blunt contempt of international law, to separate Palestinians from their lands."

As the group of Palestinian, Israeli and international protesters marched toward the wall, they were met with tear gas canisters and rubber bullets fired by Israeli soldiers in an attempt to keep the group away from the wall.

Demonstrators carried banners and yelled slogans reminding soldiers that despite the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion from 2004 that pronounced Israel's wall illegal and called for its removal, no significant changes on the ground have been made.

Several demonstrators suffered tear gas inhalation, and were treated on site for respiratory difficulties.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=237816