Twenty years after Berlin, Palestinians crack Israel’s wall

07Nov09

Ma’an News reports:

‘Marking the 20th anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Palestinians tore down a section of Israel’s wall in the West Bank village of Ni’lin on Friday.

During a weekly protest against the barrier, which cuts through the Ramallah-area village’s center and isolates residents from 60 percent of their farmland, some 300 demonstrators methodically dismantled a concrete section before Israeli forces opened fire.

[...]

“Twenty years ago, no one imagined that the monstrosity that divided Berlin would ever be taken down, but it took only two days to do it,” participant Muhib Hawaja told the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

“Today we proved that we too can pull it off, right here and right now. That is our land beyond the barrier, and we have no intention of ceding it. We will triumph because justice is on our side,” he added.

“When one concrete part started to come down partially, the Israeli army arrived and started shooting large amounts of tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and even live ammunition,” said organizer Ahmad Mesleh. “Dozens of soldiers came through the gate and are currently following the demonstration into the village.”‘

Norman Finkelstein has argued that were Palestinians to descend upon the wall en masse, pickaxes in one hand and a copy of the 2004 International Court of Justice ruling in the other, Israel would find it very difficult to deal with. In that spirit, let’s hope this action by the protestors in Nil’in is but a taste of what is to come.

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Filed under: Israeli / Palestinian, Videos   |  1 Comment
Tags: Activism, annexation wall, Berlin Wall, Nil'in, nonviolent resistance, protest, West Bank