Al-Barghouthi: Barak should resign after second close-range shooting in Ni'lin

Date: 01 / 09 / 2008  Time:  13:27
Ramallah – Ma'an –

Ayed Sadeq Abu Surour was shot in the head and chest at close range as Israeli soldiers detained the 40-year-old's brother on Monday morning in the village of Ni'lin.

Ayed lost one of his eyes and is in hospital, he is the father of four children.

Secretary General of Palestinian National Initiative Mustafa Al-Barghouthi said Israeli forces blew-up the entranceway of Surour's home, and threw gas and sound bombs into the resulting hole before raiding the house and detaining Aqel Abu Surour.

Aqel was pushed to the ground and handcuffed, while Ayed –his brother- was shot at close range.

"Israeli practices," Said Al-Barghouthi, "aim at breaking the popular struggle in Ni’lin," and seek to make an example of the efforts of the village residents. He condemned the "brutal" and "ugly" methods chosen to put down peaceful resistance, and affirmed that this will not stop the anti-wall campaigns in Ni'lin, Bil'in, Al-Ma'asara or "any other place across Palestine."

In his statement sent to Ma'an, Al-Barghouthi recalled that "this Israeli crime is not first of its kind,” and reminded us all of the shooting of Ashraf Abu Rahmah two months ago at close range with his hands cuffed and eyes masked.

Al-Barghouthi called for the “prosecution of Israeli soldiers and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak who is personally responsible for such crimes in front of war crimes tribunals."

3 children 1 adult injured in Ni'lin protest

Date: 01 / 09 / 2008  Time:  11:10
Ni'lin – Ma'an –

Three children and one adult were injured with live bullets as they participated in a non-violent demonstration against the illegal construction of the Israeli Land-Grab, Apartheid Wall on village lands.

Ni'lin is a village located west of the city of Ramallah, whose lands have been cut off residents by the construction of the wall that separates Israel from the West Bank. The people of Ni'lin and the Popular Committee Against the Wall have organized weekly and ongoing demonstrations in protest.

Each week locals, Israeli and international activists walk towards the confiscated lands on the far side of the Israeli construction site for the wall, in order to tend to crops from which some earn their livelihoods.

On Sunday, dozens of foreign supporters and activists participated and marched alongside Palestinians as they headed toward three different construction areas along the planned route of the Israeli separation wall. The group aimed at reaching the bulldozers digging up the agricultural fields of the village.

Israeli occupation forces crowded and stormed the town to stop the protest. Soldiers fired gas and sound bombs along with metal bullets at protestors. The repressive methods eventually turned into clashes between the protesters and the Israeli troops.

Clashes lasted late into the afternoon, and dozens choked on tear gas. Four locals, three of them children, were injured by bullets.

Coordinator of Ni'lin committee against the wall Ahed Al-Khawajah confirmed that residents of Ni'lin have been struggling for about four months to halt construction of the Land-Grab, Apartheid Wall. He said that resistance to Israeli atrocities will continue during Ramadan, which began 1 September.