Free Our Children Protest At Ofer Military Prison

September 12, 2009

Last Monday, residents of Bil’in, a centre of non-violent resistance in the West Bank, gathered outside Ofer Military Prison to protest the detention of villagers for participating in peaceful protests

For almost five years, the residents of Bil’in have been organizing weekly non-violent protests against the wall Israel is building which cuts them off from 60% of their land.

In these creative and peaceful demonstrations, villagers and international supporters walk together to the wall, where they are routinely met with tear gas, sound bombs, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition from the Israeli army.

The Israeli government has been taking steps to crush the growing Palestinian nonviolent movement. Nineteen peaceful protesters have been killed in demonstrations against the wall.

In the last three months, the Israeli army has arrested 29 residents of Bil’in for participating in demonstrations, 12 of whom are children. The arrests are made during night raids, in which hundreds of Israeli soldiers enter the village, wearing combat paint and masks.