Israel Arrests Journalists Documenting Demonstration

They were covering an event where Israeli soldiers used live ammunition against non-violent demonstrators.

Israeli troops taking Haitham Al Khatib away. Photo by Hamdi Abu Rahmah

(BIL'IN Occupied Palestine) - On Friday Palestinians, Israeli, and International activists marched to the wall built on the central west Bank village of Bil’in lands.

Today’s protest was in commemoration of the April 19th 1948 Dier Yassin massacre. Etzel and Lechi zionist military organizations attacked Deir Yassin, a village near Jerusalem and killed 100 civilians.

As demonstrators reached the gate of the wall soldiers began firing tear gas at the crowd. At one point soldiers used a cannon that shoots 30 canisters of gas at once to disperse the crowd.

Soldiers also used live ammunition and rubber coated bullets against non-violent demonstrators today.

Palestinian Journalist and videographer Haitham Al Khatib from Bil’in was detained by troops who invaded the village after the protest.

Al Khatib also works with the Israeli human rights information center B’tselem; he returned to the village on Thursday from a three-week tour in Europe where he was showing his latest film “Life on Wheels”.

The film looks at occupation in Bil’in through the experience of Jody McIntire an International activist from the EU.

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Special thanks to Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News for this report.