Demonstrations in the West Bank Part II: Bi'lin

I apologize for posting so much, there are just lots of things I've experienced in the last couple weeks that I haven't had the chance to report on!  Oh, and the picture below was NOT taken by me...I wouldn't get that close to the tear gas canisters!

Every Friday, protests of the occupation take place in towns all over the West Bank.  Some are specifically targetted at the separation barrier (cosponsored by "Anarchists Against the Wall").  Last Friday, Paraska and I joined a fantastic delegation of about 40 American and Canadian women and men from Code Pink, the feminist peace organization that famously wears pink hats and takes over military recruitment offices, to attend a march on the wall in Bi'lin.  This town apparently has one of the most established and well-run protests, I was told.  The experience was both encouraging and discouraging at the same time.

Men and boys from the village gather with visitors in the center of town (I was told that the Palestinian women come mainly from Ramallah and not from the village itself) and march toward the wall with banners and flags, chanting.  At the edge of the village, I stayed back in the "safe zone" as others marched toward the wall.  Soldiers werre stationed on the other side, and before anyone had reached even 10 meters away, they threw tear gas canisters over the fence which immediately dispersed the crowd.  For about 45 minutes, the crowd became more and more disjointed as some people continued toward the wall, some bounced back and forth depending on level of safety, and some left altogether. 

I was sad to see that boys in the village threw rocks at the soldiers.  Although the soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the front lines far before any rocks were thrown (perhaps they were expecting the rocks, or maybe just wanted to disperse the crowd as soon as possible), we lost our legitimacy as a nonviolent protest because of  just a dozen outlying demonstrators.  The boys collect piles of rocks (some wrapped in a Palestinian flag) and fling them far over the fence with a slingshot.  The process struck me as highly ineffective either way: from such a long range it is almost impossible to actually hit a soldier, and the violent threat will just bring more animosity and firing back.  It seemed to be merely an outlet for their anger and helplessness, and I really wished that some of the older, more seasoned Palestinian activists could have sat those boys down for a "talk."

I was impressed that the village continues to demonstrate like this every week, in large numbers, even when they are dispersed long before actually reaching the fence, their goal.  It is sad to see tear gas end any nonviolent expression or demands, and for people on the front lines to be put in danger of canisters and rubber bullets just for chanting and holding signs.  Whether the stone-throwers or the IDF soldiers are at fault, there really seems to be no chance for Palestinians to have their voice heard by anyone other than leftist Israelis and fellow Arabs.