© Haim Schwarczenberg
occupied paLestinian territories
a tinY ViLLage
with a big Voice turned up in clown outfits, masks and superhero every friday, people in a small They could have been easily mistaken for palestinian village risk their lives costumes. a group heading out on a family picnic. to protest peacefully against picnic israeli settlers’ theft of their land no But this is no picnic. The people of Nabi Saleh are and water. wire spent a day with protesting against the theft of their lands, the loss their water source and against the Israeli military the courageous men, women and ofoccupation. On the other side of the fence waits children of nabi saleh. the Israeli army.
I
t is noon on a Friday in the West Bank, and the summer sun is burning strong. The small village of Nabi Saleh, tucked away on a small hill north-west of the capital, Ramallah, stirs to life with the call for prayer from the village mosque. As the prayers end, people gather in the shade of a nearby tree. This Friday, as on any other Friday since 2009, Nabi Saleh's men, women and children prepare to march towards the village's water spring. The girls are wearing colourful dresses and are wrapped in Palestinian flags. In the past, people have
The spring has been out of the villagers’ reach since 2008. It was taken over by the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Halamish, explains Saleh Hijazi, Amnesty’s Campaigner on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. “The spring was once used by the villagers for farming,” he says. “Now it’s a tourist site, open only to settlers.” Saleh points out the settlement's rows of white buildings on the next hill. “Halamish has been encroaching on lands belonging to Nabi Saleh, and another Palestinian village called Deir Nidham, for years.”
Saleh also points out the nearby Israeli army base, and the army jeeps parked by the spring and at the entrance to Nabi Saleh.
three broken cameras The demonstrators leave the tree’s protective shade and begin marching down the road, chanting slogans and holding placards. Saleh, who has been visiting this place for years, explains: “The soldiers are waiting with tear gas launchers and stun grenades. They start using them, usually aiming directly at people and their houses, as soon as the protesters reach a certain point.” “If the demonstration carries on after that, the army starts using rubber-coated metal bullets and, in some cases live ammunition, against peaceful demonstrators.” “The army sometimes also sprays villagers’ houses with canons of 'skunk' water, which leaves a bad, lingering smell. They also spray it inside people's homes and on bystanders.” Along the road, the villagers march alongside activists who have come from around the world to
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