Some 20 protesters hurt during anti-fence rally in Bil'in

Have you been to Budrus recently? I have. The people there basically want to get on with their own lives, farming their own land, attending their hill top mosque, and not have their children picking up rubber bullets in the school playground, let alone being struck by them. Similary in Bil'in. Every Palestinian child a terrorist? Every Israeli child a military thug? Neither, unless insane adults make them so. As to Lod airport - I suspect it's a lot safer from attack by neighbours than Gaza airport. Which would you rather insure?

Some democratic state building an illegal wall and shooting at demonstrators. How shameful. Dutch

The progressive camp should of course keep up the protests, but at the same time, we can note with satisfaction that time is on our side. After almost 40 years of zionist occupation, the colonists have achieved practically nothing: if we look at the map and compare the fence route (existing and planned) with the green line, we see that they are very close. The zionists have gained no territory in Gaza and almost no territory in the West Bank. This is a unique achievement: no other country in the world would have withdrawn from practically everything it gained while defending its existence, and without any agreement to guarantee this existence in the future! Moreover, the zionists have almost no territory at all, when we look at the broader picture in the Middle East. From the Palestinian village of Budrus, their only airport at Lod is only 3 km away, a perfect exposure to bring down airplanes with small cheap rockets after the zionists withdrawal behind the fence.

Well, the story has been updated some. Initially it was "two Israeli policement wounded" now it turns out they hurt 20 demonstrators. The actual route of the wall around the village still isn't mentioned in the update - the wall snakes around the buildings and cuts the villagers off from their land, effectively killing an agricultural village, ensuring it cannot survive on it's own. I'm sure that that was not at all foreseen by the Israeli military planners, just as the same problem - snaking around a village and cutting the agricultural land off from the buildings - was not foreseen when it was planned around dozens of other villages in exactly the same way. Now tell us again how the wall is being built to protect Israelis, and not to steal land and collectively punish Palestinians?

A question I'd like to ask these anti-fence protesters: Considering the fact that the only reason why Israel built the fence in the first place was to stop the nearly daily suicide bombings in 2002 and 2003, I ask you protesters this: Do you ever protest against the suicide bombers who necessitated the Israelis building the fence in the first place or do you just protest against Israel building the fence? Do you put any blame on Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Brigrades for the very existence of the fence or is it all Israel's fault? I really would like some answers from "the other side of the fence".

I hate to admit it, but I agree with Messaoud; not his tiresome pro-Palestinian rhetoric but his assertion that the security fence should be pushed to the '67 borders. Israel has every right to build a protective barrier to protect her citizens from baby-killing terrorists, just like the "Good Fence" between Israel and Lebanon and the fence surrounding Gaza. But such barriers should be built in Israel proper. Here's an idea nobody's come up with: for settlement protection, why doesn't Israel simply build security fences surrounding those communities? Why does it have to be one continuous fence?

Will there be a commission to investigate the police brutality or is that an exclusive right of protesting settlers?

inspite of this. No room for your PolPot experiments.

Uncle Sam, from NY, wants Israel to use more violence to protect the "assets" which Israel grab. As everyone can see from the article & photo, none of the police were hit. That about "Left violence". As to the " military order declaring the area a closed military zone": It is simply illegal. As is the building of the wall on Palestinian lands, instead of on the border/pre-June 1967 ceasefire lines/green line.

The article quotes: "Police sources say the demonstration is simply "an excuse for the local residents to throw rocks at police officers." The best empirical way to test the truth of this statement is to move the APARTHEID WALL to the Green Line. If the demos in Bil'in continue - the Police proves correct... and if not?

The article quotes: "Police sources say the demonstration is simply "an excuse for the local residents to throw rocks at police officers." The best empirical way to test the truth of this statement is to move the APARTHEID WALL to the Green Line. If the demos in Bil'in continue - the Police proves correct... and if not?

Unfortunately your account differs widely from other accounts of eyewitnesses and participants in yesterday's violent confrontation. If you check it out you'll see that at least one protester suffered a fractured skull. Your account describes a very limited action. If you GOOGLE for news of Bil'in you may learn more. Having put "Bil'in" into your paper's SEARCH facility this morning and got no references, I checked back on GOOGLE, remembering that I'd seen my "trusty" Ha'aretz listed there, and it led me to this milk-and-water article. Please tell rather more of the truth - you'll be back next week in Bil'in presumably? Or don't you go there?

You are not a "Palestinian" because they don't exist and you are also not a Christian because then you would know that Israel belongs to the Jews. Your "Bible" is the Koran.

Arabs are occupying Jewish land and should leave. The land belongs to the Jews!

If israel needs some poor farmer's land to make itself secure, why not take it? We will repay him with a few cantalopes. you're not talking about the other 5 percent that support the bombers and killers coming into israel, the bomb factories, hamas, etc. The peaceful protesters should be mad at them (Right???), not at a country trying to protect itself. Whats your solution to that? Are us jews supposed to just allow those sob's in? Where would you prefer the fence be??? and why should we care where you prefer it??? Now, c'mon it was only last year that the frequent bombings slowed down, and why? No, it wasn't because the terrorists became nice guys all of the sudden. Say it with me ... T H E F E N C E

No, the leftists never get it do they. Apartheid? don?t make me laugh. Its not for security? c'mon now, who do you think you're fooling? The fence is the best thing Israel has done in a long time. Keep the savages out!

why aren't the Yassam "soldiers" brought in. The "IRON FIST" policy that was unnecessarily used against the settlers should be used to quell the leftists and arab demonstrators- who are throwing rocks and showing civil disobediance/

why aren't the Yassam "soldiers" brought in. The "IRON FIST" policy that was unnecessarily used against the settlers should be used to quell the leftists and arab demonstrators- who are throwing rocks and showing civil disobediance/

Sam - this is their day job and their hobby. Any demonstration against any act of Israel, and they pop up, the same left-wing fundamentalists. Shimon - I'm 100 % with you. Remember reading in the news a few weeks back, about the Norwegians in Afghanistan. Some Muslims were throwing rocks at them, and they immediately called for back up by F-16's. Didn't hear one single protest then. Imagine the Israelis calling in the air force for every single rock thrown at your soldiers!!!

Efox just to tell you that you are just an ignorant!!!!you seem you need a lot to read and to learn!!!This fence is taking most of the Palestinian lands thats why there are protestors,its not the reason of entering the grrn line.Next time think and read before you write baby!!1

I am wondering how the media play a smart way to convince the people from what is going on ground.For example this Belin and the protestor there are doing a peace demonstration every Friday to support the Belin's land's owners,who lost most of their lands not only to build the annexation wall,but to confesicate most of the village's lands.And today like every Friday,foreigners,Israeli peace activists and Palestinan are protesting peacfuly and the zionist mentality soldiers and commandors are attacking the civil protestors by bullets,rubber bullets,tear gas and beating them without any observations and protection on the human rights in the country ,i am wondering what the role of the international organizations in Palestine are doing here????!!!!!why they are afraid from the Jewish looby to blame them if they have the evidence to object and stop this lobby??????Israel is a real democratic country to give orders to kill !!!!!!

Week in and week out, Israeli thugs attack Muslims, Christians, and Jews demonstrating non-violently against the wall that steals Palestinian land and prevents Palestinians from reaching their hospitals, fields, and schools. What Israel and the U.S. don't want people to know is that the struggle against the occupation is mostly non-violent. Tens of thousands demonstrate and throw rocks every month, and Israel retaliates with bullets, as always.

Then stay on the other side of it. Fences are entirely passive defense systems. They only affect people who want to cross them with contraband or weapons. Anyone who has an ethical reason to cross may do so at assigned checkpoints and wait in line just like everybody else in the world. I propose left wing protestors be deported to Saudi Arabia in order to give them a little perspective.

Exactly how many protestors were injured? 10? 20? 50? Were some shot with rubber-coated bullets at close range? Usual one-sidedness from the Israeli press...

if the wall isnt for security, why didnt israel put it up before?? Why only AFTER terrorists continued to kill innocent civilians?? Its the same with roadblocks. Which came first the terror or the raodblocks and walls? The naswer, qute simply, is arab terror. If they werent terrorits, there wouldnt be a wall. They brought it upon themselves when they decided to kill people.

the real extremist in israel are those who throw rocks at the army trying to protect its citizens. The left wing protesters are no differnet than terrorits....trying to prevent the safety of innocent vcivilaions adnd they should all be ashamed and arrested

And the Left Wing calls Settlers Violent. I guess these left wing activist don't have day jobs?

... when a policeman is hurt, it's normal and when a protester is, you call it police violence and undermining of democracy ? Once and for all : protesters can be and often are violent and police violence is the logical and only available answer to that violence.

The wall is not for security reasons as it is often falsely claimed, it is intended to impose a reality on the Palestinians, eating out their farms, destroying their villages, deviding their families, and suffocating them in ghettoes, thus preventing a viable Palestinian state. The wall must come down... and pushed to the 1967 borders... and this time, let the Israeli taxpayer fit the bill, not the US taxpayer.