Ni'lin
Encyclopedia
Ni'lin is a Palestinian
town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
in the central West Bank
, located 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) west of Ramallah
. Ni'lin is about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of the 1949 Armistice Line (Green Line) bordered by Deir Qaddis
, the Israeli settlements of Nili
and Na'ale
to the northeast, the village of al-Midya
and Modi'in Illit
(Kiryat Sefer) settlement bloc are to the south, Budrus
(4km) and Qibya
(5km) villages are located to the northwest. The town's total land area consists of approximately 15,000 dunam
s of which 660 is urban. Under the Oslo II
93.3% of town lands has been classed as 'Area C
'.
Most of the town's inhabitants rely on agriculture for income and prior to the outbreak of the Second Intifada, many had jobs in construction in Israel
. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
, the town had a population of approximately 4,750 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.
Situated 262 meters (860 feet) above sea level, Ni'lin has mild winters and hot, dry summers with temperatures averaging 32°C (88°F) during the day.
. It has been estimated that the completion of the barrier will remove ⅓ of Ni'lin's land.
In the first of escalating incidents at the anti-barrier protest demonstrations led to the fatal shooting of 10-year-old Ahmed Moussa on 29 July 2008. The incident occurred when a group of mostly teenage boys had gone to the barrier construction site outside Ni'ilin, where there were no security personnel, the boys began removing razor wire. A preliminary Israeli police probe has found that Israeli border policemen used live ammunition to disperse the group and that one of the bullets likely killed 10 year old Ahmed Moussa. During the demonstration 15 others were injured by rubber coated steel bulets. The funeral of Ahmed Moussa was marred by a distinct up-swing in violence. The permanent stationing of a Border Police force, ordered by OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Gadi Shamni
, on the outskirts of the village where the daily demonstrations are held, infuriated marchers in the funeral procession. Yousef Ahmed Younis Amera, (18), was declared brain dead in a Ramallah
hospital on Wednesday 30 July 2008 after being shot in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet and finally died on Monday 4 August 2008. On the 5 August 2008 Israeli police said that they had detained a border policeman and placed him under house arrest in connection with the death of 10 year old Ahmed Moussa.
In the second week of August 2008 Twenty-two unarmed civilians (including eight children) were shot with metal-coated rubber bullets at protests in Ni'lin and Bil'in villages (Ramallah). Israeli forces in the occupied territories have begun using a new method of crowd control in Ni'lin. A mix of weak sewage water with animal manure and chemicals has been nicknamed "skunk
", due to its powerful smell, the mix induces vomiting when sprayed on demonstrators.
On 28 December, during a demonstration against the Israeli assault on Gaza that had started the previous day, Mohamed Khawaja (19) was shot in the head by the Israeli military, and Arafat Khawaja (22) was shot in the back. Mohamed Srour was shot in the leg. Arafat died on the scene while Mohamed Khawaja was declared braindead in hospital and died on 31 December. These incidents were brought to the attention of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
by witnesses Mohamed Srour and Jonathan Pollak
at the Mission's Public Hearings in Geneva on 5 July 2009.
The regular clashes here came more sharply into the international spotlight when an U.S. Citizen named Tristan Anderson, of Oakland, California
was struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces on 13 March 2009, during demonstrations against the barrier. The impact caused massive damage to Andersons frontal lobe, and to his eye. Even after several brain surgeries, the 38 year old Anderson is being kept in a medically induced coma in a Tel Aviv hospital.
On 5 June 2009, Yousef Aqel Srour (36) was shot with 0.22 caliber live ammunition during a demonstration. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital in Ramallah.
On 6 November 2009, activists marking the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall managed to topple a small part of the wall that cuts through the village's land; the first time Palestinian demonstrators succeeded in toppling a part of Israel's concrete barrier.
In March 2010, the Israeli army designated Ni'lin, (together with nearby village Bilin
), as closed military area each Friday. This was to last until August, 2010.
) detainee's arm while the subordinate shoots the detainee in the foot. A second polygraph test on Tuesday 29 July 2008 has cast doubts on the testimony of Lt. Col Borberg. After meeting with OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot
, Borberg agreed to take a 10-day leave of absence while IDF Judge Advocate-General (JAG) Brig.-Gen. Avichai Mandelblitt made the decision of whether or not to press charges against the battalion commander. The Battalion commander was accused by the army of "severe moral failure", is to be reassigned to another post and will face the relatively minor charge of "unworthy conduct". Israeli human rights groups B'Tselem
, Yesh Din
, the Association for Civil Rights, and the Public Committee Against Torture have criticized the Israeli army's disciplining of Borberg as lenient and have asked the Israeli military Judge Advocate General suspend legal proceedings against both the lieutenant colonel involved and Staff Sergeant "L" who fired the shot to enable a challenge to be mounted against the decision to charge the two with the relatively light offense of “inappropriate conduct”. The Ha'aretz editorial comments that:
On 19 August 2008 the Military hearing against Borberg and Staff Sergeant "L" was suspended following the B'Tselem petition. On 28 September the Israeli high court asked the JAG to reconsider the charges against Borberg and Staff Sergeant "L".
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It covers a large part of the central West Bank, on the northern border of the Jerusalem Governorate. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of al-Bireh.According to the Palestinian Central...
in the central West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, located 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) west of Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
. Ni'lin is about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of the 1949 Armistice Line (Green Line) bordered by Deir Qaddis
Deir Qaddis
Deir Qaddis is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, located sixteen kilometers west of Ramallah. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of approximately 1,942 inhabitants in 2007. The town consists of...
, the Israeli settlements of Nili
Nili, West Bank
Nili is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank located east of Modi'in, a few hundred meters from the Palestinian village of Deir Qaddis, 3.8 kilometers east of the Green line. The mainly secular Jewish community with a population of 846 was established in 1981...
and Na'ale
Na'ale
Na'ale is a communal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located near Modi'in, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council...
to the northeast, the village of al-Midya
Al-Midya
al-Midya is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the northern West Bank, located 20 kilometers west of Ramallah. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of over 1,301 inhabitants in 2007.Al-Midya's total land area was...
and Modi'in Illit
Modi'in Illit
Modi'in Illit is a Haredi Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank, situated midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Modi'in Illit was granted city status by the Israeli government in 2008. It is located six kilometres northeast of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut and is often referred to as Kiryat...
(Kiryat Sefer) settlement bloc are to the south, Budrus
Budrus
Budrus is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 31 kilometers Northwest of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , the town had a population of 1,399 inhabitants in 2007."Budrus" is Arabic for "Peter" and in...
(4km) and Qibya
Qibya
Qibya is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, located northwest of Ramallah and exactly north of the large Israeli city of Modi'in. It is part of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, and according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of approximately 4,901 in...
(5km) villages are located to the northwest. The town's total land area consists of approximately 15,000 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s of which 660 is urban. Under the Oslo II
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also known as the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, the Interim Agreement, Oslo 2, Oslo II, and Taba, was a key and complex agreement governing several aspects of the Palestinian territories of Gaza Strip and the West Bank.-History:It...
93.3% of town lands has been classed as 'Area C
Administrative divisions of the Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords created three temporary distinct administrative divisions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip until a final status accord would be established...
'.
Most of the town's inhabitants rely on agriculture for income and prior to the outbreak of the Second Intifada, many had jobs in construction in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....
, the town had a population of approximately 4,750 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.
Situated 262 meters (860 feet) above sea level, Ni'lin has mild winters and hot, dry summers with temperatures averaging 32°C (88°F) during the day.
Barrier protests
The residents of Ni'lin and international activists, have been staging weekly demonstrations against a nearby expansion of the Israeli West Bank barrierIsraeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
. It has been estimated that the completion of the barrier will remove ⅓ of Ni'lin's land.
In the first of escalating incidents at the anti-barrier protest demonstrations led to the fatal shooting of 10-year-old Ahmed Moussa on 29 July 2008. The incident occurred when a group of mostly teenage boys had gone to the barrier construction site outside Ni'ilin, where there were no security personnel, the boys began removing razor wire. A preliminary Israeli police probe has found that Israeli border policemen used live ammunition to disperse the group and that one of the bullets likely killed 10 year old Ahmed Moussa. During the demonstration 15 others were injured by rubber coated steel bulets. The funeral of Ahmed Moussa was marred by a distinct up-swing in violence. The permanent stationing of a Border Police force, ordered by OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Gadi Shamni
Gadi Shamni
Aluf Gadi Shamni is a general in the Israel Defense Forces and current Israel's military attaché in the United States.In 1977 Shamni was drafted into the Paratroopers Brigade, which he stayed in for much of his early career. In 2001 he was promoted to Brigadier General and in 2005 to Major General...
, on the outskirts of the village where the daily demonstrations are held, infuriated marchers in the funeral procession. Yousef Ahmed Younis Amera, (18), was declared brain dead in a Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
hospital on Wednesday 30 July 2008 after being shot in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet and finally died on Monday 4 August 2008. On the 5 August 2008 Israeli police said that they had detained a border policeman and placed him under house arrest in connection with the death of 10 year old Ahmed Moussa.
In the second week of August 2008 Twenty-two unarmed civilians (including eight children) were shot with metal-coated rubber bullets at protests in Ni'lin and Bil'in villages (Ramallah). Israeli forces in the occupied territories have begun using a new method of crowd control in Ni'lin. A mix of weak sewage water with animal manure and chemicals has been nicknamed "skunk
Skunk (weapon)
"Skunk" is a malodorant, non-lethal weapon used for crowd control by the Israeli Defense Forces. Deriving its name from the animal of the same name, "Skunk" is dispersed as a form of mist, fired from a water cannon, which leaves a terrible odor of rot or sewage on whatever it touches. It does not...
", due to its powerful smell, the mix induces vomiting when sprayed on demonstrators.
On 28 December, during a demonstration against the Israeli assault on Gaza that had started the previous day, Mohamed Khawaja (19) was shot in the head by the Israeli military, and Arafat Khawaja (22) was shot in the back. Mohamed Srour was shot in the leg. Arafat died on the scene while Mohamed Khawaja was declared braindead in hospital and died on 31 December. These incidents were brought to the attention of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, known as the Goldstone Report, was a team established in April 2009 by the United Nations Human Rights Council during the Gaza War as an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate alleged violations of international...
by witnesses Mohamed Srour and Jonathan Pollak
Jonathan Pollak
Jonathan Pollak is an Israeli anarchist and graphic designer who grew up in Tel Aviv and lives in Jaffa. Pollak was amongst the founders of the radical Israeli group Anarchists Against the Wall, which is one of the most active groups of the Israeli radical left.Previous to the formation of...
at the Mission's Public Hearings in Geneva on 5 July 2009.
The regular clashes here came more sharply into the international spotlight when an U.S. Citizen named Tristan Anderson, of Oakland, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
was struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces on 13 March 2009, during demonstrations against the barrier. The impact caused massive damage to Andersons frontal lobe, and to his eye. Even after several brain surgeries, the 38 year old Anderson is being kept in a medically induced coma in a Tel Aviv hospital.
On 5 June 2009, Yousef Aqel Srour (36) was shot with 0.22 caliber live ammunition during a demonstration. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital in Ramallah.
On 6 November 2009, activists marking the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall managed to topple a small part of the wall that cuts through the village's land; the first time Palestinian demonstrators succeeded in toppling a part of Israel's concrete barrier.
In March 2010, the Israeli army designated Ni'lin, (together with nearby village Bilin
Bilin
Bilin may refer to:*Bilin, Mon State, a town in Mon State in Myanmar*Bilin , a type of biological pigment with a tetrapyrrole structure, for example found in bile*Bil'in, a Palestinian village in the West Bank...
), as closed military area each Friday. This was to last until August, 2010.
Omri Borberg
On 7 July 2008 A 17 year-old Salam Kanaan filmed an incident where an Israeli battalion commander (Lt. Col. Omri Borberg of Armored Battalion 71) is filmed holding a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian (Ashraf Abu Rahma of Bil'inBil'in
Bil'in is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, west of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bil'in has a population of 1,800, mostly Muslims.-History:...
) detainee's arm while the subordinate shoots the detainee in the foot. A second polygraph test on Tuesday 29 July 2008 has cast doubts on the testimony of Lt. Col Borberg. After meeting with OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot
Gadi Eizenkot
Aluf Gadi Eizenkot is a Major-General in the Israel Defense Forces.After joining the IDF Eizenkot was assigned to the Golani Brigade, which he himself would eventually command from 1997-8. During that time he received a B.A...
, Borberg agreed to take a 10-day leave of absence while IDF Judge Advocate-General (JAG) Brig.-Gen. Avichai Mandelblitt made the decision of whether or not to press charges against the battalion commander. The Battalion commander was accused by the army of "severe moral failure", is to be reassigned to another post and will face the relatively minor charge of "unworthy conduct". Israeli human rights groups B'Tselem
B'Tselem
B'Tselem is an Israeli non-governmental organization . It calls itself "The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories"...
, Yesh Din
Yesh Din
Yesh Din is an Israeli human rights group providing legal assistance to citizens of the Palestinian territories. Its name comes from a Hebrew phrase meaning “there is law”...
, the Association for Civil Rights, and the Public Committee Against Torture have criticized the Israeli army's disciplining of Borberg as lenient and have asked the Israeli military Judge Advocate General suspend legal proceedings against both the lieutenant colonel involved and Staff Sergeant "L" who fired the shot to enable a challenge to be mounted against the decision to charge the two with the relatively light offense of “inappropriate conduct”. The Ha'aretz editorial comments that:
The opportunity to send a message of total intolerance of shooting a person in shackles has been missed.
On 19 August 2008 the Military hearing against Borberg and Staff Sergeant "L" was suspended following the B'Tselem petition. On 28 September the Israeli high court asked the JAG to reconsider the charges against Borberg and Staff Sergeant "L".