‘Here, women and men stand shoulder to shoulder, in the face of constant harassment by the army.’īack at the demonstration, the children stay under a tree, chanting and singing through a megaphone as the others continue down the hill towards the army. “Nariman and other women in Nabi Saleh are the forefront of this struggle,’ explains Saleh. Instead of protesting, she welcomes a constant stream of activists and well-wishers with small cups of strong black coffee. Men and women, shoulder to shoulderNariman – pictured on the stamp image above – is not permitted to participate in the protest because the Israeli authorities have placed restrictions on her movement on Fridays – she must either stay within the confines of her house or leave the area entirely during the hours of 10.00 am to 5.00 pm. Bassem is at the demonstration with his children, but his wife, Nariman Tamimi, a prominent activist, is not. Today, Bassem tells a young journalist about the importance of demonstrating peacefully. Rushdi was the brother-in-law of Bassem Tamimi, another leader of the struggle, who was previously jailed by Israel for taking part in the demonstrations. “We have also seen hundreds of injuries caused by rubber-coated metal bullets, to people’s upper body and face, including children.” “Then a soldier in the last jeep to leave opened his door and launched a tear gas grenade directly at Mustafa’s face from a close distance.” Mustafa died in hospital two days later.Īs the demonstration continues down the hill, Saleh points to the spot where Rushdi Tamimi, 31, was shot by live ammunition in November 2012. “That day, the army was using excessive force and some people responded by throwing rocks at the army jeeps as they were leaving,” says Saleh. Mustafa Tamimi, 28, was the first, killed in December 2011. Young lives lostSince the demonstrations started in 2009, the village has lost two of its young people. At least one was hit by a rubber-coated metal bullet. His camera has captured the villagers’ struggle for years, like Emad Burnat did for the Oscar-nominated documentary Five Broken Cameras, about Bil’in, another Palestinian village.īilal records the villagers’ persistence, their defiance, and the tragedies that have befallen their people. Bilal Tamimi, his children at his side and a camera over his shoulder, smiles and welcomes them to Nabi Saleh. They also spray it inside people’s homes and on bystanders.”Īlong the road, the villagers march alongside activists who have come from around the world to show their solidarity and support. ‘The army sometimes also sprays villagers’ houses with canons of ‘skunk’ water, which leaves a bad, lingering smell. ‘If the demonstration carries on after that, the army starts using rubber-coated metal bullets and, in some cases live ammunition, against peaceful demonstrators.” They start using them, usually aiming directly at people and their houses, as soon as the protesters reach a certain point.’ Saleh, who has been visiting this place for years, explains: “The soldiers are waiting with tear gas launchers and stun grenades. Three broken camerasThe demonstrators leave the tree’s protective shade and begin marching down the road, chanting slogans and holding placards. Saleh also points out the nearby Israeli army base, and the army jeeps parked by the spring and at the entrance to Nabi Saleh. “Halamish has been encroaching on lands belonging to Nabi Saleh, and another Palestinian village called Deir Nidham, for years.” Saleh points out the settlement’s rows of white buildings on the next hill. ‘Now it’s a tourist site, open only to settlers”. “The spring was once used by the villagers for farming,’ he says.
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 has been out of the villagers’ reach since 2008. On the other side of the fence waits the Israeli army. The people of Nabi Saleh are protesting against the theft of their lands, the loss of their water source and against the Israeli military occupation. They could have been easily mistaken for a group heading out on a family picnic. In the past, people have turned up in clown outfits, masks and superhero costumes. The girls are wearing colourful dresses and are wrapped in Palestinian flags. 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 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.Īs the prayers end, people gather in the shade of a nearby tree. It is noon on a Friday in the West Bank, and the summer sun is burning strong.