Kufr Qaddoum, Occupied West Bank – This village in the northern occupied West Bank has held protests every weekend for the past 10 years against the expropriation of nearly 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of land for an illegal Israeli settlement.
During last Friday’s protest, four Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets, and dozens of others were treated for tear gas inhalation.
Village spokesman Murad Shteiwi told Al Jazeera that Israeli soldiers invaded homes and snipers shot at demonstrators from the rooftops of some houses.
The protest started with a peaceful march towards the settlement but ended in violent confrontations between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian youth who hurled stones.
“They took our land away, including olive orchards and a road that bypasses the settlement and on which we used to travel to Nablus, the nearest commercial centre,” said Shteiwi, one of the organisers of the Friday-Saturday protests.
“This has forced all the villagers to travel a much longer and circuitous route to reach Nablus, which takes more time and fuel,” Shteiwi added.
While the protests take place twice a week, Shteiwi said other demonstrations break out regularly when Israeli soldiers raid the village and invade homes during the night.
“We first started holding protests every Friday but after Israel carried out a policy of collective punishment, targeting homes and all the villagers – including women, children and the elderly – we decided to send a message to the Israeli authorities that their strategy wouldn’t work and that nothing would stop us,” he added.
Paying a high price
Palestinian residents of Kufr Qaddoum have paid a high price for their resistance to the Israeli occupation.
At least 170 people have been arrested and several hundred people shot with live ammunition and rubber-coated steel rounds, according to locals.
“Three of the serious cases involving rubber bullets included one person who lost their eye, his uncle shot in the head, and a 15-year-old child shot by an Israeli sniper with the rubber bullet causing his skull to fracture and subsequent brain damage,” said Shteiwi.
