Palestinian political leader tear gassed in Bil'in

Saturday 11th July

Mustafa al Barghouthi, leader of the 'third way' political party the Palestinian National Initiative and a member of the Palestinian parliament, was amongst dozens of demonstrators treated for tear gas inhalation at Bil'in on Friday.

Demonstrations are held regularly on Fridays in the West Bank village, which is close to the Israeli Separation Wall and has lost land to the Wall and settlements. They are routinely met with an armed response, and a number of unarmed protesters have been killed or injured by rubber-coated bullets or high-velocity tear gas canisters. Amongst them is Tristan Anderson, an American human rights observer who remains in a coma since March 2009.

On this occasion, villagers reported that the Israeli army used a foul-smelling gas known locally as Darban, which causes vomiting and disorientation, as well as sounds grenades, tear gas and rubber-coated bullets.

Dr Barghouthi was one of a number of Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) leadership attending this week's demonstration as part of events celebrating the seventh anniversary of the organisation's founding. The PNI (al-Mubadara al-Wataniyya al-Filistiniyya) was established in 2002 to provide an alternative to the alleged corruption of Fatah and extremism of Hamas.

According to Iyad Burnat, co-founder of local pressure group Friends of Freedom and Justice – Bilin, this week was also the fifth anniversary of a ruling by the International Court of Justice which declared that the Israeli Separation Wall breaks international law. He also reported that earlier in the week, eight villagers and an international supporter of the campaign had been arrested by Israeli troops entering Bil'in at night. International human rights observers were said to have responded by carrying out nightly patrols of the village to warn of further incursions.

Sarah Irving is a freelance writer specialising in social and environmental issues and the Middle East.