Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire suffered tear gas inhalation while participating in a nonviolent protest in Bil’in, a village located near Ramallah in the Occupied West Bank. Maguire was in Bil’in to participate in the third annual International Conference on Non-Violent Popular Struggles. Despite the incident, Maguire remains optimistic about the future of Israel and Palestine. “It was a very inspiring conference and I believe the grassroots nonviolent resistance movement of Palestinians, Israelis and international activists can give hope for the future of Israel and Palestine,” said Maguire. More than 300 individuals took part in this year’s event, including local Palestinians, Israelis and international dignitaries.

On 6 June, the final day of the conference, participants took part in the weekly march to the construction site of the apartheid wall that has annexed almost 60% of the village’s land. During the march Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets at the group. Several people suffered injuries. Maguire and Vice President of the European Parliament Louisa Morgantini were among those who suffered gas inhalation.

Friday’s incident marks the second time Maguire has been confronted with violence during non-violent protests in Bil’in. In April 2007, while joining the Bil’in Peoples Committee on their weekly march to the wall, she was struck in the leg by a rubber-coated bullet.

For the past three years villagers from Bil’in, along with international and Israeli peace activists, have gathered in weekly non-violent opposition to the apartheid wall. Bil’in has become an international symbol both of the occupation of land across Palestine and of the power of non-violent grassroots movements in building local and international resistance to Occupation.

LEARN MORE

Download Maguire’s statement to the Bil’in International Conference on Non-Violent Popular Struggles. June 2008.
Watch video of Third Annual International Conference on Non-Violent Popular Struggles, here.
Find out more about Bil’in at the Bil’in Village website at www.bilin-village.org.
For regular updates on Bi’lin, visit the Friends of Freedom and Justice – Bilin.
European Dignitaries Injured in Bil’in. Haaretz.com, 8 June 2008.