Yesterday, some of ISMers went to Kafr Kaddum, where again there were clashes between the Israeli military and the boys and young men from the village.
The villagers came to their road, and they saw the Israeli soldiers hiding in the bushes, and two military vehicles on the road. Some of the people began to throw rocks at them, most of them using slingshots.
Shaul, the Israeli Jewish activist who I have so far seen at every Kafr Kaddum demo I had went to, was standing at always with his megaphone, yelling to the soldiers that they are illegally occupying Palestinian land and that if they want to avoid the rocks, they should leave the village, and all of the West Bank. He and some other activists chanted "the people, united, will never be defeated".
The military sent in a skunk truck, and tried to spray the demonstrators with the smelly liquid. It wasn't very successful, and the clashes continued.
Afterwards, they unleashed an enormous barrage of teargas. The cannisters fell down everywhere, unleashing their CS content. Some of us were caught in the middle of it, and I got more of a dose than ever before. It's hard to even begin to explain the pain of what feels like hot smoke in your lungs and nose and mouth and chest, and the panic that sets in as your brain begins to tell you that you are unable to breathe. This is especially true if you get caught up in a teargas cloud, and can only see white all around you.
The protocol is to keep your head down, take small breaths, and move quickly but don't run- there are two reasons for this. The first reason is that when you run, you inhale more than normal, and that means taking in more of the gas. The second is to not trip and fall, or get hit by the metal cannisters that are falling from above. They are not heavy and move at a relatively slow speed, but they can be hot. For this reason, many of us wear backpacks when we go to demos. If you cover your back and head and keep your hands from flailing and move relatively carefully- and have no pre-existing health conditions or are too old or too young- you should be fine.
One teargas cannister slightly grazed my wrist and it was slightly bruised last night but now it is completely fine. Another few, however, crashed into a backyard and caused the grass to be set on fire. Fortunately, the flames were put out before doing any damage to the house. Most of the shebab who were fighting the army were not on the road where I and most of the other internationals and Israelis were, but in the fields. Although we got teargassed quite a bit on the road, the vast majority of the barrage was directed at them. The fact there were also houses in the area from where no one was throwing rocks did not concern the soldiers too much,
The gas slightly temporarily succeeded in chasing the shebab away, but they came back,
A while later the soldiers tried to use a bulldozer to plow through those of them who were on the road, but again, a barrage of rocks made it retreat.
There was rock throwing for another few minutes, and then, as quickly as the fighting started, it stopped. The leader of the demo called for a halt, and the people walked back. The Army didn't seem to have any taste for continued fighting either and instead of attempting an invasion of the village, they let the people walk away. Fortunately, there was no rubber coated or live ammunition fired, and no one got hurt.
The clashes today, like those that take place in Kafr Kaddum every Friday and now it seems Saturdays also, are completely unnecessary. The people in the village do not hate Israelis or Jews... I have been only to three demos there but have yet to see one where there aren't Israelis or Jews who are welcomed warmly by the people and are demonstrating alongside them*.
They are only fighting for their road, something that was stolen from them. All that the Army and settlers have to do is give it back. Hopefully one day, common sense will prevail.
*There are of course some Palestinians who hate Jewish people- most I believe because of Israel's crimes, and probably there are also some who are just plain racist and would be regardless of the situation... racism exists in every society in the world, it is unfortunately as old as history itself. In Hebron some of the kids unfortunately do associate all Israelis and even all Jews, with the occupation. Most Palestinians I speak to in that city of course do not, and draw a distinction between the average Jewish person and the soldier or settler with a gun. Those who do not make this distinction are a minority.
In Kafr Kaddum and other villages, however, I have not seen this sentiment expressed by anyone.
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