Bil'in

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Bil'in (Arabic: بلعين‎) is a village in the West Bank Palestinian territories.

It is located 12 kilometres west of Ramallah district, adjacent to the Israeli West Bank barrier and the Israeli settlement of Modi'in Illit. After the 1967 War, Bil'in passed to Israeli control along with the rest of the West Bank, though after the 1995 signing of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, it has been administered by the Palestinian Authority.

Bil'in is home to approximately 1,600, most of whom are employed in the field of agriculture. It is considered an ideological stronghold of the Fatah, and many employees of the Palestinian Authority, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, reside there.

[edit] West Bank barrier protests

Israeli soldiers and protesters at Bil'in

Bil'in, which is located 4 kilometers east of the Green Line, has become internationally known due to its proximity to the Israeli West Bank barrier, and its continuing protests against the barrier's construction on its land. The barrier separates the village from around 60 percent of its farming land.^{[citation needed]} A new neighborhood of the Modi'in Illit settlement is being constructed on part of this land, however the developers claim that they legally purchased the land from the villagers^{[citation needed]}.

Since January 2005, the village has been orchestrating weekly protests against the barrier's construction. The protests have attracted a great deal of media attention, as well as the participation of left-wing Israeli groups, such as Gush Shalom, Anarchists Against the Wall and international activists, such as the International Solidarity Movement.

The weekly protests usually take the form of marches from the village to the site the barrier with the aim of halting construction, and sometimes involve attempts to dismantle already constructed portions. The Israel Border Police and Israeli Army claim to disperse the protests using tear gas, stun grenades, and plastic bullets only after the immediate area of the fence is violated or stones are thrown kismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=2901. Bil'in's protest committee claims to follow principles of Civil disobedience, and says that the stone throwing is carried out by other members of the village, and sometimes by Israeli agents provocateurs.

Several protesters, including Israelis, as well as members of the Israeli Security Forces, have been injured at the protests.

The protests also have clear non-violent components. In July 2005, several activists entered a metal box manufactured to totally envelope their bodies. The box was placed on the barrier's route, and successfully halted its construction for a short time. Another example was the founding of an "outpost," often associated with Israeli settlements, on the other side of the barrier.

There were serious clashes between protesters and Israeli forces in the village on 2 September 2005, and again in March 2006. A solidarity conference took place in the village on February 20-21 2006.