Bil'in
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| Bil'in | ||
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| Arabic | بلعين | |
| Government | Village Council | |
| Governorate | Ramallah & al-Bireh | |
| Population | 1,800 (2006[1]) | |
| Jurisdiction | 3,983 dunams (4.0 km²) | |
Bil'in (Arabic: بلعين) is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located approximately 12 kilometers (7 mi) west of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. It is adjacent to the Israeli West Bank barrier and the Israeli settlement of Modi'in Illit. After the Six-Day War in 1967, Bil'in was occupied Israel, 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 National Authority.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bil'in is home to approximately 1,800 mostly Muslim inhabitants,[1] most of whom are employed in the field of agriculture. It is considered an ideological stronghold of the secular Palestinian political organization, Fatah, and many employees of the Palestinian Authority, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, reside there.
[edit] West Bank barrier protests
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. A new neighborhood of the Modi'in Illit settlement is being constructed on part of this land.[2] The settlements in Bil'in are being built by well-known Israeli businessmen Lev Leviev and Shaya Boymelgreen. According to leftists, the intrusive path of the wall in Bil'in on Palestinian land deep inside the West Bank, as in many other locations, has been built to accommodate settlement expansion and the economic interests of major Israeli developers like Leviev [3][4].
Since January 2005, the village has been orchestrating non-violent 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 rubber coated steel bullets. 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.
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. A second international conference on nonviolent resistance was hosted by the village of Bil'in in April, 2007.[5]
On April 20, 2007, a Puerto Rican activist known as Tito Kayak climbed a surveillance tower near the separation barrier from Israel to plant a Palestinian flag in support of their people. Noble Peace laureate Mairead Corrigan, who won the prize in 1976 for her work in encouraging a peaceful solution to the Northern Ireland dispute, was also hurt that day when she was hit in the leg by a rubber coated steel bullet and was transferred to a hospital for treatment. She was also said to have inhaled large quantities of teargas.
On September 4, 2007 the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the government to redraw the path of the wall because the current route was "highly prejudicial" to the villagers of Bil'in. Chief Justice Dorit Beinish wrote in the ruling, "We were not convinced that it is necessary for security-military reasons to retain the current route that passes on Bilin’s lands.". The case was filed about two years ago by the local council leader of Bilin, Ahmed Issa Abdullah Yassin; he hired a prominent Israeli human rights lawyer, Michael Sfard, to argue the brief. The Israeli Defence Ministry has indicated that they will respect the ruling.[6][7] On September 5, 2007, in a second decision that received little media coverage outside of Israel, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled to legalize the Israeli settlement of Mattiyahu East, built on a disputed portion of Bil'in's land to the west of the wall,[8] despite evidence of the illegality of the settlement of Mattiyahu East, even under Israeli law.[9] This allows hundreds of residence to retain their homes from the now bankrupt Heftzibah construction giant. Modiin Illit Council Head Yakov Gutterman said, “We will do everything to ease the suffering of the residents who have already suffered too much, so they can quickly settle into their homes in the easiest way possible, while receiving full municipal services.”[10] The village of Bil'in has vowed to continue its non-violent resistance against the wall and settlements on its land, and offered its support and experience to other villages which are resisting Israel's separation barrier and illegal settlements.[11]
On June 6, 2008 a European Parliament vice-president Luisa Morgantini was injured when Israeli soldiers attacked a group of non-violent activists in Bil'in.[12]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- ^ a b Projected Mid -Year Population for Ramallah & Al Bireh Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
- ^ Bil'in, a village in Palestine: Discover Bil'in. International Solidarity Movement. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
- ^ Offshore Zionism. New Left Review. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Under the Guise of Security. B'Tselem Behaymos. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Bil'in Conference 2007. International Solidarity Movement against Israel. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Asser, Martin (2007-09-05). West Bank village hails victory. BBC News. BBC MMVII. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
- ^ New York Times
- ^ High Court: Controversial settlement neighborhood to remain in place. Ha'aretz. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Planning council approves illegal West Bank building plan. Ha'aretz. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF MODIIN ILLIT RESIDENTS. Kosher.com. Retrieved on 2008-28-11.
- ^ Khatib, Mohammed. Bil'in will continue to struggle against the wall and settlements. Zmag. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7440743.stm
- Official website
- Account of Injury
- International Solidarity Movement article about the 2005 conference
- Article on 2005 protests
- Youtube film by Imad Burnat about Bil'in demo on Oct., 4, 2007, and subsequent detention of 11-old juvenile delinquent boy by Israeli soldiers
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