Tomorrow, August 4th, 2006, at 1pm the people of Bil’in and their Israeli and international supporters will demonstrate against the Apartheid Wall and settlements. They will march to the wall carrying a black flag as a sign of mourning for the people who have died, numbering over 1,000 in Gaza and Lebanon in the past few weeks.
The Palestinian Human Rights Center reports that 174 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli offensive began June 25th, and al-Jazeera reports that over 900 Lebanese have been killed since the Israeli aggression began July 13th. Since January 2005 Bil’in villagers have demonstrated at least once every week against the wall and settlements. Even as the wall was built and completed they continue their non-violent protests despite continuous Israeli military aggression.
For more information call:
Abdullah: 054 725 8210
Mohammed: 054 557 3285
ISM Media Office: 02 297 1824
Today, Friday July 28th, the people of Bil’in in conjunction with Israelis and international supporters marched to the Apartheid wall carrying a coffin draped in the Palestinian and Lebanese flags. On the side of the coffin it read “the New Middle East”, referring to the announcement that Condolezza Rice made that “It is time for a new Middle East”, which followed a transfer of precision-guided missles from the US to Israel. A Palestinian activist with ISM explained that, “This US manufactured plan for peace in the New Middle East will die, just as all the plans before it that the US and Israeli tried to impose on the Middle East: the Road Map, Oslo, etc.”
One-hundred people demonstrated through the village on a different route to the regular demonstration, chanting and wearing red paint on their clothes as a symbol of the Palestinians and Lebanese that have been killed as Israel implements its new plan for the Middle East. The Popular Committee quickly decided to change the route of the march due to the fact that Israeli soldiers were already stationed along the road and within the trees that the marchers usually follow. Instead they chose a path used by farmers and shepherds and reached the wall at a less fortified spot at the bottom of the hill from the gate.
The people carrying the coffin laid it on the barbed wire that is the first of two fences that make up the Apartheid Wall going through Bil’in. Eyad Bournat, of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, climbed up on it in attempt to lay down on the coffin and immediately soldiers threw sound bombs at the crowd. Demonstrators backed away from the barbed wire but the soldiers continued to throw bombs one after another. Abdullah Abu Rahme, also of the Popular Committee, was hit with a sound bomb on his foot and sustained moderate injuries.
The march continued up the steep hill towards the gate in the wall as soldiers fired sound bombs and rubber bullets. The marchers reached the road near the top of the hill and found many soldiers stationed inside the gate and in the trees above them. The Popular Committee decided to march back to the village so that the army could not take advantage of the demonstrators. “We must be very careful,” Mohammed Khatib, from the popular committee, said. “Four internationals were killed in Lebanon and the Israeli military is allowed to claim that they didn’t do it on purpose because everyone believes them.”
Since Israel’s aggression towards Lebanon and Gaza began, the military has stepped up their violence towards protesters in Bil’in as was evident today because they were poised to strike demonstrators from all directions. In addition, the war in Lebanon has drawn media attention away from non-violent protests and today there were only a few, making it also more dangerous for protesters without the media attention.
Although the demonstration was shorter than normal, the continuation of these protests has had a positive affect on the Supreme Court Cases that Bil’in has filed. On July 25th the Supreme Court ruled on HCJ 143/06, reinforcing their previous order to halt construction of the settlement Matityahu East and stop residents from moving in to empty apartments. They also ruled that pockets of the land on which settlement buildings stand belongs to residents of Bil’in and that the real estate company can demolish buildings to return the land to its previous state. The court also ruled that there must be a public road for walking and cars to connect the village with the pockets of land inside the settlement because residents of the Bil’in have the right to be there according to the Israeli courts. In June, families of Bil’in moved into these buildings that are built on their land to call attention to their land being stolen, but were evicted by the Israeli police soon after. Khatib announced to demonstrators after the demonstration, “We will keep struggling and these direct actions have put pressure on the court, which we have won a small victory in recently and hopefully we will have more victories in the court decisions to come.”
CLARIFYING NOTE, 29th July: This court decision is a temporary injunction. Retroactive permission to build the settlement (which was started without permission) is still being sought by the construction company.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A victory for the Palestinian villagers of Bil’in came down from the Israeli High Court of Justice yesterday. In HCJ 143/06 the Court ruled that while the Court is considering the legality of the Matityahu East settlement, being constructed on Bil’in land, the ban on new construction and new residents moving in must remain in effect. This temporary decision, by fully enforcing the ban, solidifies the remarkable status of Bil’in activists, who have now successfully prevented planned settlement construction for 7 months – a singular feat in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank.
Furthermore, the Court ruled that demolition of settlement constructions can proceed in certain enclaves of Matityahu East in an attempt to return the land to its pre-settlement, vegetated state. This is significant because not only have Bil’in activists succeeded in halting the settlement construction, but, even more, they have forced the state of Israel to demolish structures in recognition of the fact that the land on which the settlement is built was illegally annexed.
This victory is the result of years of dedicated non-violent activism on the part of the villagers of Bil’in and their international and Israeli allies. Resistance to the Israeli confiscation of Bil’in land began when in 1991 the State of Israel appropriated around 1100 dunums (275 acres) of Bil’in farmers’ land. At the time, the confiscation was justified by reference to an old Ottoman-era law allowing for confiscation of unused land. Much later, it was revealed that in order to demonstrate that the coveted land was “unused,” the State made use of photos of seasonal crop farm land taken when the crops were not yet in season. More than a decade after the confiscation, settlements began to be built, following a typical pattern of settlement expansion, whereby, first, Palestinian land is declared State property and then eventually given out to Israelis. As a consequence, weekly non-violent demonstrations began in Bil’in. These demonstrations, in existence weekly since January 2005, garnered international attention and support, making a protracted legal campaign challenging the settlement’s legality a possibility. Tuesday’s decision, while by no means the end of the struggle for justice in Bil’in or countless places elsewhere in the West Bank, is a testament to the power of this creative direct action.
For more information call:
Mohammed Khatib, 0545573285
Today, July 21, 2006, the people of Bil’in marched in silence to the Apartheid Wall with the support of Israelis and internationals. The weekly march turned into a mourner’s procession as two hundred and fifty demonstrators carried a 20 meter long black flag as a symbol of the over 425 Palestinians and Lebanese killed in recent weeks. They also carried posters with the message “Is this the world we want for our children?”. To download a poster for printing and posting click here For PDF.
The demonstrators gathered in front of the Wall and held a moment of silence and prayer for those killed in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and the West Bank. The normal celebratory tone of the demonstration was replaced with one of somberness and grief. After the moment of silence the procession marched back to Bil’in without any violent response from the Israeli army.
Mohammed Al Khateeb of the Popular Committee of Bil’in stated, “We are protesting against the Israeli military aggression that targets innocent civilians and infrastructure”. He explained the tape that many people wore over their mouths, “We are against the Arab and International apathy and silence towards the ongoing Israeli violations of human rights”.
Al Khateeb also called on the Palestinian, Israeli, and international peace activists to continue to protest, in Palestine, in Israel, and around the world, against the Israeli attacks and violations.
After the demonstration Israelis and internationals joined people of Bil’in in a discussion about the non-violent joint struggle in Bil’in and new strategies of working together and resisting. Israelis and internationals also took posters to place in Israel and to send abroad.
This Friday, July 21st at 1pm, the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements along with Israeli and international supporters will carry a massive 20-meter black flag in a silent protest to the site of the Apartheid Wall. They will demand an answer from Israel and its military for the question “Is this the world we want for our children?”. The mourner’s march will proceed to the wall where the demonstrators will hold a minute of silence and read prayers in memory of the dead in Lebanon and Gaza.
The procession will be followed by an open meeting of Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals to discuss the ongoing bloodshed.
The event also signifies the launch of a world-wide poster campaign against the ongoing violence. “Signed, sealed, and delivered – from Israeli children to Lebanese & Gazan children” read the posters that supporters will unveil alongside photos of Israeli children signing artillery shells and the destruction they rain upon innocent civilians.
July 24th, 1pm at Bil’in Village.
For more information please call:
Abdullah Abu Rahme: 054 725 8210
Mohammad Khatib: 054 5573285
Iyad Burnat: 054 7847 942
ISM Media office: 02 297 1824 or 0599 943 157
