Tag: Bil’in

Lethal Flood Caused by Apartheid Wall Construction in Bil’in

UPDATE: At 2.10pm, Eyad Tahar’s dead body was found. See the latest press release at www.palsolidarity.org for more details.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

At 7 am this morning, in a flash flood caused by the annexation barrier near the village of Bil’in two brothers were washed away. A search party is currently attempting to find Eyad Tahar who is still missing, presumed dead. Raad Tahar was found unconscious and has been evacuated to hospital. The Israeli army is currently refusing to let the villager’s search party use their equipment to try and drain the flooded area, which according to the villagers is so high that it is over the level of the olive trees. The army says that the area is part of the wall construction, so the villagers are not allowed to move it.

The earth-works of the illegal Barrier is currently acting as a dam that has flooded the road between the villages of Bil’in and Safa, west of Ramallah.

For more information call:

ISM Media Office: 022 971 824 or 057 572 0754

Bil’in Tries to Bridge Over Troubled Waters

by ISM Media office volunteers

At about 1:20 pm this Friday 31st of March the weekly demonstration against the apartheid barrier in Bil’in set off. As usual, it consisted of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals – about 300 in all. When we got to the fence, we were met by a crowd of about 50 Israeli soldiers, some border police and a special riot squad.

The villagers carried a large-scale metal pot that symbolized the empty food pots of the Palestinians that is caused by two “walls”. The first is a physical wall built by Israel in the West Bank. The second is the new international withdrawal of aid from the Palestinian Authority after the Hamas election victory.

The plan for the day was to use a frame as a bridge in order to be able to get over the gate without touching it. This was in order to get around the fact that Palestinians are often accused of “damaging security property” if they touch the fence or gate – this way we would be able to cross to the stolen land without actually touching the gate.

The soldiers reacted to our arrival by attacking the demonstration with sound bombs and beatings. They also fired a rubber bullet when the bridging frame was brought next to the razor-wire. On a second attempt to bring the frame to the gate they beat the demonstrators who were bringing it there and pushed it away. Towards the end they also shot rubber bullets and tear gas at stone-throwing youth from the village.

Three Israelis, one foreign journalist and one Australian activist were beaten and arrested. The Australian activist might be charged with assaulting a soldier, despite the fact that it was the soldiers assaulting him. Several injuries were sustained by the demonstrators and one journalist was even shot in the back with a rubber bullet.

Palestinians to smash illegal settlement Friday 24th of March

Villagers of Bil’in will use replica judge’s hammers to smash models of Modi’in Elite expansion of Metityahu Mizrah settlement. On Tuesday 21st March the High Court of Justice ordered the state to explain why a criminal investigation should not be opened against those responsible for issuing illegal building permits and why the houses should not be dismantled.

Beit Sira – villagers will hold a demonstration against the annexation barrier that will mean the loss of land to Makabim settlement.

Demonstrations will begin at 12.00.

For more information call:
Beit Sira-Mansur 0545420464
Bil’in- Abdullah 0547-258-210
ISM media office at 02-2971824

Court moves closer to ordering illegal settlement houses razed

By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent
From Haaretz

The High Court of Justice Tuesday gave the state 30 days to explain why houses built illegally in the Matityahu East neighborhood of the Modi’in Ilit settlement should not be demolished.

Justices Aharon Barak, Eliezer Rivlin and Ayala Procaccia also ordered the state to explain why a criminal investigation should not be opened against those responsible for issuing the illegal building permits.

The order was issued against Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, GOC Central Command Yair Naveh, West Bank district police chief Yisrael Yitzhak, the Civil Administration, the planning commission for the territories and the local council of Modi’in Ilit. It was issued in response to a petition by Peace Now demanding a halt to illegal construction in the neighborhood, which was built on lands belonging to the villagers of Bil’in to the east.

The court also upheld an interim injunction barring continued construction both on houses built without permits and on those built with permits issued illegally. In addition, it rejected the state’s proposal that tenants whose houses have been completed be allowed to occupy them.

At a hearing a week ago, the justices suggested that the construction companies reimburse any tenants who had purchased apartments in the project. Some 750 housing units are currently under various stages of construction, out of about 3,000 units planned.

“The Matityahu East affair is the most extensive violation of planning laws in the West Bank that has been discovered to date,” Peace Now’s lawyer, Michael Sfard, said Tuesday night. “At Amona, we asked that nine houses be demolished. Here, we’re talking about close to 500. This will be a test of whether the State of Israel is capable of dealing with its offenders.”

Israeli Supreme Court: State Must Defend why Settlement Expansion Near Bil’in Should not be Demolished

On the 21st of March the Israeli State and other parties were ordered to respond to a petition filed by Peace Now and head of the Council of Bil’in.

Defendants must convince the Court that construction plans for the illegal Matityahu East settlement should not be annulled. They must also explain why demolition orders should not be issued and a criminal investigation opened against those involved.

Judges wrote, “the State should refer, in its response among others, to the question whether a criminal investigation in the issue concerned was started, and how the State intends to act in this context.” The respondents were given 30 days to file their responses.

Bil’in villagers have waged an extensive media campaign to publicize Israel’s activity. The court order was made following a March 15 hearing of the petition (HCJ 143/06) against the expansion of the Matityahu outpost on village land west of the annexation wall. The Court also maintained the injunction forbidding further building in the compound and preventing new residents from moving in.

In a separate order issued by the Supreme Court on the 20th of March the military was denied the authority to implement a confiscation order of Bil’in land in order to build a military installation on the proposed wall route. To read the decisions in Hebrew go to: www.court.gov.il and enter file numbers: 143/06 and 8414/05

The Israeli Civil Administration has admitted that, according to Israeli law, illegal construction has been taking place on a massive scale. The administration also said it helps launder Palestinian land by declaring it state property then transferring it to private hands.

In Bili’n for example, attorney Moshe Glick signed in place of the village Muhktar (head), testifying that a resident’s land was paid for by settlers. Mr. Glick argued that the decision was justified because he claimed “any Jew entering Bil’in will be killed.” He also said a military order forbidding Israelis from entering Area “B” made it impossible to obtain the Muhktar’s signature. Both statements are false, yet the Civil Administration maintains the supposed land sale was legitimate.

Bil’in villagers have been protesting the theft of their land by the annexation barrier for over one year. The protests have become a prominent symbol of Palestinian non-violent resistance and joint struggle with Israeli and international activists. The Wall is planned along a route only meters away from the closest home in Bil’in. However it runs 700 meters away from the expanding illegal settlement, annexing over sixty percent of villagers’ agricultural land.

For more information:
Attorney Michael Sfard- 0544713930
Mohammed Khatib 054-5851893,
Dror Etkes (Settlement Watch, Peace Now) -0544899351,025660648,
ISM Media Office 02-2971824