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This article is about the Palestinian village in the West Bank. For the Palestinian village depopulated during the 1948 war, see
Bil'in, Gaza.
Bil'in (Arabic: بلعين) is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, 12 kilometers (7 mi) west of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bil'in has a population of 1,800, mostly Muslims.[1]
History
After the Six-Day War in 1967, Bil'in was occupied by Israeli forces. Since the signing of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1995, it has been administered by the Palestinian National Authority. It is adjacent to the Israeli West Bank barrier and the Israeli settlement of Modi'in Illit.
The main economic activity is agriculture. Bil'in is considered an ideological stronghold of Fatah, and many employees of the Palestinian Authority reside there.[citation needed]
Court rulings
Bil'in is located 4 kilometers east of the Green Line, near the West Bank barrier. On July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice declared the barrier a violation of international law. A week earlier, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Israel had the right to construct the barrier to ensure security, but sections of it imposed undue hardships on Palestinians and should be re-routed. In 2005, the local council leader of Bilin, Ahmed Issa Abdullah Yassin, hired Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard to represent the village in a petition to the High Court of Justice. On September 4, 2007, the Court ordered the government to change the route of the barrier near Bil'in. Chief Justice Dorit Beinish wrote in her 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 Israeli Defense Ministry said it would respect the ruling.[2][3]
On September 5, 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court legalized the Israeli settlement of Mattityahu East, a new neighborhood of Modi'in Illit, built on Bil'in's land to the west of the barrier.[4][5] Bil'in vowed to continue its resistance and offered support to other villages facing similar problems.[6] The barrier allegedly separates the village from 60 percent of its farmland.
According to the New Left Review, the settlements around Bil'in are being funded by Israeli businessmen Lev Leviev and Shaya Boymelgreen to promote their political and economic interests.[7][8]
Weekly protests
Since January 2005, the village has been organizing weekly protests against the construction of the barrier. The protests have attracted media attention and the participation of left-wing groups such as Gush Shalom, Anarchists Against the Wall and the International Solidarity Movement. The protests take the form of marches from the village to the site of the barrier with the aim of halting construction and dismantling already constructed portions. Although the demonstrations are described as non-violent, they often end in stonethrowing and rioting in which both protesters and soldiers have been injured. [9] According to one estimate, 150 residents were injured in March, April, and May 2005.
Solidarity conferences were held in the village in February 2006 and April 2007.[10]
Jonathan Pollak of Anarchists Against the Wall, a regular at the protests, has been injured several times. [11] On April 3, 2005, Pollak was shot in the head with a teargas canister causing internal brain hemorrhages and a wound requiring 23 stitches[12]In June 2005 an Israeli soldier lost an eye after being hit by a rock thrown by a demonstrator.[9]
Two Bil’in protests in the summer of 2005 are described in detail by Irish journalist David Lynch in his book, A Divided Paradise: An Irishman in the Holy Land. [13]In August 2006 an Israeli lawyer, Limor Goldstein, was shot twice with rubber-coated bullets, sustaining serious injuries. [14]Mairead Corrigan, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work on the Northern Ireland dispute, was hit in the leg by a rubber-coated bullet and reportedly inhaled large quantities of teargas during a demonstration in April 2007.[15]In June 2008, European Parliament vice-president Luisa Morgantini and Julio Toscano, an Italian judge, were injured in Bil'in.[16]In the first six months of 2009 over 100 Israeli security personnel were injured during the demonstrations, some seriously.[17]In April 2009, Bil'in resident Bassem Ibrahim Abu-Rahma died after a tear gas canister hit his chest.[18]
Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall, was arrested in December 2009 and charged with arms possession after organizing an exhibit of weapons used against the protesters.[19] Desmond Tutu urged Israel to release him.[20]
On March 15, 2010, Israeli soldiers entered Bil'in to post notices declaring a closed military zone consisting of the areas between the separation wall and the town. The order enforces the closure on Fridays between 0800 and 2000 during which the protests occur. While the closure does not apply to Palestinian residents of Bil'in, Israeli citizens and internationals are forbidden from entering the zone.[21]
See also
References
- ^ a b 2007 PCBS Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.114.
- ^ Asser, Martin (2007-09-05). "West Bank village hails victory". BBC News. BBC MMVII. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6979923.stm. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
- ^ New York Times
- ^ "High Court: Controversial settlement neighborhood to remain in place". Ha'aretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/901229.html. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ "Planning council approves illegal West Bank building plan". Ha'aretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/829740.html. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ Khatib, Mohammed. "Bil'in will continue to struggle against the wall and settlements". Zmag. http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=107&ItemID=13828. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ "Offshore Zionism". New Left Review. http://newleftreview.org/?view=2624. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ "Under the Guise of Security". B'Tselem Behaymos. http://www.btselem.org/Download/200512_Under_the_Guise_of_Security_Eng.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ a b http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=586551
- ^ "Bil'in Conference 2007". International Solidarity Movement against Israel. http://www.bilin-village.org/english/articles/conference2007/. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ The Guardian, Wednesday 30 July 2008 Middle East: Palestinian boy, 10, dies as Israeli troops fire on demonstration by Toni O'Loughlin in Jerusalem
- ^ Ha'aretz Fence protester hit in the head by tear gas canister By Tamara Traubmann
- ^ A Divided Paradise: An Irishman in the Holy Land (New Island), David Lynch, Chapter One, Under Fire in Bil'in, pp. 1-31
- ^ "Arab village's fence war wins some Israeli hearts". FOXNews.com. http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008May17/0,4670,PalestiniansBilinapossBattle,00.html. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3390314,00.html
- ^ BBC EU VIPs hurt at West Bank protest
- ^ http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443776613&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
- ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3702569,00.html
- ^ Daniel Edelson (December 23, 2009). "Bilin resident charged with displaying used bullets". Ynetnews. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3824423,00.html.
- ^ Amira Hass (December 24, 2009). "For Palestinians, possession of used IDF arms is now a crime". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1137288.html.
- ^ http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=268901
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