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Bil'in

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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.

Template:Infobox Palestinian Authority municipality Bil'in (Arabic: بلعين) is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, Template:Km to 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

At the time of the 1931 census, Bil'in had 39 occupied houses and a population of 166 Muslims.[2]

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.

Historically a small, agricultural village, modern Bil'in is now largely a bedroom suburb of nearby Ramallah, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority. [3] Bil'in is considered an ideological stronghold of Fatah, and many employees of the Palestinian Authority reside there. [3]

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 the Israeli government had the right to construct the barrier to ensure security, but that 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.[4][5]

On September 5, 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court legalized the Israeli settlement of Mattityahu East, a new neighborhood of Modi'in Illit, built on what the Palestinians claim Bil'in's land to the west of the barrier though Israel claims its a state land.[6][7][8] Bil'in vowed to continue its resistance and offered support to other villages facing similar problems.[9] The barrier 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.[10][11]

Weekly protests

A 2005 protest in Bil'in

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. Israeli forces typically intervene to prevent protesters from approaching the barrier, and violence sometimes erupts in which both protesters and soldiers have been very seriously injured.[12][13][14][15][16] The protestors arrive with gas masks and shout chants including “Israel is a fascist state!”[3] Arab boys fling stones at the soldiers from a position not among but to the right of the protestors.[3] The weekly protests, which last a few minutes, regularly draw international activists who come to support the Palestinian movement.[3] Bil'in residents employed by the Palestinian Authority and other PA employees form Ramallah reportedly attend as part of the expectations of the their party affiliation and employment.[3] Reportedly, residents of Bil'in not employed by the PA do not attend.[3]

The regular clashes here came more sharply into the international spotlight when an American protester named Tristan Anderson was struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces. The impact caused massive damage to his frontal lobe, and to his eye. Even after several brain surgeries, the 38 year old Anderson is being kept in a medically induced coma in a Tel Aviv hospital.[17] In June 2005 an Israeli soldier lost an eye after being hit by a rock thrown by a demonstrator.[12]

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.[18] In August 2006, a demonstration against the 2006 Lebanon War was dispersed by the Israel Border Police using tear gas and rubber coated bullets. An Israeli lawyer, Limor Goldstein, was severely injured after being shot twice.[19]

Conferences demonstrating solidarity with the protesters were held in the village in February 2006 and April 2007.[20]

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.[21] In June 2008, European Parliament vice-president Luisa Morgantini and Julio Toscano, an Italian judge, were injured in Bil'in.[22] In April 2009, Bil'in resident Bassem Ibrahim Abu-Rahma was killed after being hit in the chest by a high-velocity tear gas canister.[23][24]

Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall, was arrested in December 2009 and charged with possession of Israeli arms after organizing an exhibit of weapons used against the protesters.[25] Desmond Tutu urged Israel to release him.[26]

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.[27]

On 31 December 2010 Jawaher Abu Rahmah, 36, was seriously injured in a tear gas attack according to several eyewitness accounts.[28][29] though according to her brother she was part of the protest.[30] Taken to a hospital in Ramallah after she choked on the gas, she did not respond to treatment and died the following day. She was the sister of Bassem Abu Rahmah, who was killed by a gas canister which hit him in the chest during one of the weekly protests two years prior. Members of the Israeli military (IDF), citing startling irregularities in the way the evidence was presented by the Palestinian Authority, claims that she was not part of the protest at all and as such she could not have been killed as a result of the tear gas used to disperse the demonstration, which had become violent.[31] The IDF soldiers referenced in the stories remain unnamed.[32] Several Jewish Israelis in Tel Aviv who were protesting the IDF's presumed involvement with the death were arrested on 1 January 2011.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference PCBS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ E. Mills, ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine. p. 19.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g [ http://www.the-american-interest.com/article.cfm?piece=898] Rent-a-Crowd Fridays in Palestine, Neil Rogachevsky, The American Interest, Nov-Dec 2010
  4. ^ Asser, Martin (2007-09-05). "West Bank village hails victory". BBC News. BBC MMVII. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  5. ^ New York Times
  6. ^ "High Court: Controversial settlement neighborhood to remain in place". Ha'aretz. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  7. ^ "Planning council approves illegal West Bank building plan". Ha'aretz. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  8. ^ http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=109655
  9. ^ Khatib, Mohammed. "Bil'in will continue to struggle against the wall and settlements". Zmag. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  10. ^ "Offshore Zionism". New Left Review. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  11. ^ "Under the Guise of Security" (PDF). B'Tselem Behaymos. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  12. ^ a b "Soldier hit by stone during anti-fence protest loses-eye". www.haaretz.com. 03 June 2005. Retrieved 21 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Hundreds mark second anniversary of Bil'in barrier". www.haaretz.com. 25 February 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2010. Demonstrators say their protests are non-violent, but in many cases soldiers have fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets, and demonstrators have thrown stones. One soldier lost an eye to a stone thrown by Palestinians, and three Palestinians each lost an eye after riot-control actions.
  14. ^ "22 wounded in weekly Bil'in anti-separation fence protest". www.haaretz.com. 20 March 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  15. ^ "Israel pays NIS 3.25 million to protester shot by Border Police". www.haaretz.com. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  16. ^ "Mass demonstration in Bil'in marks five years of protests against West Bank separation fence". www.haaretz.com. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  17. ^ "Israel's barrier, part 4". www.npr.org (transcript). NPR - National Public Radio (U.S.A.). 9 April 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  18. ^ A Divided Paradise: An Irishman in the Holy Land (New Island), David Lynch, Chapter One, Under Fire in Bil'in, pp. 1-31
  19. ^ Laub, Karin (2008-05-16). "Arab village's fence war wins some Israeli hearts". FOXNews.com. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  20. ^ "Bil'in Conference 2007". International Solidarity Movement against Israel. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  21. ^ "Nobel peace laureate Corrigan injured in anti-fence protest - Israel News, Ynetnews". Ynetnews.com. 1995-06-20. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  22. ^ BBC EU VIPs hurt at West Bank protest
  23. ^ "Palestinian killed in Bilin protest - Israel News, Ynetnews". Ynetnews.com. 1995-06-20. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  24. ^ "MEMORIAL: Remembering Bassem Abu Rahmah of Bil'in April 17, 2010".
  25. ^ Daniel Edelson (December 23, 2009). "Bilin resident charged with displaying used bullets". Ynetnews.
  26. ^ Amira Hass (December 24, 2009). "For Palestinians, possession of used IDF arms is now a crime". Haaretz.
  27. ^ "Maan News Agency: Masked soldiers post closed zone signs in Bil'in, Ni'lin". Maannews.net. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  28. ^ Goodman, Amy (4 January), "Eyewitnesses Describe Death of Palestinian Woman in Israeli Tear Gas Attack", Democracy Now!: The War and Peace Report, retrieved 4 January 2011 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  29. ^ Garcia-Navarro, Lourdes (4 January), "Activists Accuse Israel Of Cracking Down On Dissent", NPR, retrieved 4 January 2011 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  30. ^ http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9359&Itemid=56
  31. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-no-proof-palestinian-woman-died-from-tear-gas-at-protest-1.335043
  32. ^ Kershner, Isabel (4 January), "Debate Surrounds Death of Palestinian Woman", New York Times, retrieved 4 January 2011 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  33. ^ Karon, Tony (2011), "Israeli Leftists Show Alliance in Wake of Palestinian's Death", TIME, retrieved 4 January 2011 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
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