Help us stop Israel's wall peacefully
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By Mohammed KhatibPublished: TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2005
BILIN, West Bank: While the international media has been focusing on Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, in my village of Bilin, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, we are living an equally important but overlooked story. Though Israeli forces plan to withdraw from Gaza, they are simultaneously expanding their West Bank settlements. On our village's land, Israel is building one new settlement and expanding five others. These settlements will form a city called Modiin Illit, with tens of thousands of settlers, many times the number to be evacuated from Gaza. These settlements consume most of our area's water. Throughout the West Bank, settlement and wall construction, arrests, killing and occupation continue.
One year ago, the International Court of Justice handed down an advisory ruling that Israel's construction of a wall on Palestinian land violated international law. Today, Palestinians in villages like ours are struggling to implement the court's decision and stop construction using nonviolence, but the world has done little to support us.
Bilin is being strangled by Israel's wall. Though our village sits two and a half miles east of the Green Line, Israel is taking roughly 60 percent of our 1,000 acres of land in order to annex the six settlements and build the wall around them. This land is also money to...
Bil’in is a Palestinian village that is struggling to exist. It is fighting to safeguard its land, its olive trees, its resources… its liberty.
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While annexing close to 60% of Bil’in land for Israeli settlements and the construction of Israel’s separation wall, the state of Israel is strangling the village. Every day it destroys a bit more creating in an open air prison for Bil’in’s inhabitants.
Supported by Israeli and international activists, Bil’in residents peacefully demonstrate every friday in front of the “work-site of shame”. And every friday the Israeli army responds with violence, both physically and psychologically.
Bil’in residents have continued to withstand these injustices despite the multiplication of night descents of Israeli soldiers in the town followed by an increasing number of arrests of inhabitants and of activists. But now, the army has toughened the oppression by systematically arresting members of the Bil’in committee in charge of organizing the non violent resistance actions. The aim of the arrests is to discourage Bil’in residents and reduce their resistance to the occupation.
By supporting Bil’in, you’ll help its inhabitants continue their struggle and give them hope in their fight for liberty.
Closing Statement of the Third Bil'in Conference on Non-Violent Resistance
June 6, 2008
Source : Bil’in - FFJ
The Third Bil’in Conference on Grassroots Non-Violent Resistance, which was held in the village of Bil’in near Ramallah, was widely attended by officials and citizens alike, including Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the representative of President Abbas, members of the PLO Executive Committee, members of the Palestinian National Council, and representatives of various political parties and civil society groups.
There was also international participation, including delegations of peace activists from France, Italy, Spain, Germany, England, Canada, Ireland, Greece, Switzerland, the United States and the Netherlands, in addition to Israeli peace activists....
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European dignitaries injured in Bil'in
June 7, 2008
The vice president of the European parliament, an Italian judge and a Northern Irish Nobel Peace prize laureate were among the five people injured at Friday’s weekly demonstration in Bil’in against the separation fence...
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Palestine pretty much exists as a non-nation with non-citizens who have no rights and live in open air prisons like Bil'in.
Images of Palestine:
Up to date maps of the walls slicing up what little remains of Palestine into open air prisons:
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Should Canadians help save Bil'in?
