Bil'in
Encyclopedia
Bil'in is a Palestinian
village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
, 12 kilometres (7.5 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.
, Bil'in had 39 occupied houses and a population of 166 Muslims. This had increased to 210 Muslims by 1945.
After the Six-Day War
in 1967, Bil'in was occupied by Israel
i 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 Wall 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. Bil'in is considered an ideological stronghold of Fatah
, and many employees of the Palestinian Authority reside there.
, near the West Bank Wall. On July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice
declared the wall a violation of international law. A week earlier, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the Israeli government had the right to construct the wall 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 wall 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 and in 2011 began dismantling a section of the barrier in order to relocate it along an alternative route.
On September 5, 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court legalized the Israeli settlement of Mattityahu East, a new neighborhood of Modi'in Illit
, built on land that the Palestinians claim belongs to Bil'in, and Israel claims belongs to the state. Bil'in vowed to continue its resistance and offered support to other villages facing similar problems. The wall 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.
Since January 2005, the village has been organizing weekly protests against the construction of the West Bank Barrier. The protests have attracted media attention and the participation of many international organizations as well as 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 wall with the aim of halting construction and dismantling already constructed portions. Israeli forces always intervene to prevent protesters from approaching the wall, and violence usually erupts in which both protesters and soldiers have been very seriously injured. Some protesters have taken to wearing gas masks at the protests. The weekly protests, which last a couple of hours, regularly draw international activists such as Richard Bronson and President Jimmy Carter, who come to support the Palestinian movement.
In June 2005 an Israeli soldier lost an eye after being hit by a rock thrown by a demonstrator.
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. 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.
Conferences demonstrating solidarity with the protesters were held in the village in February 2006 and April 2007.
Mairead Maguire, 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. In June 2008, European Parliament
vice-president Luisa Morgantini
and Julio Toscano, an Italian judge, were injured in Bil'in. 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.
Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall, was arrested in December 2009 after organizing an exhibit of spent ammunition used against the protesters. He was charged with possession of Israeli arms, incitement and hurling stones at IDF soldiers. Desmond Tutu
urged Israel to release him. He3 served a 15 month sentence in the IOsraeli prison of Ofer, and is characterised by Israeli academic and pacifist David Dean Shulman
as an exponent of Gandhian principles of non-violence
.
On March 15, 2010, Israeli soldiers entered Bil'in to post notices declaring a closed military zone consisting of the areas between the barrier 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.
who were protesting against the IDF's presumed involvement with the death were arrested by Israeli police on 1 January 2011 outside Israel's Defense Ministry
..
According to a released medical report "there was no clear cause of death, the burial was undertaken via an accelerated procedure, and no post-mortem was performed. The information also reveals that Abu-Rahma was administered an unusual quantity of drugs, used to offer treatment against poisoning, drug overdose, or leukemia.".
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It covers a large part of the central West Bank, on the northern border of the Jerusalem Governorate. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of al-Bireh.According to the Palestinian Central...
, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west of the city of Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
in the central West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....
, Bil'in has a population of 1,800, mostly Muslims.
History
At the time of the 1931 census1931 census of Palestine
The 1931 census of Palestine was the second census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine. It was carried out on 18 November 1931 under the direction of Major E. Mills. The first census had been conducted in 1922...
, Bil'in had 39 occupied houses and a population of 166 Muslims. This had increased to 210 Muslims by 1945.
After the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
in 1967, Bil'in was occupied by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i forces. Since the signing of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also known as the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, the Interim Agreement, Oslo 2, Oslo II, and Taba, was a key and complex agreement governing several aspects of the Palestinian territories of Gaza Strip and the West Bank.-History:It...
in 1995, it has been administered by the Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
. It is adjacent to the Israeli West Bank Wall and the Israeli settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
of Modi'in Illit
Modi'in Illit
Modi'in Illit is a Haredi Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank, situated midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Modi'in Illit was granted city status by the Israeli government in 2008. It is located six kilometres northeast of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut and is often referred to as Kiryat...
.
Historically a small, agricultural village, modern Bil'in is now largely a bedroom suburb of nearby Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority. Bil'in is considered an ideological stronghold of Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
, and many employees of the Palestinian Authority reside there.
Court rulings
Bil'in is located 4 kilometers east of the Green LineGreen Line
- Geographic demarcations :* Green Line, a name for the Gothic Line or "Linea Gotica", a German defensive line in Italy during World War II, renamed the "Green Line" in June 1944...
, near the West Bank Wall. On July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
declared the wall a violation of international law. A week earlier, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the Israeli government had the right to construct the wall 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
Michael Sfard
Michael Sfard, , is a lawyer specializing in international human rights law and the laws of war. He has served as counsel in numerous important cases on these topics in Israel. Sfard is identified with the left and has represented many left wing and Palestinian organizations at the Israeli Supreme...
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 wall 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 and in 2011 began dismantling a section of the barrier in order to relocate it along an alternative route.
On September 5, 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court legalized the Israeli settlement of Mattityahu East, a new neighborhood of Modi'in Illit
Modi'in Illit
Modi'in Illit is a Haredi Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank, situated midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Modi'in Illit was granted city status by the Israeli government in 2008. It is located six kilometres northeast of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut and is often referred to as Kiryat...
, built on land that the Palestinians claim belongs to Bil'in, and Israel claims belongs to the state. Bil'in vowed to continue its resistance and offered support to other villages facing similar problems. The wall separates the village from 60 percent of its farmland.
According to the New Left Review
New Left Review
New Left Review is a 160-page journal, published every two months from London, devoted to world politics, economy and culture. Often compared to the French-language Les Temps modernes, it is associated with Verso Books , and regularly features the essays of authorities on contemporary social...
, the settlements around Bil'in are being funded by Israeli businessmen Lev Leviev
Lev Leviev
Lev Avnerovich Leviev is a Bukharian-Israeli billionaire businessman, with a net worth of roughly $1.5 billion following the 2008 global financial crisis. Leviev is one of the most prominent Mizrahi Jewish individuals in the world and has been a major philanthropist for Jewish causes in Eastern...
and Shaya Boymelgreen
Shaya Boymelgreen
-Biography:He emigrated from Israel to New York City in 1969 and worked in asbestos abatement. He was involved in small development projects, then in 2001 he became business partners with Lev Leviev....
to promote their political and economic interests.
Weekly protests
Gush Shalom
Gush Shalom is an Israeli peace activism group founded and led by former Irgun and Knesset Member and journalist, Uri Avnery, in 1993...
, Anarchists Against the Wall
Anarchists Against the Wall
Anarchists Against the Wall , sometimes called "Anarchists Against Fences" or "Jews Against Ghettos", is a direct action group composed of Israeli anarchists and anti-authoritarians who oppose the construction of the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier and Israeli West Bank barrier. The AAtW calls the West...
and the International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement
The International Solidarity Movement is an organization focused on assisting the Palestinian cause in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict using nonviolent protests. It was founded in 2001 by Ghassan Andoni, a Palestinian activist; Neta Golan, an Israeli activist; Huwaida Arraf, a...
. The protests take the form of marches from the village to the site of the wall with the aim of halting construction and dismantling already constructed portions. Israeli forces always intervene to prevent protesters from approaching the wall, and violence usually erupts in which both protesters and soldiers have been very seriously injured. Some protesters have taken to wearing gas masks at the protests. The weekly protests, which last a couple of hours, regularly draw international activists such as Richard Bronson and President Jimmy Carter, who come to support the Palestinian movement.
In June 2005 an Israeli soldier lost an eye after being hit by a rock thrown by a demonstrator.
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. In August 2006, a demonstration against the 2006 Lebanon War was dispersed by the Israel Border Police
Israel Border Police
The Israel Border Police is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav , meaning border guard, whilst its members are colloquially known as Magavnikim . Border Guard is often used as the official name of the...
using tear gas and rubber coated bullets. An Israeli lawyer, Limor Goldstein, was severely injured after being shot twice.
Conferences demonstrating solidarity with the protesters were held in the village in February 2006 and April 2007.
Mairead Maguire, 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. In June 2008, European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
vice-president Luisa Morgantini
Luisa Morgantini
Luisa Morgantini is an Italian Member of the European Parliament. She was elected as independent with the Communist Refoundation Party ticket and sits with the European United Left - Nordic Green Left group....
and Julio Toscano, an Italian judge, were injured in Bil'in. 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.
Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall, was arrested in December 2009 after organizing an exhibit of spent ammunition used against the protesters. He was charged with possession of Israeli arms, incitement and hurling stones at IDF soldiers. Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
urged Israel to release him. He3 served a 15 month sentence in the IOsraeli prison of Ofer, and is characterised by Israeli academic and pacifist David Dean Shulman
David Dean Shulman
David Dean Shulman is an Indologist and regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the languages of India. His research embraces many fields, including the history of religion in South India, Indian poetics, Tamil Islam, Dravidian linguistics, and Carnatic music...
as an exponent of Gandhian principles of non-violence
Satyagraha
Satyagraha , loosely translated as "insistence on truth satya agraha soul force" or "truth force" is a particular philosophy and practice within the broader overall category generally known as nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. The term "satyagraha" was conceived and developed by Mahatma...
.
On March 15, 2010, Israeli soldiers entered Bil'in to post notices declaring a closed military zone consisting of the areas between the barrier 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.
Death of Jawaher Abu Rahmah
On 31 December 2010 Jawaher Abu Rahmah, 36, died following a weekly protest. According to reports she was seriously injured in a tear gas attack during the demonstration. The exact cause of death is disputed. Other reports place her at home at the time of the incident, several hundred meters away. Taken to a hospital in Ramallah after she choked on the gas, she did not respond to treatment and died the following day. 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. The IDF soldiers referenced in the stories remain unnamed. Several Jewish Israelis in Tel AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
who were protesting against the IDF's presumed involvement with the death were arrested by Israeli police on 1 January 2011 outside Israel's Defense Ministry
Ministry of Defense (Israel)
The Ministry of Defence of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Israel from internal and external military threats...
..
According to a released medical report "there was no clear cause of death, the burial was undertaken via an accelerated procedure, and no post-mortem was performed. The information also reveals that Abu-Rahma was administered an unusual quantity of drugs, used to offer treatment against poisoning, drug overdose, or leukemia.".
External links
- Official website
- Account of Injury
- International Solidarity Movement article about the 2005 conference
- Eyewitnesses Describe Death of Palestinian Woman in Bil'in after Israeli Tear Gas Attack - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...