IDF rerouting barrier near Bil'in

[Kurska]

"Israel began work on Thursday to reroute a section of the security barrier to restore land to Bil'in, a village that has become a symbol of Palestinian opposition to the fence.

The move comes two-and-a-half years after the Supreme Court ruled in late 2007 that the barrier must be moved to ease the hardship of Palestinians in the village.

Bulldozers were on site Thursday and tracks for the new route were being laid down. Some Palestinians welcomed the development but stressed it fell far short of their demand to dismantle the entire enclosure.

Anti-barrier activist Khatib Abu Rahmeh said the IDF informed village officials that the new route would return 140 hectares of farmland to the village and adjacent communities.

Once the new route is built, the section of barrier currently standing around Bil'in will be removed, Abu Rahmeh said.

"It's a victory for our struggle, but still a small victory until we achieve the big one: Removing the wall," he said.

In 2007, the Supreme Court ordered the government to modify the route through Bil'in, dismissing its argument that the current route was necessary to protect residents of the Jewish settlement. The judges ordered the government to come up with a new route in a "reasonable period of time."


Some 232 hectares, more than half of Bil'in's land, were confiscated to build a barrier loop around Modi'in Ilit, cutting off villagers from their fields.

The battle to restore Bilin's land has turned this village into a symbol of opposition to the security barrier. Protesters have gathered every Friday in the village for the past five years.

Six protesters have been killed and dozens injured in clashes with security forces over the structure."



http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=168424

Good, I fully support the barrier as a way to save Israeli lives, but see no reason it has to run through several tracks of land that aren't needed for the barrier to still function as a devise to protect Israel.

[pelsar]

1. intifada I....

the Bil'in protests are similar in character to the intifada one....where the violence was limited, and there are results for the Palestinians that they wouldnt see by using violence.

I don't believe it recognized enough what works and what doesn't work for them. Whats most interesting is that both intifada i and the bilin protests are home grown Palestinian movements, where the locals set the tone.