Bil'in Digest

Bil'in Digest

1. Harvest - Written By Andrew Sun, October 2nd

2. Behind the wall - Written By Andrew Friday September 30th
3. Anti-fence protestors cause disturbances in Bil'in- By Jerusalem Post

4. Soldiers are read their rights in Bil'in- By ISM Friday September 23, 2005

5. Leftists Plan Another Friday Protest at Bilin Fence - By Arutz Sheva September 15th

6. Songs, Scraps & Scrapes -By Joe Carr Friday, September 16, 2005

7. Download more films of the Non-Violent demonstrations in Bil'in




1. Harvest - Written By Andrew

Sun, October 2nd



This Sunday the Bil'in villagers harvested their olive groves which are now being torn up by the construction of the Wall.



The annual harvest of olives is both vital to the livelihood of the Bil'in community, and being made increasingly difficult to perform. Israel demands that olive farmers in the West Bank apply to them for "permission" to harvest their own crops. The people of Bil'in are adamant that this demand will not be met. For them it cannot be met. "Where?", they ask "...is there an authority that can legitimately grant (or withhold) such permission." They know that when Israel has granted "permission" in the past and when it is not suddenly and without warning withdrawn, that it is often only for some small percentage of the farmers and for a fraction of the time required to harvest their crops.



On the way to their groves, accompanied by internationals from ISM and IWPS, and members of Rabbis for Human Rights, the men, women, and children from Bil'in crossed the Israeli construction site. By the time their trees produce another crop it is likely that an impenetrable barrier will stand here severing the connection between Bil'in and its farmlands permanently. Making their way out to the limits of their land, or at least to those olive groves of theirs which have yet to be consumed by the growth of the neighbouring settlements the villagers set about their work with urgency. Some hit the branches with sticks knocking the olives to the ground, and releasing clouds of dust into the air. The trees here are covered in a layer of dust which has been created by the construction work, and which the villagers believe has damaged the process of cross-polination this year. Some climbed the trees to pick the olives higher up, others gathered those that had already fallen to the ground. All focussed on the work at hand undistracted by the huge cranes above, at work expanding the hilltop settlement there, undistracted by the passing army jeeps and humvees on the road below, and undistracted by the roar of the construction and excavation equipment nearby.



Finally, with their bags full of olives everyone stopped to enjoy lunch, shaded by the trees from the midday sun. Then, choosing to walk back to the village along the route of the wall construction, the people of Bil'in passed the many diggers uprooting their trees and gouging away at the hillside. Followed closely by Israeli soldiers the Bil'in villagers' message was clear - the land was there's and they needed no-ones permission to work it.





2. BEHIND THE WALL - Written By Andrew

Friday September 30th



See video of Fri 30th olive picking demonstration in Bil'in http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2005/09/30/olive-harvest-begins-in-bilin/

This Friday, the villagers of Bil'in successfully managed to harvest some of this year's crop of olives, despite the attempts to prevent them by the Israeli military.

The Wall is currently being built through many of Bil'in's olive groves. With the olive harvest fast approaching, the goal of the weekly demonstration today was for the Bil'in villagers to exercise their rights to harvest their olives in the face of the blatant attempt by Israel to annex the land on which they grow.

Carrying banners, and the ladders needed for picking the olives, the villagers marched out towards their trees, and the site of the construction of the wall. Joined by Israeli, and international activists, the villagers headed directly for their chosen spot, through fields and trees. Apparently surprised by demonstrators' intention to access their own land, the Israeli army, with the usual contingent of Border and Regular police rushed to prevent them crossing the construction site. Determination won out however, and the villagers set about harvesting their olives despite continuous harassment from the military. Finally, with buckets full of olives, the demonstrators returned peacefully to the village.

Unusually the Israeli military made no use of teargas or their assault rifles today – apart from of course brandishing their weapons with intent at the peaceful demonstration. Perhaps after last Fridays virtually continuous barrage of teargas canisters their stocks are running low. Still, today was the exception to the rule, and as with the rest of Palestine, the villagers of Bil'in must face the threat of deadly force in the coming weeks as they harvest their olives.



3. Israeli press coverage of the September 30th event:


Anti-fence protestors cause disturbances by Bil'in

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Around 100 Palestinians and left-wing activists were causing disturbances near Bil'in, in the West Bank on Friday afternoon.

The group gathered to protest the construction of the security fence in the area.

The area has been cordoned off as a closed military zone, and the IDF was working to disperse the crowd, Israel Radio reported.



4. Soldiers are read their rights in Bil'in
By ISM

Friday September 23, 2005



Again this morning (23/09/05 ) the Israeli military continued with their strategy of attempting to seal off all the entrances to the village of Bil'in. Despite their efforts some 35 Israeli and 8 international activists managed to reach the Bil'in to join with the villagers there, in their weekly demonstration against the Wall being built through their land.

Today as usual, the demonstration proceeded from outside the mosque and marched out of the village towards the construction site. Again, the demonstrators were met by a mass of soldiers barring their way. The soldiers were met with their own reflections, imprisoned behind the bars of a giant mirror held in front of them. A banner read "I was only following orders". The message was clear to these soldiers, they were engaged in war crimes, and bore individual responsibility for them. An international took up a megaphone to press home the message, reading out a letter from the Bil'in villagers;

"Soldier,

Wait a minute please before you aim your weapon. You and your friends
are on our land and there are things that we want you to know.

You should know that the settlements, and the Wall being built to ensure
their expansion, are illegal according to international law, as is the
collective punishment that you inflict upon our village.

Israeli generals like Aluf Doron Almog and Shaul Mofaz have needed to escape from Britain in order to avoid being tried for crimes against humanity. You also should know that in an international court, soldiers can not rely on the excuse of "just following orders." One day you may stand trial for what you do today. What will you be able to say in your defence?

The wall you are protecting is turning our quiet village into a prison.
But when the wall is finished you also will also become its prisoners.

Until then, the Israeli people are still free to choose what will happen.
You are free to stop committing war crimes and join us in a struggle for a
safe, secure and prosperous common future. Help us gain our freedom and you will have the security you want.

We know that you have been sent here with orders to ensure that
cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis does not happen. But you, as an individual, can still choose.

If you'd have come here as guests, right now we'd be showing
you the trees our grandfathers planted, the vegetables we grow and the
slabs of stone that we played on as children."

The soldiers had certainly got the message. The protestors waited, and wondered if they cared.

The demonstration, would reach the wall today. Palestinians, Israelis, and Internationals alike, broke away from the soldiers who still barred their way. The soldiers pursued, coming in a close second in the race to the construction site. Apparently unhappy with this result the soldiers promptly set about arresting 10 of the demonstrators with the type of refined brutality in which they have no match.

Their point made, the demonstrators withdrew to sit in the olive groves. Again the soldiers followed. They approached one particular group, sitting under a tree, discussing what they should do. The only Palestinian sitting in this group, Mohammed (coordinator of the Israelis and internationals in Bil'in) was singled out for arrest. The Israelis and internationals blocked the soldiers' attempts to snatch him, buying enough time to move back further towards the village stopping to sit on a hill overlooking the olive groves and the route of the wall. The soldiers again followed stopping and stretching out into a line in the trees. Eventually, clashes erupted between the shebab and "the most moral army in the world".

Stones were met with teargas and rubber bullets. Then, attempting to drive off the journalists and media, and the activists who were filming, the soldiers began firing teargas canisters at low level, directly at people. This is not a new tactic of theirs, and they've had considerable success in inflicting serious injuries in this fashion in the past.

This game of cat and mouse continued until about 4pm , when there was a loud explosion coming from the construction site of the wall. Within minutes, the shebab began withdrawing back into the village. They feared this explosion was a ploy by the army, to be used as a pretext for a heightened level of violence, and the use of live ammunition. Their suspicions had already been aroused the previous night when soldiers had unusually been observed digging in the area of the explosion and moving sandbags around.

With the shebab gone, more soldiers amassed at the entrance to the village. A group of soldiers began banging on the door of a house on the outskirts of the village. Fearing another invasion of the village the Israelis and internationals congregated near this house, on the road leading into the village. At 5pm, the soldiers suddenly turned round, and left the village, leaving much suspicion behind.



5. From The settler Press:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=89872



Leftists Plan Another Friday Protest at Bilin Fence
10:40 Sep 15, '05IsraelNN.com)



Peace Now activists are planning another protest, this Friday, against construction of the security fence near the village of Bilin, near Jerusalem. The weekly protests usually have ended with crowds throwing rocks at IDF soldiers, who have in the past dispersed crowds with rubber, and occasionally regular, bullets.

Activists have accused the government of exploiting the fence to take land from Bilin residents in order to encourage growth of the nearby community, Kiryat Sefer, near the city of Modi'in. The IDF placed a curfew on the village last Friday after learning the demonstration was to be unusually large. Violence erupted after activists, including foreigners, emerged from Arab houses where they were staying.





6. Songs, Scraps & Scrapes

Anti-Wall Demonstration in Bil'in

By Joe Carr



Friday, September 16, 2005



Read this report with pictures at http://www.lovinrevolution.org



Israel is planning to use its Apartheid wall to annex around half of the farmland belonging to Bil'in, a Palestinian village in the central West Bank. In resistance to this gross injustice, Bil'in villagers have held weekly popular demonstrations on the site of the planned wall's construction, and they often manage to interrupt the work. Despite the clearly nonviolent nature of the demonstrations, the Israeli military has responded with an increasing level of violent repression including teargas, concussion grenades, beatings, mass arrest, rubber-coated bullets, and even live gunfire.



Because the Israeli military is instructed to use less violence when Israelis and internationals are present, loads of white faces show up to take part in Bil'in's popular resistance. Standing alongside Palestinians, hundreds of Israeli and international activists have been gassed, beaten, arrested, and even hospitalized from Israeli military violence.



The demonstrations are organized by Bil'in's Popular Committee against the Wall, who are increasingly creative and confrontational in their acts of nonviolent direct action against the wall. For the last nine months, they've held a mass demo every Friday (the Muslim holy day) which have included praying, puppets, mock walls, and today, music.



Famous pianist Jacob Allegro Wegloop is a Jewish Holocaust survivor from Holland. His plane landed in Tel Aviv at 5am this morning and he came directly to Bil'in to perform at the weekly demonstration. David Rovics ( http://www.davidrovics.com), a rather popular political folk singer made an appearance at the protest as part of his Palestine tour. Amplified by loudspeakers on a roof, Joseph accompanied a group of Palestinian children singing Palestine's national anthem, and then played some classical pieces. David sung about the wall, the war in Iraq, and the situation in Palestine generally. I was supposed to perform as well, but the show got repeatedly interrupted by passing soldiers and rumors of violence.



After the noon-day prayers, the march began out to the wall site. A thick line of Israeli soldiers in riot gear with a string of razor wire were waiting for us about 200 meters before the destruction zone, and a confrontation ensued. There were dozens of journalists present because of these big-named internationals and because of a recent court case that ended in the unconditional release of one of the main Palestinian organizers with Bil'in's Popular Committee. Because of the media and an Israeli judge's harsh criticism of the military, there was less violence at this demonstration. However, the military was far from peaceful.



Groups of demonstrators repeatedly tried to go around the blockade and march onto Palestinian land, but Israeli soldiers pushed and beat them with batons. In order to keep Palestinians from being arrested, we internationals and Israelis stayed close to those making these challenges, and were hit and pushed along with them. Several times I was knocked down onto rocks and cacti; I'm still finding thorns in my legs.



After about a half an hour, one of the organizers led a group quickly up a hill and around the soldiers. The soldiers moved fast to head us off, but not before the Palestinian organizer and two internationals had made it down onto a field. The rest of us were unable to get down there immediately and the soldiers began pushing and hitting the three of them, and the internationals tried to protect the Palestinian from violence and arrest by holding onto him. The soldiers managed to separate the Palestinian from the internationals, but not the internationals, two British brothers, from eachother. We've learned that sometimes one can avoid arrest by refusing to cooperate and making things difficult, and difficult it was. About eight soldiers hit and drug the two trying to separate and handcuff them, but had much trouble.



Once soldiers separated them, two other internationals and I decided we'd make an attempt to "de-arrest" one of them by grabbing his feat and removing him from the soldiers grasp (this tactic has been repeatedly successful here and in the US). However, since there were only three of us, several other soldiers pounced on us and tried to grab us. We clung to eachother and they quickly gave up.



After about 20 minutes of vicious struggle, the two internationals were each carried by away four soldiers. To keep me from following, two other soldiers pushed and shoved me against some rocks ordering me to climb up and out of the field. I resisted for awhile but eventually relented rather than be stuck too long in the stalemate. As I ran back, I noticed two soldiers leading the Palestinian who'd been taken. I quickly moved over and grabbed his shoulders, making it clear they weren't taking him without taking me. Another international stayed in front of him with the same intention. Soldiers surrounded us and negotiations began. After making an eloquent speech in Hebrew about his right to nonviolently protest on his own land, the Palestinian was released and we all cheered in victory. Meanwhile, one of the international arrestees had taken off running when his soldier guard was busy flirting with an Israeli journalist. He escaped, but his brother was quickly thrown into a jeep.



The British arrestee was released that evening after finally giving his name. He and his brother were quite bruised and scraped up, but the Palestinian was free and there were no serious injuries. Plenty of footage made it into Palestinian and Israeli media, and the demonstration was considered a success. I have some scrapes and cuts on my hands and feet, and the soldiers bent my glasses, but nothing a Palestinian optometrist can't fix.



The Israeli military set up specific checkpoints to catch Israelis trying to attend the demo, and two busloads were detained and escorted back to Tel Aviv. One van made it in later, just as the official demo had ended and confrontations began between Palestinian rock-throwers and heavily armed Israeli soldiers. With slingshots and well-trained arms, Palestinian youth rained stones onto this illegal occupying army, who responded with tear-gas, concussion grenades, and rubber-coated bullets. Seven were injured by gas and bullets including a journalist, two children, and two elderly people.



The path of Israel's annexation barrier is currently under dispute in Israeli courts. We hope that these demonstrations will help push the courts to change the current plan which would nearly surround Bil'in, however we don't trust the Israeli system to ever met out justice. Meanwhile, Palestinians will continue to resist and we will continue to accompany them, no amount of violence will silence our collective voice.



7. Download more films of the Non-Violent demonstrations in Bil'in:

By Lena

http://www.archive.org/details/bilin20

h ttp://http://www.archive.org/details/BilinWallDemo040505