Palestinians Hail Rerouting of Israeli 'Security Fence'

BIL'IN, West Bank (Feb. 11) – The bulldozer biting into the rocky hillside near this West Bank village is a victory for five years of struggle against the controversial barrier Israel is building in and around the West Bank.

Palestinian villagers here appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court soon after the barrier cut them off from more than half of their farmland, mostly olive trees and fields of beans. In September 2007 the court ordered the Defense Ministry to come up with a route that eases the hardship for the Palestinians.

For years, the villagers and their supporters have gathered at the site of the barrier for weekly demonstrations, which have often turned violent. One protester, Bassem Abu Rahme, was killed last April after being hit by an Israeli teargas canister, an event graphically captured on YouTube. Hundreds of other protesters have been wounded here over the past five years, as have dozens of Israeli soldiers, one of whom lost an eye after being hit by a thrown rock.

Dozens of black, bulbous teargas canisters, spent during past protests, are strewn along the fence.

Today work began on the new route of the barrier, which Israelis call a "security fence" and Palestinians call a "segregation wall." The move will restore the Palestinians' access to hundreds of acres of land.

"I am proud that we managed to move the wall and prove that we can," said Mohammed Khatib as he watched the bulldozer. "But we didn't win. It's like boxing. We won the round but we didn't win the match."

It's not clear why the court decision is being implemented now.

"It took time to find the location of the new line in a way that wouldn't disturb the Palestinians," said Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror. "As soon as we did it we went back to the court and they approved it and we began working."

But Michael Sfard, a lawyer for the Bil'in residents, said he filed several briefs with the Supreme Court asking why the decision had not yet been implemented.

Activists here say the rerouting of the barrier is proof that nonviolent resistance can achieve results.

"We want to show a new method of struggle," said Khatib. "We want them to compare their way with ours and see which one is effective."

Khatib says he expects more Supreme Court challenges to the barrier's course in the future.

The new route will also affect the expansion of Matityahu East, a Jewish settlement next to Bil'in. Defense Ministry spokesman Dror said the settlement had hoped to build some 1,100 homes in the area that will now be on the Palestinian side of the barrier. He said the homes will be built in other areas of the settlement.

Once the barrier is finished it will be 430 miles long. While about two-thirds of it has been completed, work on the remaining areas has slowed substantially because of budget constraints and the sharp decrease in Palestinian attacks inside Israel.

Rateb Abu Rahme, another activist from Bil'in, said the weekly protests will continue despite today's victory.

"We hope that all the wall in all of the West Bank will be torn down," he said. "The International Criminal Court said it's illegal, and we hope it will all be torn down."