Bil'in vows campaign will go on

Wednesday September 19, 2007 14:22 by Colin Bell - IMEMC News

Despite their victory in the Israeli High Court, the villagers of Bil'in in the West Bank will continue their campaign against the illegal Segregation Wall.

Last week the village celebrated the court's decision that the Wall should be moved 500 meters from its current route. The change, when implemented, will restore 1,100 dunums to the villagers. This is not the end of the story though. In a statement issued on Sept 16th by the campaign, the villagers vowed to fight on. The message is loud and clear. "We will resist the wall until it falls and until it releases every centimeter of our land that has been confiscated or isolated," the statement read.

The Campaign is also critical of the court .The day after the decision to reroute the wall it approved the building of Metetye Huw Mezrah, an extension of the existing Modi'in settlement, on village land. The statement said that, "The two cases – the Wall and the settlement – are essentially parts of the same case and the court's ruling demonstrates its hypocrisy. On the one hand…….by appearing to give in to one of (Bil'in's) demands. On the other hand, the court has used this ruling to divert attention from the decision to expand the settlement."

The concern, too, is that court decisions are not always translated into action by the Israeli authorities. In several cases Palestinians have yet to see the changes the court has promised. But whatever happens in Bil'in the fight against the Wall will go on.

ramallah | non-violent action | news report ghassanb at imemc dot org