Bil'in Village, past, present and Future

Wednesday September 26, 2007 22:53

by The Bil'in Friends of Justice and Freedom Society

Bil'in is a small, peaceful village surrounded by hills and valleys, lying halfway between Yaffa and Jerusalem. It is among a number of local villages that fall under the governorate of Ramallah, 16km west of Bil'in.

It has a population of 1800 in an area approximately 4000 dunums in size. Its people are known for their simplicity, hospitality and their good nature. They love peace and freedom, and reject injustice and oppression.

The Bil'in residents depend on agriculture as their main source of their income. Traditionally such income has been generated by raising cattle and poultry, and collecting the produce of bees and olive trees.

Bil'in and its residents have stood up to confiscation time and time again. At the beginning of the 1980s, the Matityahu settlement was built on a portion of Bil'in land and, at the beginning of the 1990s, another portion of land was confiscated for the Kiryat Sefer settlement. At the start of the millennium, yet another new settlement (Matityahu East) was built on Bil'in's land.

In April 2004, Israel began construction of its illegal Apartheid Wall on the western side of the village, expropriating about 2300 dunums of the land of Bil'in.

The people of Bil'in actively participated in non-violent resistance against the oppression of Israel throughout the years of the illegal occupation. Side-by-side with international and Israeli activists, the people of Bil'in managed to achieve the recognition of the Israel high court, which recently ruled that the route of the Apartheid Wall near in the village is illegal and must be changed.

In line with their love of freedom and justice, an active group of young men and women decided to initiate a new society in the village called "The Bil'in Friends of Justice and Freedom Society".

The society aims to build a wide network of people from all over the globe who support Justice and Freedom for all. It also aims to strengthen the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and to transfer the experience of Bil'in across Palestine and beyond. Finally, the society aims to help and support the education of young Palestinian people at schools and universities throughout the region and beyond.

Our message:

Together we can remove borders and cross all barriers. Together we can build bridges of trust and achieve Justice. Through our friends we can see the promising future, a future where all live in Peace, security and dignity, a future free of racism, where all have the right to a full and free life.

The founders:

1- Eyad Burnat Head of the founding committee, head of the Bilin Popular committee

2- Basil Mansour BA science, Member of Popular committee

3- Samir Burnat BA Computer Science, member of the popular committee

4- Haitham Al-Khatib Electrician, member of the popular committee

5- Ali Burnat Member of the popular committee

6- Abdul Razzaq Abu Rahmeh, Engineer, Active in popular resistance

7- Qamar Yassin Active for women rights

8- Zahra Mustafa BA Arabic Language Active for Women rights

9- Saida Al-Khatib BA Education, Active for Women rights

For more information:

The Bilin Friends of Justice and Freedom society