Court orders Israel to re-route barrier*

AFP - Tuesday, September 4

BILIN, West Bank (AFP) - - Israel's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the
state to re-route a section of its West Bank barrier at a village that
has become a potent symbol of Palestinian opposition to the construction.

The court ruled that the route of the separation barrier in the Bilin
area was "highly prejudicial" to the villagers and demanded that the
government map out an alternative route "within a reasonable period".

Palestinians have accused Israel of seizing around 200 hectares (500
acres) of land in the farming village for the barrier and charged that
thousands of olive trees have been uprooted for construction work.

In the unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel, the court said the
villagers had been discriminated against by having land seized and trees
cut down to make way for the snaking maximum security wire fence outside
Bilin.

"Furthermore, the villagers of Bilin are cut off from a large part of
their farming land by the current route of the barrier," said the court.

For two and a half years, foreign peace activists, Israelis and
Palestinians have demonstrated against the barrier at least once a week
in Bilin, 12 kilometres (about seven miles) west of Ramallah.

The demonstrations have frequently turned violent, with stone-throwing
protestors standing off against Israeli soldiers armed with tear gas and
rubber bullets.

Dozens of Bilin residents came out to celebrate their victory, waving
Palestinian flags and throwing candy at the impassive Israeli soldiers
on the other side of the barbed wire fence.

"The Israeli court decision proves that peaceful struggle can be
effective," said Abdallah Abu Rahmeh, who has coordinated many of the
rallies.

"We have managed to recover more than 100 hectares of our lands without
losing a single martyr," he said.

Bilin Mayor Ahmed Issa Abdallah Yassin, who brought the complaint that
resulted in Tuesday's ruling, hailed the decision as a "victory."

"We will recover a part of the lands that were confiscated by the wall,"
he told AFP.

Lawyer Michael Sfard, who took on the case more than two years ago, said
the ruling meant that the villagers' traditional farming livelihoods
would be guaranteed, although he recognised that not all their land
would be returned.

"Unfortunately not all the land of Bilin will return to their owners but
at least 1,000 dunums (250 acres) will remain on the Bilin side of the
fence and that will secure the livelihood its inhabitants," he told AFP.

Israel says its massive "security barrier," made of electric fencing,
barbed wire and concrete walls, is needed to stop potential attackers
from infiltrating the country and Jewish settlements in the occupied
West Bank.

Palestinians have denounced it as an "apartheid wall" aimed at grabbing
their land and undermining the viability of their promised state.

"The reason for the route was not security but to enlarge the settlement
which stands nearby, Modiin Ilit," said Sfard.

In 2004, the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding ruling
that parts of the 650-kilometre (410-mile) barrier criss-crossing the
West Bank are illegal and should be torn down. Israel has vowed to
complete the project.

Israel's high court has issued several rulings ordering a dismantling or
re-routing of pieces of the controversial barrier.

But it has also rejected petitions, ruling that Israeli security is of
primary concern and finding no alternative route other than the one
outlined by the Israeli army.

Anarchists Against The Wall, the main Israeli group that has
demonstrated in Bilin, welcomed the decision as an "important political
victory".

"It proved that the people, when they chose to act, have power over
Israeli institutions," said one of its activists, Jonathan Pollak.

"But the court decision still approved building the wall on Palestinian
land in the West Bank in violation of international law."

Palestinians have likewise vowed to continue their protests.

"We got some of our rights," said Wajih Burnat, a shepherd in Bilin.
"But we have not recovered all our land. So the struggle must continue."