Residents of the West Bank village of Bil’in were joined yesterday, 4 September, by Israelis and internationals to celebrate a resounding victory in their battle against the Segregation Wall. From atop trucks and vans, crowds waved flags, sang and danced at the news from the Israeli High Court of Justice, whose ruling is being seen as the culmination of and reward for over two years of non-violent protest.
Since 2005, Bil’in has been cut off from large swathes of its agricultural land by a barbed wire “security barrier,” built ostensibly to protect the nearby settlement of Modi'in Illit, one of the fastest growing settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Yet, like many other cases across the West Bank, Israel built the fence some distance away from the settlement, confirming, for many, the suspicion that the building of such barriers is in effect a land-grab to ensure the future expansion of the settlement.
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To read the whole article, click here <http://www.alternativenews.org/news/english/victory-for-bilin-court-orders-government-to-re-route-wall-in-west-bank-village-20070906.html>.
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* Victory in Bil’in of David the Anarchist over Goliath the Settler
* Written by Michael Warschawski, Alternative Information Center (AIC) * *On the cover-page of Israel’s second largest daily, /Maariv/, was the following headline: "Bil'in Residents Have Won Against the IDF,” and the subtitle: "Three Years of Violent Demonstrations Led by Palestinians and the Far-Left [Israeli] Activists Have Paid: The Separation Fence Close to Bil'in will be Moved." In the inside story, the title is even more eloquent: "The Battle over the Fence: The State has Lost in Bil'in."
Except for falsely defining as "violent demonstrations," what was in truth a strategically conceived non-violent struggle, the feelings of rightwing /Maariv/ editors were shared also by the hundreds of residents of Bil'in, who organized a victory rally in the village, immediately after the decision of the Supreme Court was made public: a victory of David against Goliath.
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To read the whole article, click here <http://www.alternativenews.org/blogs/michael-warschawski/victory-in-bilin-of-david-the-anarchist-on-goliath-the-settler-20070906.html>.
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* A Word of Praise for the Work of the Anarchists Against the Wall *
Written by Michael Warschawski, Alternative Information Center (AIC)
One of the sole positive achievements in the past years in what is termed the Israeli Left/anti-occupation camp, is the appearance of the Anarchists Against the Wall. Apart from the Women’s Coalition, which is expending great efforts to keep its head above water, all of the other movements have practically ceased to exist (such as Gush Shalom and Ta’ayush), or in the best case, have simply lost the dynamic force that characterized them four years ago. I am of course referring to movements, and not to political parties or NGOs, which deserve a separate discussion.
The Anarchists Against the Wall is a young movement, one advantage, and an active movement, a second advantage, which succeeds in leading, through its weekly initiatives and actions near the Segregation Wall, the remainder of the other groups and their “refugees.” What do these Anarchists Against the Wall have that transform them into the combative and energetic factor that we know? Firstly, a very healthy sense of what is good and what is bad; a sense that allowed them, much before the others, to identify the Wall as a symbol of the evil of the occupation, and in general, the evil of the global era built on walls and apartheid. Secondly, a willingness to sacrifice and the ability to overcome their fears (including a fear of our slanderers and detractors), which at times paralyze us. Thirdly, a direct relationship with Palestinian youth of their own age, which permits a much more “flowing” cooperation than what we knew from the previous generation, when Palestinian-Israeli cooperation required long days of discussion and political agreements.
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To read the whole article, click here <http://www.alternativenews.org/blogs/michael-warschawski/a-word-of-praise-for-the-work-of-the-anarchists-against-the-wall-20070906.html>.