Friday: Thousands to mark 5 years of protest in Bil'in

Published today 14:30, February 18, 2010

Bethlehem - Ma'an -

Organizers of Bil'in's weekly anti-wall protest expect thousands to turn out on Friday and mark the fifth year of popular action against the continued confiscation of village land by Israel's separation wall.

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and leaders of all political factions will be among the demonstrators, a statement from the Bil'in Popular Committee said.

The anniversary will also be a cause to celebrate, coming just one week after Israeli court ordered-work the route of the wall began. The changes should see Palestinians from the area granted better access to their lands.

Over its five years of protest, Bil'in has seen a sharp increase in military violence and repression, with regular night raids targeting protest organizers, thousands injured by Israeli riot dispersal equipment alongside real bullets, and the death of a Palestinian man last year after a tear gas canister was shot at him from a high-velocity gun. Basem Ibrahim Abu Rahmeh was 29 years old when he was killed.

International attention to the protest movement waxed and waned over the years, with organizers trying varied tactics to communicate the urgency felt by the community in the face of the growing separation wall.

In June 2009, organizers acted out and filmed a real-life scenario based on the Israeli cell phone provider Cellcom commercial showing soldiers playing a friendly game of soccer with Palestinians over the wall.

In December organizers took photos of the Israeli military shooting tear gas at Santa-suited demonstrators carrying toy sacs and Christmas trees.

Last week organizers dressed up as characters from the Hollywood blockbuster Avatar, "Like Palestinians, the Avatars fight imperialism, although the colonizers have different origins,"organizers said. The Avatars' presence in Bil'in "symbolizes the united resistance to imperialism of all kinds."