Palestinian protesters win first prize in the name of late leader Yasser Arafat
12/11/2007
Source : International Herald Tribune
by The Associated Press
RAMALLAH, West Bank: Palestinian demonstrators who pushed Israel to reroute the path of its contentious West Bank separation barrier won the first Yasser Arafat Achievement Award Monday at an event marking three years since the legendary leader’s death.
A 30-member grouping representing the residents of the village of Bilin received the award, worth $25,000 (€17,150), contributed by weathy Palestinians, organizers said.
After three years of demonstrations by villagers, joined by Israeli and international peace activists, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the state to redraw the route of the barrier which runs through Bilin,separating the villagers from their farmland and neighbors.
Bir Zeit University president Nabil Kassis, head of the committee that picked the winner, said the weekly protests shed the image of terrorism often associated with Palestinians.
The activists "renewed the use of peaceful protests and recruited supporters from around the world," he told the audience in the Ramallah Cultural Palace.
Abdullah Abu Rahma, a protest organizer and resident of Bilin, said the prize celebrates his group’s successes. "We had more achievements than losses during our peaceful struggle," he said.
He said the money would be used to establish a project that encourage "peaceful struggle" and will carry the name of Arafat, Abu Rahma said.
Arafat was first noted for directing high profile attacks against Israeli targets in the 1970s, and his peace negotiations with Israel won him the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, which he shared with Israeli leaders.
