International conference in Bil'in

12/03/2006

Source : CCIPPP

S. went to Bil’in as part of a civilian mission in 2005. Since then, he’s stayed in close contact with this village and their struggle. He participated in the international conference on February the 20th and 21st and sends us this news. The resistance continues - last Friday, S. was at Bil’in again.

An international conference was held at Bil’in, on the 20th and 21st of February. Close to 400 people, Israelis, Palestinians and internationals, participated. The conference, which was spread out over two days, started off with a presentation of the situation at Bil’in and several other villages in the neighborhood, Aboud and Beit Sira for example. Several different participants gave speeches, notably the Bil’in People’s Committee representatives (Abdallah Abu Rahma, Mohammad Khatib), doctor Mustapha Barghouti, Uri Avnery from Gush Shalom, Mansour from the ISM and also several representatives from other villages.

Thematic workshops were held during the afternoon concerning numerous subjects (the non-violent struggle at Bil’in, the role of the internationals in Palestine, the subject of Jerusalem, etc.).The objective of each workshop was to expose the different situations and to propose the actions to be taken. In the case of Bil’in, four propositions were submitted:

  • The purchase of annexed lands by the internationals.
  • The plantation of olive orchards (on the annexed lands) sponsored by the internationals.
  • The dismantling of the wall by the Israelis and the internationals.
  • The organization of a worldwide demonstration in support of Bil’in, the first Friday of every month.

The first day of the conference finished with a film documenting the first year of resistance at Bil’in. The spectators broke out laughing during some scenes, clapping their hands and mocking the soldiers falling head over heels while chasing demonstrators, gassing themselves, etc. On the 21st, each workshop representative presented the proposition of the action they had decided on. For Bil’in, it was the idea of a monthly worldwide demonstration. It was voted unanimously to continue this international conference on non-violent resistance every year here in this village where the struggle is the most intense. The conference was concluded with a march towards the wall’s construction site. A soccer game was held on a piece of annexed ground at Bil’in in presence of the Secretary of Sports and Youth. Thanks to player number 9 and his superbly executed mid-air kick marking the goal, applauded by the supporters and the Israeli soldiers watching, the yellow team (the official youth team of Bil’in) humiliated the People’s Committee team (Mohammad Khatib, Mansour from the ISM, etc.). The winner’s cup was presented by A., who is the mayor of a town in the Val d’Oise in France.

For the organizers and the participants, this conference was a genuine popular success. This day of work and play was finished with the planting of young olive trees on the annexed lands. The sun shined on this day marking the end of a successful conference. Also, not the slightest military intervention took place during these two days.

The February 24th Demonstration

The habitual Friday demonstration started from the mosque at noon. Around a hundred people gathered at the wall’s construction site. Except for some rocks thrown and a few tear-gas grenades launched towards the end of the demonstration, it went off rather calmly.

Afterward, we had lunch at the house of one the villagers, where the Palestinian Ambassador to Washington, Mr. Afif Safieh and a member of the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Office, were present. The Bil’in committee asked the ambassador to take advantage of his interview with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, to get him to accept a meeting with the Bil’in representatives. The village habitants regret very much the absence of Palestinian Authority officials during the non-violent demonstrations against the wall and the fact that they don’t even come to the village.