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News from the Region
2007 Olive Harvest Delegation

Report #3, Part 1 of 2
Is Non-Violent Resistance Still Alive In the West Bank?

By Doug Kerr

Bil-in, November 3 - Many members of our delegation have had a long-standing interest in non-violent conflict resolution and wondered what we would find during our trip to Israel and the West Bank.  Some of us had heard previously from Palestinians that although community organizing of non-violent resistance to the Israeli occupation had been prominent during the first intifada, the opportunity had been lost after the second intifada.  We also heard that the current circumstances of the occupation, with restricted travel, communication, and public gatherings, are so harsh that organization required for non-violent direct actions is extremely difficult. 

Child in Bil’in showing tear gas canister and bullets fired at the village’s non-violent protesters against the Separation Barrier. This youngster has been hit by rubber bullets three times.

During the first week of our trip, we heard about the many less visible forms that non-violent resistance has taken, including refusing to emigrate, promoting education, community support, public relations, economic independence, and promotion of creative activities.  While recognizing how valuable all these activities are for strengthening the Palestinian community, we wondered how Palestinians could continue to tolerate the severe injustices of the Separation Barrier, economic degradation, and loss of basic human rights without becoming violent.

On November 3, we traveled to the Palestinian village of Bil’in.  Reaching Bil’in now requires a circuitous route.  This visit sparked our sagging hope for non-violent direct action.  There we saw an independent Palestinian community organization energized to confront the Separation Barrier with bold, creative action. 

Bil’in is a small agricultural village, not far from the large Israeli urban settlement of Modi’in and surrounding settlements.  To provide “protection” for one of these nearby settlements, Israeli government planners decided to extend the Separation Barrier within a half-mile of the village, cutting off access to many acres of historically Palestinian olive groves and other valuable farm lands, threatening the economy of the village, and blocking connecting transportation.  In response, the villagers organized a resistance movement to impede completion of this barrier. 

IFPB delegates meet with residents in Bil'in where creative non-violent demonstrations have occurred weekly for several years.

Bil’in residents started weekly non-violent protests at the nearest site of closure of access.  They combined remarkably creative theatrical ways to attract attention, videotaped the protestors’ actions and the soldiers’ response, and publicized all this widely on the internet and by other means.  As a result, many concerned Israeli’s and other international supporters have found their way to Bil’in to join the effort and spread the word as to what is happening.  Other surrounding villages have joined in the effort and initiated similar actions elsewhere.  

Actions have included wearing humorous costumes of grazing animals; attempting to establish their own Palestinian “settlement” houses on village lands which now lie on the other side of the barrier; chaining themselves to olive trees or inside of iron beams; carrying a long giant cloth snake symbolizing the “snake-like” barrier; and many more tactics.  The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has responded with force, including firing tear gas, clubbing the protestors, firing upon them with rubber coated bullets, and burning olive trees on the village side of the wall.  The IDF also has attempted to intimidate the villagers directly by coming into their homes, establishing restrictive curfews, and arresting organizers. 

A few days before our visit, the IDF came during the night, ransacked a home of one of the organizers, and arrested a visiting foreign supporter.  However, the protests go on every Friday.   With help of prominent lawyers, the village has simultaneously pursued legal action to defend their property rights, and the Israeli Supreme Court has decreed that the barrier should be moved back to provide access of the villagers to their land.  So far the IDF has not followed the Court’s ruling (which is not unusual), and the protests are continuing, because it keeps the Bil’in villagers’ hope alive.

Our delegation was hosted by a gracious family, who invited us into their home, showed us a DVD describing what they have done, and provided us with a most delicious lunch.  We were inspired by the young, determined leaders of the movement and the eager support that holds their families together.  We are eager to help spread the word about their actions and continue our enthusiasm for the power of non-violent resistance to unjust oppression.

For more information, check these websites:
The Bil’in Friends of Justice and Freedom Society:  www.Ffj-bilin.org
The Bil’in popular Committee:  www.bilin-village.org/english/

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