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"Today Justices Beinish, Procacha and Rivlin fulfilled the task entrusted to the judges of a Supreme Court in democratic state - to prevent the state authorities from perpetrating in justice. In deciding to reject the route of Separation Fence which was drawn so as to steal more than half the lands of Bi'in Village, the judges salvaged some of Israel’s lost honour, which is daily trampled by the occupation's bulldozers” says Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom. “Justice would not have been vindicated, but for the extraordinary determination and courage shown by the Bil’in villagers, who continue already for two years to hold protests on their stolen land, tirelessly and fearlessly, in face of the army’s brutal violence; the extraordinary determination and courage also of wonderful young Israelis such as the activists of ‘Anarachists Against Walls’ who week after week come to Bil’in and stand with the villagers, in face of the occupation forces" said Avnery, who himself participated in demonstrations at Bil’in and was personally the target of water cannons and tear gas grenades lobbed by the army. “Today's victory is not just a victory for the inhabitants of Bil’in. This is a victory for all peace-seekers, Palestinian and Israeli alike. It is the victory not only of people but also of a way, a victory for Israelis and Palestinians who together confront the injustice and rapacity of the occupation. Bil’in is by no means the only venue. Similar, less well-known struggles take part in many other places where the occupation has grievously hurt Palestinian inhabitants – for example, in villages near Bethlehem, whose land was also stolen. It can be hoped and expected that today’s Supreme Court ruling will encourage Palestinians in many other locations to turn to the road of active cooperation with Israeli peace seekers – which might have considerable importance for the future of relations between the two peoples". Avnery called upon State Comptroller Lindenstraus to conduct an independent and thorough investigation into the possible connections between the fence’s entire route, hundreds of kilometres long as drawn by the army - and its possible connections with land speculations and shady real estate deals. “The connection is already well-known between the theft of the Bil’in lands and the scandal of the Heftziba Construction Company which erected hundreds of illegal houses on that land (and whose debunking Chief Director was now apprehended in Italy). But I have the feeling that there are many other cases of the same sort. Any detour of the fence route, even by one kilometre, into Palestinian territory creates a real estate gold mine, which can be worth billions in profit to somebody. The Heftziba scandal might turn out to be the bare tip of an iceberg of corruption. Following the appeal lodged by Adv. Michael Sfrad on behalf of the Bil'in inhabitants, the Supreme Court today totally rejected the present route of the fence in the Bil'in sector and ordered the army to prepare within a reasonable time a proposal for an alternative route, which would leave the Bil'in agricultural lands on the - Palestinian - side of the fence. The court determined that the present route was formulated with the purpose of facilitating the creation of the "Matityahu East" neighbourhood of the (giant and ever-expanding) settlement of Modi'in Illit. The "Matityahu East" project is itself subdivided into two parts, of which the western part already started to be erected while the eastern one was not yet in any way implemented. The judges definitely ruled that the unimplemented plans for the eastern section are in no way to be considered as a factor in defining the route of the fence. The judges also expressed their surprise at the fact that the fence - which is supposed to serve military defence purposes - was placed in a topographically inferior location, solely in order to provide for the settlement plans. On Friday this week (Sept. 7) a large-scale Israeli-Palestinian event is planned at Bil'in, to mark the Supreme Court's ruling. Further contact: Uri Avnery +972-505-709603, Adam Keller +972-3-5565804 or +972-506-709603, Adv. Michael Sfard 054-4713930, Yonathan Pollak 054-6327732, |
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