Sunday, December 25, 2005

Palestine-Israel, Bil'in, Media: activists rebuild the center for joint struggle for peace outpost in occupied lands 25 Dec

The first outpost which was established last Wdnesday morning was destroyed Thursday evening. See (en) Palestine-Israel, Media, Haaretz, Bil'in residents set up 'outpost' west of separation fence - http://ainfos.ca/05/dec/ainfos00279.html
and: (en) Palestine-Israel, Bil'in, the joint struggle against the separation fence intensify towards the highest court decision at 1st February http://ainfos.ca/05/dec/ainfos00296.html
Palestinian residents of the West Bank town of Bil'in along with left-wing activists have rebuilt an "outpost" Sunday two days after the Israel Defense Forces removed the container from the identical spot west of the route of the separation fence near the settlement of Upper Modi'in.

Last week, the Palestinians erected the outpost as part of their plan to establish a "center for the joint struggle for peace." They even brought cement to the site, adding that they intend to build "the western neighborhood of Bil'in."

An IDF spokesperson that the army evacuated the container because it was placed in a closed military zone and that "it is forbidden to transport caravans" in the territories.

"Private Palestinian land is in question here, not state land. The village council approved setting up a caravan and thus this is a legal structure," Attorney Michael Sfard, who represents the Bil'in residents, said last week.

"This will be blatant proof of the fact that there is selective law enforcement if they deal with the poor caravan before the hundreds of housing units built illegally in Upper Modi'in," he added.

Sfard submitted a letter in the name of Peace Now to the Civil Administration demanding a halt to the construction within a week. At the end of this time, Sfard wrote in the letter, he will turn to the Supreme Court.

"After what happened today in Bil'in, there is no reason that the state should defend its decision to continue the construction" in Matitiyahu, Sfard said.

"Now the truth is out, and the truth is that Jews are allowed to break the law and Palestinians are not.

"This," Sfard continued, "is called apartheid."

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