JERUSALEM, 5 September 2007 — Israel’s Supreme Court yesterday ordered the state to reroute a section of its West Bank wall at a village that has become a potent symbol of Palestinian opposition to the construction. The court ruled that the route of the separation wall in the Bilin area was “highly prejudicial” to the villagers and demanded that the government map out an alternative route “within a reasonable period.”
Palestinians have accused Israel of seizing around 200 hectares of land in the farming village for the wall and charged that thousands of olive trees have been uprooted for construction work.
In the unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel, the court said the villagers had been discriminated against by having land seized and trees cut down to make way for the snaking maximum security wire fence outside Bilin. “Furthermore, the villagers of Bilin are cut off from a large part of their farming land by the current route of the wall,” said the court.
For two and a half years, foreign peace activists, Israelis and Palestinians have demonstrated against the wall at least once a week in Bilin, 12 kilometers west of Ramallah.
The demonstrations have frequently turned violent, with stone-throwing protesters standing off against Israeli soldiers armed with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Dozens of Bilin residents came out to celebrate their victory, waving Palestinian flags and throwing candy at the impassive Israeli soldiers on the other side of the barbed wire fence. “The Israeli court decision proves that peaceful struggle can be effective,” said Abdallah Abu Rahmeh, who has coordinated many of the rallies.
In another development, Israel could release 100 Palestinian prisoners belonging to President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan this year, an Israeli official said yesterday.
“The prime minister is considering the release of 100 Fatah prisoners from the Gaza Strip as a gesture of good will toward Abbas ahead of Ramadan,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The official said that Abbas had requested the release during his last meeting with Olmert in Jerusalem last week and that Israeli officials were currently drawing a list of potential prisoners.
Meanwhile, President Abbas warned yesterday that a major Middle East peace summit called by US President George W. Bush could fail without adequate preparation. “The conference should be well prepared in order to succeed,” Abbas told a joint news conference with Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer in the West Bank political capital of Ramallah.
“We must be able to reach a clear, unambiguous framework agreement not open to different interpretations,” he said. “We are making every effort to come to the conference prepared. What we do not want, is to go with vague declarations leading to a resounding failure,” the Palestinian president said.
Abbas also called for Arab countries to attend the conference, widely expected in November. “We insist that all concerned parties participate directly or indirectly. That means that countries with occupied lands, countries in the region or those that support the peace process should attend,” he said.
The president condemned Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel launched from Hamas-controlled Gaza as “damaging to peace.” Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert — who have been at odds over what exactly they want to achieve beforehand — are scheduled to meet several more times to find common ground before the summit.
