Bil'in to Hold Mass Demo This Friday in Protest of Recent House Demolition

The demonstration will protest the demolition of the "Bil'in Outpost" by Israeli forces last Monday. The structure was built in 2005 on lands then sequestered by the Wall in order to assert ownership of the land and expose illegal construction in the nearby settlement.

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When: Noon, Friday, December 2nd, 2011
Where: Bil'in village, West of Ramallah
Residents of Bil'in will be joined by supporters from surrounding villages and representatives of all Palestinian factions this Friday, as well as Israeli and international activists, to protest the demolition of the "Bil'in Outpost" last Monday, and to demand the dismantling of the Wall and settlements.

The "Bil'in Outpost" was built on December 2005, on lands which were then located between the path of the Wall and the Jewish-only settlement of Modi'in Illit. It was established after the scope of construction in the nearby settlement, illegal even according to Israeli law, was exposed, as was the complicity of the Israeli military in it.

While Israeli authorities failed to act against the construction of hundreds of residential units in the settlement, built illegally even under Israeli law, the Palestinian "Outpost" was issued a stop-work order by the Israeli Civil Administration merely hours after its construction began. While hundreds of residential units that were illegally built in the adjacent settlement were since whitewashed and retroactively approved, Israeli authorities refused to do so in regards to the Palestinian structure and issued a demolition order.

The path of the Wall has since been rerouted, and the structure stood on lands supposedly returned to the villagers, who were outraged by its destruction on Monday.

Mohammed Khatib of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements said, "It is a mockery of justice that the settlers' houses - built on our stolen land - were retroactively approved, but our building was knocked down as if we are the criminals. If this isn't apartheid, I don't know what is."

"What kind of justice is it that gives us our lands back, but does not allow us to use them as we wish? Israel wants to say that the land was given back in order to avoid criticism, but continue controlling what is done with them. The Wall must be removed in its entirety, all settlements must be dismantled and our lands must return to us. Nothing short of that will suffice", Khatib said.