Palestinians, left-wing activists rebuild 'outpost' in village of Bil'in

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 separation fence route near the settlement of Upper Modi'in.

The caravan was situated on land adjacent to the Matityahu East neighborhood of Upper Modi'in, where 750 housing units have been built illegally. The mobile home, which arrived yesterday from inside Israel, is standing approximately 100 meters away from the Matityahu East construction site.

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."

The separation fence cuts off village residents from approximately half of their lands. The placement of the caravan is meant to serve as a protest against the fence and against illegal settlement construction.

Bil'in has become the symbol of the struggle against the separation fence, serving as the site of dozens of joint Palestinian-Israeli demonstrations in the past year. Some of the demonstrations have ended in violent clashes with security forces.

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."