I visited Bil'in many times during my time in Palestine, attending demonstrations and staying overnight in case of Israeli army invasions. There were many demonstrations I went to but this was one of the best -- we succeeded to block the construction of the Wall for several hours.

The Palestinian village of Bil'in has been involved in resistance and weekly demonstrations against Israel's apartheid Wall for nearly two years beginning in February 2005. As in many Palestinian villages the Wall cuts right through the village's land, effectively annexing even more of it to Israel.

In this area the Wall consists of large coils of razor wire, a steep bank, a high fence, a dirt path, another fence and finally a tarmac road, which the soldiers patrol with their jeeps and humvees. Despite the initial claims of the Israeli government that the Wall is only for “security purposes,” in Bil’in, as along some 80 percent of its route, the Wall does not follow the route of the 1967 Green Line. Israeli ministers are now openly saying that the route will determine final borders.

As the Wall has been designed to accommodate the expansion of the Israeli settlements, the village stands to lose 60 percent of its land on the other side. For the small agricultural village some 25 minutes drive from Ramallah (the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority), this is a crushing blow.

Despite this, the villagers have shunned armed struggle in favor of non-violent marches and protests. “We chose this way of resistance because we believe in it,” says Mohammed Katib, a member of the Popular Committee. The committee was set up at the beginning of the campaign to co-ordinate the struggle in all its forms.