Become an Observer Logout Contribute



On Friday, February 17, a group of young Palestinians scaled the Israeli-built wall separating the Palestinian town of Bil’in and the neighbouring Israeli settlement, Modi'in Ilit. According to our Observer, it is the first time in 12 years of protests in Bil’in, the centre of non-violent resistance in the West Bank, that anyone has scaled the heavily guarded wall.



The Israeli government started building this vast steel-and-concrete “security barrier” in April 2002. The Palestinians call it the “apartheid wall” or the “segregation wall”.



Parts of the wall are still under construction, but, when finished, it will be 712 kilometres long. The wall does not follow the Green Line, which is usually accepted as the border between Israel and the West Bank.



People protest in Bil'in on February 17. (Photo by our Observer)

The residents of Bil’in have held a protest every Friday since 2005. On the 12th anniversary of the struggle against the wall, several young people scaled the barrier and









The Israeli government started building this vast steel-and-concrete “security barrier” in April 2002. The Palestinians call it the “apartheid wall” or the “segregation wall”.Parts of the wall are still under construction, but, when finished, it will be 712 kilometres long. The wall does not follow the Green Line, which is usually accepted as the border between Israel and the West Bank. A ccording to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (or OCHA), 85 percent of this wall sits well within the West Bank — sometimes even several kilometres in. Because of this, some small communities of Palestinians are actually located outside of the wall and on the Israeli side. Trapped, they are separated by a wall from the rest of the Palestinian population and sometimes even land that used to be farmed by villagers.The residents of Bil’in have held a protest every Friday since 2005. On the 12th anniversary of the struggle against the wall, several young people scaled the barrier and opened a large iron gate that separates their village from the rest of the West Bank. Mohammed Basman Yasin, a resident of Bil’in and a photographer, took pictures of the incident.

“That was the first time I’ve ever seen people force open the wall”

Mohammed Basman Yasin See profile A young Palestinian climbs the wall. Behind, you can see the Modi’in Ilit settlement. (Photo by our Observer).

I have been participating in the local fight against the wall since I was 13. I am 23 now and, during the past decade, I have attended almost every single weekly protest. I will never be able to accept the fact that our olive trees, which represent the livelihood of our village, were destroyed by bulldozers as the wall was built. I can’t accept that the wall still separates us from the land that belongs to us.



We have had some victories. Thanks to our struggle, the path that the wall takes has changed. We were able to recover some of our land. However, we didn’t get it all back so we continue to protest. I’m part of the committee of non-violent resistance in Bil’in and I document our struggle with a camera given to me by the Israeli NGO B'Tselem.





I took a picture of these young people who took the risk of climbing the wall and crossing to the other side. It was their way of denouncing this arbitrary border. It was their own initiative; it didn’t come from the committee. I think that their action was not only a powerful image but also extremely brave because what they did is very dangerous. The Israeli Army could have opened fire at any time. It was the first time that I’ve seen anyone force open the wall in all these years. That’s why I took pictures of it and shared them on social media. Communication is one of our weapons against the occupation.











"We’ve exhausted the legal methods that might help change this situation. The only thing left to do is for the residents to continue to mobilise”

Michael Sfard See profile

Michael Sfard, an Israeli lawyer, is the co-founder of



Bil’in is one of the most important cases I’ve ever worked on. I was part of a team of five lawyers who petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court on their behalf. On September 4, 2007, the court ruled that the army needed to plan and build a new path for the wall. We proved that the original outline was not established for security reasons, but to expand the territory belonging to Modi’in Ilit, which is one of the largest and most important settlements in the West Bank.



The ruling of the Court, which was applied in 2011 by the Israeli army, allowed residents of Bil’in to recover 800 dunams [equivalent to roughly 197 acres] of land. It was a real, if partial, victory for the residents of Bil’in. Each square metre that they get back counts. However, 1200 dunams [equivalent to 296 acres] remain behind the wall, inaccessible to the villages.



This victory would not have been possible without the mobilisation of the residents and the justice carried out by the courts. However, now I fear that the legal means to achieve anything in this struggle have been exhausted. Israel declared these territories “state land”. The only thing left is for the residents to continue to protest as a way of influencing public opinion.



This photo shows the former and the new location of the wall (sent by our Observer).

Michael Sfard, an Israeli lawyer, is the co-founder of Yesh Din , a human rights organisation. He represented the people of Bil'in in a case tried by the Israeli Supreme Court.

"We were inspired by great figures like Martin Luther King and Gandhi to choose a path of non-violent resistance”