The Israeli Supreme Court has ordered the government to re-route a section of its West Bank separation barrier, a defeat for the state after a 2 1/2-year legal battle.
Protesters gather every Friday in Bilin to protest the barrier that cuts villagers off from their fields, and symbolically to oppose the whole project. Dozens of demonstrators - Israelis, Palestinians and foreigners - have been wounded in the weekly clashes with Israeli forces.
After the ruling was announced, Palestinian villagers poured out of homes and schools and headed toward the fence, where several Israeli army jeeps gathered. "They demolished the Berlin wall, we want to demolish the Bilin wall," they chanted. Men waving Palestinian flags burst into a traditional Arab dance and shouted, "Soldiers, go home."
The ruling came as Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon called for cutting off water, electricity and fuel to Gaza as punishment for rocket attacks, and the Defence Ministry declared a state of emergency in Israeli communities near Gaza, a step sometimes taken before a military operation.
The Israeli Security Cabinet will meet tomorrow to discuss the issue, officials said.
In the West Bank today, Israeli forces shot an 8-year-old Palestinian boy in the head with a rubber-coated bullet, seriously wounding him, Palestinian hospital officials said. The military said troops encountered rioters throwing rocks, and soldiers fired rubber-coated bullets in response.
AP