BICOM

The Ministry of Defence began to dismantle part of the West Bank security fence near the village of Billi’in, in accordance with a High Court of Justice ruling for the route to be redrawn. Defence Ministry workers started taking apart three kilometres of the fence that lies west of the village of Bili’in, with work scheduled to be complete by the end of the week. The area surrounding Bili’in and the security fence is well-known, due to weekly Friday protests from Palestinians and left-wing Israelis calling on the government to dismantle the security barrier. The protesters say that the fence, despite the removal efforts, is still blocking off thousands of dunams of land from the village. 

Israel began building the 680-kilometre security fence in the West Bank in 2002 under the leadership of former-prime minister Ariel Sharon at the height of the second intifada during a wave of suicide bombings against Israeli cities. The establishment of the fence contributed to a reduction of terrorist attacks originating from the West Bank. In the past, the Supreme Court has heard several petitions by Palestinians against the rout of the fence and, in several cases, has ordered it to be changed to minimise disruption to Palestinian life.