Palestinian Village inspires popular movement
by TRNN
Every Friday for five years, Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists protest the annexation of the lands of the Bil'in village by Israel's segregation wall. Their grassroots effort won them a major victory in Israeli courts in 2007. Now, at the fifth Bil'in conference, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and representatives of all the major political parties endorsed their struggle. Khaleda Jarrar of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine criticized the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority for its recent repression of Palestinian political activists as part of the security collaboration outlined in the Oslo agreements. Fatah's Nabil Shaath noted that negotiations haven't led far as this weekend U.S. envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, led Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to some concessions though they will most likely be rejected by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.