At the end of 2004, the Palestinian village of Bil''''in received a note from the Israeli army, which announced the beginning of the construction of the Separation Barrier. After already having lost large amounts of their lands to Israel, the planned construction of the barrier would further annex approximately 60% of the village land and thereby enable the expansion of the settlement of Mattityahu. In response to the illegal confiscation of their land, the village started organising protest activities in early 2005, which by now celebrate their 5th anniversary. The creativity which characterises these activities, as well as the fruitful and continuous cooperation between the village, Israeli and international activists, soon established Bil''''in as a symbol of non-violent resistance. Among other things, the village set up a Palestinian outpost on the expropriated land in order to raise attention to the double standard of Israeli law, which allows for Jewish-Israeli construction only, no matter what their legal basis is. The demonstrations became the scene for reenactments of Hollywood movies, concerts, and even of a wedding celebration of two Palestinian activists. Notwithstanding the peaceful nature nature of Bil''''in''''s resistance, the protest activities were and continue to be met with extreme levels of violence through the Israeli authorities and hundreds of activists - Palestinian, Israeli, and international - were partly severely injured.  On April 17th, 2009, Basem Abu Rahme, a Bil''''in resident and integral part of the protest activities, was murdered by a high velocity tear gas projectile, which was shot directly at his chest from close range. Apart from direct physical violence the Israeli army continues their efforts in suppressing the weekly protests by enforcing curfews, executing raids and arresting activists. By the time of writing, two members of Bil''''ins Popular Committee, Abdullah and Adeeb Abu Rahme, are being held in Israeli military prisons. Apart from constituting a model for the popular struggle, Bil''''in''''s continued resistance also became a sign of hope for other Palestinian villages in the West Bank. Two and a half years after the Israeli Supreme Court deemed the path of the Wall on Bil''''in''''s land illegal, preliminary infrastructure work to reroute the barrier have finally begun in February 2010.     Mohammad Khatib, a member of the Popular Committee comments on this achievement: “While we are happy for the lands that do return, we do not forget the lands and crops that remain isolated behind the Wall. Our struggle will continue until all of our lands are returned and the Occupation is over.”