Bil'in
Bil'in (Arabic: بلعين) is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bil'in has a population of 1,800, mostly Muslims. It is internationally known for protests against the Israeli occupation and the community leader, Abdullah Abu Rahmah, who heads the weekly protests, is under indictment for what the prosecution has called the 'ideological crime' of taking illegal actions on the West Bank.
History
Potsherds from the Hellenistic, Byzantine, Crusader/Ayyubid, Mamluk and early Ottoman period have been found.
In 1882 the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Bil'in (then called Belain) as "a little village on a hill-side".
At the time of the 1931 census, Bil'in had 39 occupied houses and a population of 166 Muslims. This had increased to 210 Muslims by 1945.
After the Six-Day War in 1967, Bil'in was occupied by Israeli forces. Since the signing of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1995, it has been administered by the Palestinian National Authority. It is adjacent to the Israeli West Bank barrier—which Israelis often call a security fence—and the Israeli settlement of Modi'in Illit. Historically a small agricultural village, modern Bil'in is now nine kilometres (five point six miles) from the western outskirts of Ramallah. According to Neil Rogachevsky, Bil'in is considered an ideological stronghold of Fatah, and many employees of the Palestinian Authority reside there.