Israeli troops face protesters near WBank barrier

BILIN, West Bank, Feb 23 (Reuters) Israeli border police fired water cannons and stun grenades today to disperse Palestinian and other protesters near the barrier Israel is building in and around the occupied West Bank.

Medics said ten people were injured in scuffles near the West Bank village of Bilin where protesters have gathered every week for the past two years to press Israel to stop building the barrier, which they say is cutting off farmers from their lands.

Friday marked the second anniversary of the start of the protests in Bilin, and several hundred protesters, including Israeli peace activists and foreigners participated.

''This wall has nothing to do with security. It's obvious that the wall is robbing the village of Bilin of its land,'' said Israeli peace activist Ori Avneri, who regularly takes part in the demonstrations.

Israel has so far built about half of a planned 670-km-long (400 mile) barrier in the West Bank since 2002.

It says the network of barbed wire fences and concrete walls are needed to stop suicide bombers from infiltrating its cities.

Palestinians denounce the barrier as a land grab that could deny them a viable state in land Israel captured in a 1967 war.

The World Court ruled in 2004 that the construction was illegal because it cut into occupied territory. Israel's Supreme Court rejected that ruling, although it has ordered parts of the steel and concrete barricade to be re-routed.

REUTERS BDP BD1858