Iyad Burnat

About

Iyad Burnat is a Palestinian community leader from the West Bank village of Bil’in, where he heads the Bil’in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements and the Friends of Freedom and Justice association. Since 2005, he has helped organize weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the Israeli separation barrier, land confiscation, and settlement expansion, bringing together local residents with Israeli and international activists. His leadership and the village’s creative resistance have gained global attention and contributed to legal victories that forced Israel to reroute sections of the barrier and return some of Bil’in’s farmland. Bil’in’s struggle features prominently in the Oscar‑nominated documentary “5 Broken Cameras,” filmed by his brother Emad Burnat. Through international speaking tours, media appearances, and his book “Bil’in and the Nonviolent Resistance,” Iyad shares firsthand testimony about life under occupation and the power of grassroots, nonviolent struggle. He has received recognition including the James Lawson Award for Achievement in the Practice of Nonviolent Conflict for his role in advancing nonviolent resistance in Palestine. In his talks, Iyad emphasizes that his movement is not against Jews as a people but against a system of military occupation, and he calls for broad global solidarity, including support for campaigns such as Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), to pressure for freedom, justice, and equality for all.