In 1953 the Israeli High Court ruled that the state must honour its promise to the refugees from Biram and allow them to return. The army pre-empted the ruling by bombing the village from the air, but in their hurry the soldiers failed to eradicate Biram with their usual attention to detail. The tower of the only untouched building, the Maronite church, is just visible in the background on the left. (August 2005)