Palestinian People Rejoice Following ICJ Ruling Against the Apartheid Wall

The Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Diaspora
rejoiced and took to the streets to celebrate justice, following the advisory
opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that deemed the Israeli
Apartheid Wall illegal.

Throughout the Palestinian provinces, massive demonstrations were organized to
condemn the Wall and to assert on adopting the ICJ’s advisory opinion by a resolution
from the UN General Assembly and Security Council.

In Ramallah, President Yasser Arafat and the Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei’ both
welcomed the ICJ’s opinion, as President Arafat described it as a ’victory’ for
the Palestinian people, righteousness, law and the freedom movements around the
world, while PM Qurei’ described the opinion as a ’historical’ one.

Meanwhile, President Arafat’s media advisor, Nabil Abu Rudeina, stressed that the Palestinians would seek to impose international sanctions on Israel following the ICJ opinion, pointing out that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)’s next step is to go to the UN General Assembly and Security Council to call for a resolution that would isolate and punish Israel.

Also, in the city of Bethlehem, which has been losing large parts of its lands to the Israeli Wall, the "National Committee to Defend Lands and Confront Settlement" organized a demonstration, protesting the Israeli colonial policies and the continued construction of the Apartheid Wall.

Hundreds of citizens, representing the different national and popular activities in the city participated in the demonstration, marching from the Bethlehem province building till the Apartheid Wall near Ayda refugee camp, raising Palestinian flags and banners condemning the Wall.

Elsewhere in the occupied East Jerusalem, the "National Committee to Resist the Apartheid Wall" has declared late on Friday night to halt the open hunger strike at the sit-in tent near the Al Barid suburb in Jerusalem.

The Arab Knesset Member, Dr. Azmi Bishara, along with dozens of prominent political and popular figures, declared last Saturday an open hunger strike in protest of the continued construction of the Wall, and to draw international attention to the negative repercussions of such a Wall on the lives of the Palestinian people.

"In light of the victory that was achieved by the ICJ opinion, we declare halting the open hunger strike and to go out to our people armed with this historical decision, considering it one of the leverages of our people’s struggle against this abominable Wall," the Committee said in a statement.

The Committee also asserted that it would continue its activities and programs to put the international court’s decision into effect and to take it to the United Nations in order take the necessary measures to subjugate the Israeli government to the supremacy of the international law.

In the meantime, a statement issued by the General Union for the Palestinian Environmental Organizations (GUPEO) welcomed the ICJ opinion, which described the Apartheid Wall as a violation to the international law.

The GUPEO also called Israel to cease constructing the Wall, remove what was already built , return back the Palestinian citizens’ properties and compensate Palestinians for the damages caused by the Wall.

In Diaspora, the different factions of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) organized a sit-in in front of the UNRWA headquarters in the city of Tripoli, north of Lebanon, protesting the construction of the Apartheid Wall.

Thousands of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon from the refugee camps of Nahr Al Bared and Al Baddawi, along with prominent political, cultural and union figures representing those refugees took part in the sit-in, carrying banners condemning the construction of the Wall.

The demonstrators then presented a letter to the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, in which they demanded that the Wall be torn down and the Palestinian people be supported in its fight against its removal.

In the same context, the Palestinian community in the German city of Bonn organized a large rally there to protest the continuous Israeli construction of the Apartheid Wall.

The rally, which was held at Friedensplatz (Peace Plaza) lasted for several hours and included hundreds of Palestinians living in Germany along with a number of German citizens.

The demonstrators condemned, in a leaflet distributed at the plaza, the Israeli violations of the human and national rights of the Palestinian people, and considered the ICJ opinion as a historical victory for the Palestinians.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice issued a strongly worded advisory opinion stating that the Israeli Apartheid Wall was an illegal one, and demanded the ceasing of its construction, removal of the parts that was already build, returning the expropriated lands to its Palestinian owners and compensating the afflicted Palestinians for losses and damages.

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10.07.2004
Bellaciao Collective