In the same week that Hizbollah negotiated the release of 400 Palestinian political prisoners with the Israeli authorities, dozens of mostly young Fatah members resigned from the party stating that they were disillusioned by the corruption and inertia of the Palestinian Authority.
Needless to say, this has further vindicated the armed struggle in the eyes of ordinary Palestinians, and many in the international community as well. The credibility of Hizbollah, having already gained heroic status by militarily defeating the Israeli Defence Forces in south Lebanon, has been given a serious boost. In the Occupied Territories people are bound to conclude that it is the Intifada, and not the US-brokered Road Map, that will achieve meaningful progress.
For Palestinians and the global solidarity movement, the issue of 2004 is the Apartheid Wall, currently being constructed throughout the Occupied Territories. From the disruption of the House of Commons on February 23 by Palestine Solidarity Campaign members, to the beginning of the hearings at The Hague two days later, the Wall is at the top of everyone's agenda.
The wall is currently being built north of the Jordan Valley; west of Ramallah; Jerusalem (especially around Abu Dis); Hebron; and deep into the West Bank. Ramallah and Bethlehem are cut off from Jerusalem, much to the detriment Palestinian trade and culture. East Jerusalem is full of settlements and these are expanding with the Arab population contained in one ared
The Wall is built in a triangle around the Jewish settlements to keep Palestinians out. In the fertile Jordan Valley, Palestinians have been served notice to leave, and homes are already being demolished. Half of the West Bank has already been annexed.
sraeli soldiers man gates at different
points of the wall, keeping Palestinians
entrapped in ways strongly reminiscent of the Warsaw ghetto. In Abu Dis, people must climb over lower parts of the wall to get to the Arab community. In this area, the wall has been constructed right outside some Arabs' houses - all they can see from their windows is this monstrosity, often 8 metres high.
In order to facilitate the building of the Wall and the accompanying ghettoisation, impossible demands are being made on Palestinian farmers who wish to pass through the gates, such as the need to see insurance papers for their tractors! There are less passes being issued to farmers all the time, with increasing numbers being denied access through the gates. This is gradual expulsion by anybody's definition.
Nablus will be cut in half by the wall, with the construction slicing the town down the middle. Watchtowers in this and other areas have been used for snipers to shoot at houses and schools indiscriminately. Snipers are frequently using metal-coated rubber bullets against Arabs, while "internationals' have been victims of mass arrests. Nablus has seen many closures and incursions, and the wall is 30 feet high in this area. The same is true in Jerusalem where there has been a lot of protest action in the north.
Predictably, the Palestinian Authority has done nothing regarding the wall, meaning that people have to organise themselves, backed by the International Solidarity Movement and the Arab Citizens of Israel network. This must be matched by international mobilisation and resistance.
The Hague's decision will be non-binding, so it is not sufficient to leave the issue to international law. A grassroots movement is absolutely essential.
Predictably, the Blair government has said that it will boycott the tribunal because Israel have not consented (!) Pressure on the British government to take a stand has been increased, however, by the recent condemnation of the wall by the International Committee of the Red Cross - a highly unusual example of the Red Cross adopting a political position. Likud has now decided that the Red Cross has always been an antiSemitic organisation. Ted the wordwide campaign for he Red Cross statement has boosteconomic sanctions, and the consumer boycott is really starting to bite. The EU is Israel's biggest trading partner, and so disinvestment will seriously hurt the Israeli economy. The economy is already suffering badly, and Israel is currently experiencing constant strikes and welfare cuts
The wall is being built with Israeli (and US) taxes while unemployment soars. A public awareness campaign in the US about the wall, explaining how many taxpayers dollars are contributing to its construction could be a powerful propaganda tool in turning politically aware Americans against their favourite foreign country.
There is internal opposition to the wall in Israel, primarily from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and the Peace Bloc (Gush Shalom). Indeed, with the rise of the conscientious objectors' movement and a growing number of very active young people within Israel, it does seem that a new generation of activists is emerging, one that does not accept the indoctrination of Israeli schooling and television.
At a recent meeting in Conway Hall, London, an Israeli woman explained that the education system in Israel is used to instil Zionist propaganda in the minds of young Israelis, adding that "the Holocaust is a godsend to Zionists. It is big business". A TO Palestinian man added that the much discussed 'new antisemitism' was created by Israeli Zionism.
Israel depends on international public opinion/support. No country on earth cares so much about its international image. Currently they are using the threat of suicide bombers to convince the world that they need the wall. However the Israeli ambassador recently conceded that there has been an increase since construction of the wall began, so this is an empty argument.
The time to act is now. Area C of the Occupied Territories is now totally controlled by Israel. Every Palestinian home in Area C is to be demolished with no compensation, due to a legal loophole in the Oslo Accords.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) are currently putting notices on trees and front doors throughout Area C notifying the Palestinians that their communities are to be either taken over or destroyed by the IDF
Let Gaza be a warning to us all. Gaza is a cage; according to the Jewish academic Norman Finkelstein it is the "biggest concentration camp in world history". It is totally sealed off, and has been the victim of a oneton Israeli bomb.
No bombs have yet landed on the West Bank, and that is because it is not yet sealed off completely and can be accessed by internationals.
The West Bank will be in a similar position to Gaza once the wall is complete. We must act now. Boycott Israeli goods, lobby Parliament, take to the streets, and raise awareness. The wall must fall!
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20 soclalist resistance March 2004 Global resistance •We have to