When: Saturday May 3, 2003
Where : Village of Mas’ha
On Saturday, May 3, Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals will unite and march from the village of Mas’ha to the site of a camp that was established a month ago to oppose the construction of the Apartheid Wall. Protesters from all three groups have maintained a continuous presence at the Mas’ha camp during this month, despite recent attempts to intimidate them by the use of dynamite and the building of a trench around the area.
The march will start near the roadblock between the illegal settlement of Elkana and the village of Mas’ha at 2pm and then proceed to the protest camp. Famous activists and poets, including Tanya Reinhardt, and Uri Avnery, will speak about the myth of the wall being for the security of Israel and the reality of the wall being about the transfer of Palestinians from their land.
Hundreds of protesters are expected to attend, representing groups such as the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, the Land Defense Committee, Mas’ha Village Council, the International Women’s Peace Service, the International Solidarity Movement, Gush Shalom, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, the Alternative Information Center, Alternative Action, and Black Laundry. Together the groups will show an example of true peace and cooperation between peoples, fortify the existence of the Mas’ha Camp, and build an international campaign against the Apartheid Wall and the subsequent transfer of thousands of Palestinians.
The destruction of the olive groves and hillside upon which the camp is established is intended to make space for the Apartheid Wall, or so-called “separation fence.” The wall, which strays far from the Green Line and effectively cuts off some of the most fertile land and richest water resources from the rest of the West Bank, is twice as high and three times as long as the original Berlin wall. The wall has already destroyed the livelihoods of entire villages in the West Bank, which will lead to the transfer of whole communities that have depended upon traditional agriculture for centuries.
“This wall is not about the security of Israel at all, it is about the confiscation of land and water resources,” states Nazeeh Shalabi, a farmer whose land and that of the rest of his family is being destroyed and confiscated in order to make room for the wall.
In Mas’ha, 32 extended families will be affected by the wall - the whole village. 98% of the agricultural land from Mas’ha will either be destroyed or left on the other side of the wall, leaving it vulnerable to theft by the nearby settlements. Most of the families will lose about 50 dunums of land each, but some families will lose much more. Four houses are likely to be demolished in the area.
“This wall is the first wall of a prison for 3 million Palestinians,” states Jonathan Pollack, an Israeli who participates in the Mas’ha camp.
With the announcement by Sharon to build a second wall along the Jordan valley, many regions of the West Bank will be encircled and access cut off to the other parts of the West Bank. Israeli officials have hinted that the planned expansion of the Apartheid Wall will provide the outline of the possible borders of a Palestinian "entity" when the "road map" is unveiled. Many Palestinians feel that this would kill any chance of an independent Palestinian state.
In the words of Rizik Abu-Nasser with PARC, “The construction of this wall is the death of any possibility for peace in the Middle East. We must mobilize international efforts to stop its construction.”
For further information on the wall and photos, see
http://www.pengon.org
http://www.btselem.org
http://www.gushshalom.org
Tom
ISM Media Coordinator
Beit Sahour, Occupied Palestine
ism-alert@palsolidarity.org
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
http://www.palsolidarity.org
Where : Village of Mas’ha
On Saturday, May 3, Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals will unite and march from the village of Mas’ha to the site of a camp that was established a month ago to oppose the construction of the Apartheid Wall. Protesters from all three groups have maintained a continuous presence at the Mas’ha camp during this month, despite recent attempts to intimidate them by the use of dynamite and the building of a trench around the area.
The march will start near the roadblock between the illegal settlement of Elkana and the village of Mas’ha at 2pm and then proceed to the protest camp. Famous activists and poets, including Tanya Reinhardt, and Uri Avnery, will speak about the myth of the wall being for the security of Israel and the reality of the wall being about the transfer of Palestinians from their land.
Hundreds of protesters are expected to attend, representing groups such as the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, the Land Defense Committee, Mas’ha Village Council, the International Women’s Peace Service, the International Solidarity Movement, Gush Shalom, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, the Alternative Information Center, Alternative Action, and Black Laundry. Together the groups will show an example of true peace and cooperation between peoples, fortify the existence of the Mas’ha Camp, and build an international campaign against the Apartheid Wall and the subsequent transfer of thousands of Palestinians.
The destruction of the olive groves and hillside upon which the camp is established is intended to make space for the Apartheid Wall, or so-called “separation fence.” The wall, which strays far from the Green Line and effectively cuts off some of the most fertile land and richest water resources from the rest of the West Bank, is twice as high and three times as long as the original Berlin wall. The wall has already destroyed the livelihoods of entire villages in the West Bank, which will lead to the transfer of whole communities that have depended upon traditional agriculture for centuries.
“This wall is not about the security of Israel at all, it is about the confiscation of land and water resources,” states Nazeeh Shalabi, a farmer whose land and that of the rest of his family is being destroyed and confiscated in order to make room for the wall.
In Mas’ha, 32 extended families will be affected by the wall - the whole village. 98% of the agricultural land from Mas’ha will either be destroyed or left on the other side of the wall, leaving it vulnerable to theft by the nearby settlements. Most of the families will lose about 50 dunums of land each, but some families will lose much more. Four houses are likely to be demolished in the area.
“This wall is the first wall of a prison for 3 million Palestinians,” states Jonathan Pollack, an Israeli who participates in the Mas’ha camp.
With the announcement by Sharon to build a second wall along the Jordan valley, many regions of the West Bank will be encircled and access cut off to the other parts of the West Bank. Israeli officials have hinted that the planned expansion of the Apartheid Wall will provide the outline of the possible borders of a Palestinian "entity" when the "road map" is unveiled. Many Palestinians feel that this would kill any chance of an independent Palestinian state.
In the words of Rizik Abu-Nasser with PARC, “The construction of this wall is the death of any possibility for peace in the Middle East. We must mobilize international efforts to stop its construction.”
For further information on the wall and photos, see
http://www.pengon.org
http://www.btselem.org
http://www.gushshalom.org
Tom
ISM Media Coordinator
Beit Sahour, Occupied Palestine
ism-alert@palsolidarity.org
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
http://www.palsolidarity.org