Parallel events organized by the Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign/PENGON together with the Dutch solidarity groups that have formed the “Stop the Wall” coalition are the central Palestine activities in The Hague, seeking to raise awareness of the Wall’s illegality and provide a framework where affected communities can be heard and where concrete action plans solidified.
The events of this weekend include a symposium, activist meetings, demonstration and vigil, photo exhibit, and information center. On Saturday, the Free Academy in The Hague hosted a full house for presentations by the PENGON/Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign Coordinator, Jamal Juma’, as well as Dr. Azmi Bishara, Prof. Paul de Waart, Sharif Khaled, and many others. The event, co-sponsored along with the Dutch “Stop the Wall” coalition and United Civilians for Peace, is the first in a series of three day events that are being organized parallel to the International Court of Justice Oral Arguments that begin Monday, February 23.
The Palestine activities in The Hague are taking place simultaneously as mass mobilization in Palestine continues, and which is expected to culminate for this weekend on Monday, February 23, throughout the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. The message from Palestine is clear: momentum against the Wall continues, with greater strength, and demands for the Wall to be torn down will persist. On Friday, thousands of Palestinians from the western Ramallah and northern Jerusalem villages demonstrated in the village of Beit Sourik.
A number of demonstrations and activities have and will take place at this time in other cities including Madrid, Rome, Amman, and Istanbul.
For more information on the Palestine activities in The Hague, see Campaign Activities.