Santa Monica, CA, July 25, 2004 – A 48 hour solidarity fast for Palestinian liberation held near the mouth of the Santa Monica Pier ended today at 5 PM with fasters and their supporters tired and pleased with their outreach and education efforts.
***image2***The fast dramatized the Israeli government’s ongoing refusal to heed a July 9th decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the illegality of a 425-foot long wall erected by the Israeli government that traverses through much of the West Bank.
The ICJ, in a near unanimous decision, had ruled that the wall violated Palestinian rights, and that those who had lost their land because of the wall must be compensated by the Israeli government. 14 of 15 Justices ruled against the Israeli government, with the sole exception being the American representative to the Court.
The fast was timed to occur before this week’s Democratic National Convention in Boston, with allied organizations in other cities holding similar events as part of a nationwide Anti-Wall Task Force. A second coordinated action is already in the works for the start of the Republican National Convention. The Santa Monica event, the first of its kind, was organized by the Free Palestine Alliance, the National Council of Arab Americans-NCA, the Arab American Anti Discrimination Committee LA-OC Chapter, Women in Black, and other activist groups.
The Santa Monica Pier is a popular weekend gathering spot and attracts both native Angelenos and tourists from all over the world. A replica wall symbolizing the apartheid wall in the West Bank, along with the incendiary comments and posters of individuals from the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles, helped about a dozen fasters and their supporters to outreach to a steady stream of diverse passersby.
Fasters included Iraqi American Ban Alwardi, the head of the Arab American ADC LA/OC, who noted of the Palestinian struggle that, °their story is our [Iraqi] story now.â Representatives from allied organizations also fasted, including Muna Coobtee of the Southern California Chapter of the Free Palestine Alliance and Preston Wood of ANSWER-LA.
The Santa Monica Pier is a popular weekend gathering spot and attracts both native Angelenos and tourists from all over the world.
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The World Stands with Palestine
On July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice, The highest judicial body of the United Nations, ruled that “The construction of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, and its associated regime. is contrary to international law”
On July 21,2004, the world community through the vote of the General Assembly of the United Nations called on Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion issued July 9 and tear down the barrier. The Resolution passed with 150 nations voting overwhelmingly in favor of bringing down the Wall. The United States, Israel, and a four other US client-states voted against this resolution.
With complete disregard for the right of the Palestinian people to live peacefully in their homeland, the Israeli government has ignored the decisions of the ICJ and UN and continued to build the Apartheid Wall of separation. And the United States continues to sustain Israel with billions of dollars per year in foreign aid
and full political and military support.
This article in its original form can be viewed, with more images, here.
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