Nazlat Issa/Baqa
***image2***Simultaneous demonstrations on both sides of the Apartheid Wall which cuts through the area of Baqa ended in clashes with Occupation Forces, and defiant calls from the villagers that they will never accept the ghettoization of their lands.
Calls by the National Committee To Resist The Apartheid Wall and The Committee For Monitoring Arab Issues in the 1948 Area led to popular mobilization for the demonstrations. Gathering at 11 am, Palestinians on both sides of the village marched to the Apartheid Wall which divides them.
While demonstrators from across the West Bank arrived to join the event, representatives from the local parties and committees including MPs and ministries, together with the grassroots anti-apartheid committees of Jenin and Tulkarem, gave speeches vowing to continue the popular resistance to tear down the Apartheid Wall. They all unified around the commemoration of land week, and under the slogan: âIn Popular Resistance We Stand Against Settlements and Colonization, and Demand Implementation of the ICJ Decision to Demolish the Apartheid Wall!â
***image4***A huge number of Occupation Forces, with 20 armed vehicles, faced the march and blocked it from reaching the Wall. Clashes broke out on the Eastern side of the Apartheid Wall as Occupation Forces began pushing and kicking the crowd. Occupation Forces soon came under a wave of stones as they pumped tear gas canisters into the crowd. The villagers were undeterred by the violence and oppression of the Occupation Forces which they face on a daily basis, and continued to pelt the soldiers.
As the crowds began to disperse it became clear the solidarity that exists between the Palestinians from both sides of the village and their attachment to the land. Their resistance continues to vehemently reject the demography of Apartheid that the Occupation Forces are trying to impose on Palestinians through their Wall, their colonization and the Occupation.
***image9***Wadi Fukin/Bethlehem
Despite poor weather conditions and continuous rain, hundreds of demonstrators turned out to emphasize their resistance to the Apartheid Wall which will isolate the village between the Wall and the Green line.
They assembled at the main village square and marched to the school, where the Apartheid Wall is projected to run just a few meters away.
Speeches focused on the importance of resistance to tear down the Apartheid Wall, and also attacked the UN and Kofi Annanâs disregard for the decision made by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) â that the Wall is illegal and must be destroyed. The villagers stressed they will never accept the ghettoization of their village or the wider Bantustanization of the Bethlehem area. They supported calls for mobilization for another demonstration and day of action which is scheduled to take place in Bethlehem on April 9th.
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