Dutch activists kicked off the week against the Wall with an action in front of the Dutch parliament building at The Hague. A petition against the Apartheid Wall containing over 7000 signatures was presented to the Dutch government and parliament through the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Campaigners from the Netherlands Palestine Committee, the Middle East working group of the GreenLeft Party, the Rabita of Palestinians in the Netherlands, and the Breed Platform Palestina in Haarlem, joined together at The Hague where the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is located. The ICJ supported the Palestinian struggle against the Wall, declaring it illegal and to be torn down in July, 2004. Moreover, it specified the international community ânot to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by [the Wallâs] constructionâ. The protest reiterated the call for the wall to fall and for an end to complicity with Israeli Apartheid and Occupation.
***image2******image3***
Meanwhile, a popular wholefoods and grocery shop in Sheffield, announced its comprehensive boycott of all Israeli products as the week against the Wall got underway. The window display contained the Call for boycott, divestment, sanctions on Apartheid Israel as well as information about the Wall and the Occupation. The shop, which enjoys good relations with the local community and students, is a non-profit outlet known for its ethical and moral stances. During the 1980s the shop was a driving force behind the anti-apartheid boycotts of South Africa. Volunteer shop workers passed the new motion against Israel recognising how the boycott, divestment and sanction movement represented a genuine expression of global solidarity with Palestinians struggling for freedom and justice.
***image4***
***image5***