On Friday July 9th, 2010, the popular committee against the Wall and settlements in the village of Irtas organized a protest which commemorated the 2004 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice which ruled that Israelâs construction of the Wall was illegal under international law.
The march began at ten in the morning and headed towards the Wall, particularly aiming to reach the site where the Israeli Occupation Forces prevented the people of Salman from completing an agricultural road that was designed to facilitate access to land.
As usual, the weekly march began in front of the Sisters church of Irtas, after which dozens of villagers, land owners, and a number of international solidarity activists marched to the end of the agricultural road upon which the president of the village council Hamdi Ayesh talked about the violations committed by Israeli Occupation Forces against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian farmers. His speech particularly condemned the Israeli Occupation Forceâs sabotage of the agricultural road and stressed that such practices were illegal under international humanitarian law. Moreover, he promised the people that
the village council would make every possible effort to support the process of popular resistance against these Israeli apartheid policies.
In another speech given in English, Abu Sway, the media coordinator of the popular committee of Bethlehem, stressed the significance of this day which marked the sixth anniversary of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion ordering that Israel stop the construction of the Wall and pay all reparations for hardships the Wall had already caused. The speech also demanded the need for increased pressure on Israel to dismantle the Wall and meet international standards of law. Moreover, Abu Sway ensured that the weekly demonstrations will continue until Israel upholds the ICJ decision and he expressed willingness to
work in land reclamation in collaboration with the Director of Agriculture in Bethlehem. Abu sway invited all human rights defenders to participate in these activities against the occupation and its apartheid projects.
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