Jamal Juma', Drew Penland (ISM) - Confronting the Apartheid Wall (2003)

Statement by the ISM - Prison for 100,000 at the stroke of a Pen: Israeli Military Unmasks New Plan for Wall to Surround Tulkarem The town of Tulkarem has been dealing with the devastating consequences of the Apartheid Wall since its construction started last year. On the morning of 29th January 2003 farmers arrived at their fields to find that the future of the local community is being further assaulted. A new military order had been nailed to their trees. It informed them that their land will be confiscated in order to build a 9.9 km long wall. It demanded that the farmers attend a meeting later that day or forfeit their right to compensation. Many will not attend such meetings, refusing to recognize the right of the Israeli occupation forces to determine the future of Palestinians' land. This latest Apartheid Wall will complete the encirclement of Tulkarem and make the population of the city prisoners -requiring them to pass through a gate in the wall every time they travel. This policy of caging a large community has already been enforced in the city of Qalqilya with a devastating impact on the community. It is widely believed that the erection of this wall constitutes part of a long planned strategy of the Israeli regime to "encourage transfer" or ethnically cleanse the area by making it practically impossible to live in the city. Communities which will have land destroyed by this latest Wall include Nor Shamis refugee camp, Bala'a, Iktaba, Shofi, Ezbit, Shofi, Kufur Labad, Anabta, Jaroshiea, Mas Qafi and Shweka. Already many greenhouses, olive trees, wells and agricultural land have been destroyed or separated from their Palestinian owners in the first stage of the Apartheid Wall's construction, representing a massive de facto annexation of Palestinian land. This new second stage of the Apartheid Wall will continue this destruction and further the 'Ghettoization' of the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee over 236 dunums of land will be lost by the actual construction of the Wall around Tulkarem while over 23,000 dunums will be included in the enclosed area. The Wall will also destroy a large part of the Nor Shamis forest, a natural habitat for a variety of rare birds. ISM will be steadfast in its support of Palestinian non-violent resistance to this latest illegal attack on the land of Palestine. We call on the Israeli regime to abandon this latest step towards further ghettoizing Palestinian communities and violating basic human rights. We call on the Israeli people to oppose the grave violations of human rights being committed in their name. We call upon all supporters of human rights around the world to boycott Israeli goods and lobby their governments to impose trade and diplomatic sanctions until it abandons the construction of the Wall and withdraw from the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which it has illegally occupied since 1967.

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