RAMALLAH, 21 February 2004 — Palestinians prepared yesterday to stage massive protests against the West Bank barrier being built by Israel, ahead of a world court hearing on its legality, while the Israeli Army braced for possible violence during the rallies.
In the southern Gaza Strip, the army said it had recovered the bodies of two Palestinians whom its troops shot dead late Thursday near the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is slated to deliver a speech on the West Bank separation barrier Monday when the hearing opens at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), official sources said.
The Palestinian leadership has declared Feb. 23 a national day “of rage and protest” against the construction of what it calls the “apartheid wall”.
The montage of razor wire, fencing, trenches and concrete at points cuts off Palestinians from their land, places of work, schools and hospitals as its juts deep into their territory.
Ahead of the court hearing, Friday prayers in mosques were devoted to warning Palestinians about the impact of the barrier on their lives. Prayer leaders also urged worshippers to participate in a series of upcoming protests.
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a group of foreign peace activists, said churches throughout the Palestinian territories had been asked to devote their Sunday sermons to denouncing the “wall” construction.
Government schools will assign the first lesson Sunday and Monday to informing children about the barrier and the ICJ hearing.
After Arafat’s address Monday, scheduled at 10:00, sirens and church bells will resound at noon, as traffic comes to a standstill for five minutes.
And civil servants and private sector employees are to observe a one-hour work stoppage, said the Palestinian Democratic Union secretary general, Saleh Raafat.
Several peaceful rallies are planned near the barrier in at least a dozen locations throughout the West Bank, ISM said. Israeli rights groups are also expected to take part.
But an army spokesman said that Israeli troops were “bracing themselves for violence” and taking the necessary measures.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government decided last week to boycott the hearing, arguing the court does not have the authority to give an opinion on the barrier’s legality.
But it submitted a written statement to The Hague to justify the project, while insisting the barrier has no political motivation and only aims to prevent infiltrations by would-be Palestinian suicide bombers.
The government’s boycott does not mean however that Israel will have no voice in The Hague.
The government said it would cover the traveling expenses of survivors of bombing attacks and send Foreign Ministry press officers to defend Israel’s position on the barrier.
At least three Israeli Arabs MPs also plan to travel to the Hague to denounce the barrier’s construction.
In the southern Gaza Strip, troops said yesterday they found the bodies of two Palestinians between the Kfar Darom settlement and the Kissufim terminal used by settlers to cross into and out of Israel.
The Islamic Jihad and an armed offshoot of Arafat’s Fatah movement said in a joint statement that the two were shot dead during a joint operation against the army. In the southern West Bank, security sources on both sides said two wanted Palestinian militants were arrested in Beit Sahur, east of Bethlehem.
Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in Gaza City yesterday to urge Arafat to free four Palestinians who are on trial for the killing of three US security guards last October. Dozens of armed and masked activists of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) were among those who marched to Gaza’s main prison where the suspects are being held in custody.
