European solidarity - Boycott, divestment and
sanctions strengthened during anniversary of ICJ decision!
Worldwide Activism , The Grassroots Palestinian
Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, July 20th, 2005
On the first anniversary of the ICJ ruling against the
Apartheid Wall, activists across Europe held protests calling for the Wall to be
torn down with a clear message to their governments to stop supporting Israeli
Apartheid now.
Belgium
On the ICJ anniversary, the ECCP (European Coordinating Committee of NGOs on the
question of Palestine) officially launched the European sanctions campaign.
During a press conference, the aims of the campaign were explored together with
the release of campaign materials. Mr Pierre Galand, Senator and Chairman of the
ECCP, Mr Eric David, International Law Professor at the Université Libre de
Bruxelles, along with representatives of the French, Belgian, Italian, British,
Dutch and German national platforms for Palestine, attended the event.
During the afternoon, the ECCP members met with representatives of the United
Nations, the World Bank and the European Union in Brussels. The meeting with the
UN representative once again highlighted the unwillingness of the UN to act with
officials explaining to the ECCP delegation that the UN was working “to change
the political situation that made the Wall a “necessity”. Terming what the ICJ
has defined a violation of international and humanitarian law a “necessity”
shows the level to which the UN completely rejects its own rules when it comes
to Israel and reveals the support of the institution for Israeli interests. The
officials of the EU office for Common Foreign and Security Policies used a more
sophisticated approach to shield their diplomatic and political failure to put
any pressure on Israel. Yet, they were embarrassingly silent to the question
posed by the solidarity activists why Europe can justify sanctions against Cuba,
Haiti and Darfur but is continually unwilling to act on Israel.
With the hollow rhetoric of the official European and UN body’s, and their
perpetual complicity in Israeli crimes, it became clear that the grassroots
initiatives of the people form the means by which to build a movement to
pressure and defeat support for Israeli Apartheid and Occupation.
France
One year after the ICJ ruling, French activists supporting the Palestinian
grassroots resistance, asked the French and European governments to apply their
own vote at the UN General Assembly against the construction of the Apartheid
Wall.
Demonstrations were organised in towns throughout the country (Paris,
Marseilles, Belfort, Metz, Montpellier, Toulouse, Angers, Poitiers, Chambéry,
Orléans, Limoges, St-Nazaire, Nîmes, Aubenas, Nancy, Annemasse, La Rochelle,
Alençon, St-Lô, Lyon). Flyers were distributed and letters were brought to the
attention of local and national authorities demanding the end of support for
Israel.
The popular action was combined with a press conference organized by the French
NGO platform for Palestine at the French Parliament. This involved a number of
MPs asking for clear actions such as sanctions to put an end to financial aid
for Israel.
A few days before the protests, the French president announced an invitation to
the Occupation prime minister and renowned war criminal Ariel Sharon.
Demonstrations mobilized on both the issue of the Wall, with the calls of
“Sharon – Persona non grata” all over France, expressing the outrage of the
French public towards the move of their government.
Protests and marches against the visit of the Israeli prime minister are planned
over the next days. These mobilizations are adding to the growing number of
occasions in which Israeli officials and representatives abroad face hostility
by their presence. Increased outrage against the leaders of the Occupation
reflects the relations between Apartheid Israel with other nations governments,
a target for campaigners who hope to halt cooperation and trade with Israel by
concerted pressure from below.
Ireland
Members of the Limerick branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign –
the activist group that kicked off the campaign for “Caterpillar free cities” -
marked the first anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ)
ruling on the illegality of the Apartheid wall with a series of colourful and
loud protests.
IPSC members draped large posters, banners and a large Palestinian flag from a
bridge over the city’s new ring road for three hours. This was followed by a
city center public information stall, leafleting and petition signing in
O’Connell Street.
In a piece published in the Irish Times, Raymond Deane, Chair of the Ireland
Palestine Solidarity Campaign, called for a strong mobilization of the civil
society in boycott, divestment and sanctions initiatives with the governments of
the EU failing to pressure Israel to stop the construction of the Apartheid Wall.
Deane noted that:
“Ongoing and indeed deepening EU economic co-operation with Israel serves to
facilitate Israel's diversion of financial resources to the construction of the
wall and the maintenance of illegal settlements. In the fields of research and
development, as well as in entertainment and sport, Israel continues to be
treated as to all intents and purposes a European country. Far from "ensur[ing]
compliance by Israel with international humanitarian law" as demanded by the ICJ,
such privileges combine to enhance Israel's lofty conviction of its impunity.The
outcome of this arrogance is the ongoing brutalisation and humiliation of the
subject Palestinian population…”
Swiss
The collective ‘Urgence Palestine’ held a demonstration in Geneva calling for
the end of economic and military collaboration between the Swiss government and
Israel. The group condemned the Swiss-Israeli joint projects to develop weapons
that the Occupation uses in the repression of the Palestinian resistance (drones
and bombs) and the $115 million worth acquisition of Israeli military equipment.
Activists targeted the “fruitful collaboration between the Swiss weapon industry
and a government that provokes war crimes and ignores every day international
humanitarian law!”
Meanwhile in a host of other countries including Norway, Italy, UK, Luxembourg
and Spain, campaigners mobilized to remind the public and their institutions of
the ongoing crimes being committed in Palestine and the responsibility of Europe
to end their complicity with Israeli apartheid and Occupation. The protests and
initiatives showed that, as the political year in Europe ends, the activists and
organizations working in support of the Palestinian liberation struggle are
determined to ensure that boycott, divestment and sanctions will grow and
resonate across all of Europe.