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Palestinians
wave their flags and hold anti-wall signs during the protest
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OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, February 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The life
in the villages northwest of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) came to a
standstill Sunday, February 29, as Palestinians went on a public strike
to protest the Israeli separation wall snaking through vast swathes of
Palestinian lands.
This
came as Israel’s Supreme Court ordered Sunday suspending the
construction of a section of the separation wall, which juts deep into
Palestinian villages northwest of Al-Quds.
Palestinian
residents came in droves in a mass rally from the village of Beir Surik,
to neighboring Biddo, vowing to pay the ultimate sacrifice to defend
their motherland, challenging Israeli bulldozers, the official
Palestinian news agencies (WAFA) reported.
Accompanied
by peace activists, the villagers raised banners denouncing the wall at
the areas where two Palestinian protesters were killed and dozens others
injured last week by Israeli forces.
The
strike was called on Saturday, February 28, by all Islamic and popular
movements in Al-Quds.
They
urged the Palestinians to act in unison in the face of Israeli Premier
Ariel Sharon’s vicious schemes, which aim at Judaizing Al-Quds and
isolating the holy city.
Israel
began work
on a 42-kilometer (25-mile) section of its controversial wall on
Tuesday, February 24, prompting daily Palestinian protests and clashes
with occupation soldiers.
The
start of the barrier construction in the area came as the International
Court of Justice in The Hague was conducting
three-day hearings into the barrier's legality.
The
Palestinians said on the first day of hearings on Monday, February 23,
that the barrier was not about security but rather intended to entrench
the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and preset the boundaries of a
future Palestinian state.
Israel
claims that the barrier, which is expected to stretch for over 700
kilometers by the time it is completed late next year, is meant to
prevent Palestinians attacks.
Condemning
the wall, a U.N. report said it would lead to severe
humanitarian consequences for more than 680,000 Palestinians.
Barrier
Suspended
In
a related development, Israel's Supreme Court ordered Sunday suspending
the construction of a section of the wall, judicial sources said.
The
suspension order allows the court to examine appeals presented by
residents of eight Palestinian villages in the West Bank against
construction of the barrier on their land.
Around
30 Israeli residents of the neighboring town of Mevasseret Tzion have
also presented an appeal against construction in the area.
A
petition presented to court underlined that "this barrier being
erected on Palestinian territory will provoke tensions which will
endanger the security of Israelis living in the area. "
