On the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, hundreds of demonstrators from across the West Bank convened in Qalandiya to demand the immediate dismantling of Israels wall. In a dramatic turn of events, protesters managed to tip over a a section of the wall, opening a passage in this strategic and symbolic location at the entrance to East-Jerusalem.
Exactly twenty years ago today the Berlin Wall came crumbling down in two days that changed the world forever. Today, a wall twice as high and five times as long is being built by Israel in the West Bank, in blatant contempt of international law, to separate Palestinians from their lands.
Despite the International Court of Justices advisory opinion of 2004, that pronounced Israels wall illegal, and called for its removal, no significant changes on the ground were made. After the demonstration ended, Mushir Ghazzal, an organizer with the popular struggle coordination committee, said that Todays events prove that we must not wait for Israel to end its occupation on its own we Palestinians should do it with our own two hands. Like the Berlin Wall at the time, Israels wall seems to us an undefiable reality, but twice this week it has caved in to the pressure of ordinary people fighting for their rights.
The anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall has been declared an international day of action against Israels barrier. Last Friday, mass demonstrations were staged simultaneously in three villages along the path of the wall, including in Niilin where protesters managed, for the first time ever in the West Bank, to topple the 8 meter tall concrete wall there.
