As a Palestinian organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Al-Haq has, for the past ten years, witnessed with growing  concern Israel’s continued construction of what Professor John Dugard, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, has termed “the Annexation Wall.” Since the outset, the construction of the Wall in the OPT has faced international condemnation on the basis of its illegality under international law. In 2004, the International Court of Justice called on Israel to cease construction of the Wall in the OPT, to dismantle the sections already built therein, and to make reparations for damage caused. Despite such an authoritative opinion, reflective of international customary law, and the ensuing condemnation from a number of other UN bodies,  Israel has continued to illegally build the Wall in the OPT without interruption. 

In the past decade, the Wall has cut through Palestinian villages, lands and communities, placing sever restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement, trade, access to health, education, worship and livelihood. For ten years, Israel has used the Wall to expand settlements and fragment Palestinian existence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In order to mark this decade of annexation, Al-Haq is today launching a one-month campaign entitled ‘Annexation Wall: 10 Years Too Long’, which calls for the Wall in the OPT to be dismantled in line with the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion. 

The campaign will include the following:

Resources

• The introduction:
  • A 3-minute video providing viewers with a visual introduction to the Annexation Wall.
• The facts:
  • An easy-to-understand fact-sheet and a booklet on the human rights impact and the illegal status of the Annexation Wall.
• The stories:
  • Four stirring short films telling the stories of Palestinians whose lives are affected by the Wall.
• The analysis:
  • Opinion pieces written for international media outlets by legal experts and commentators on various aspects of the Wall.
• The multimedia:
  • Google Earth tours and interactive maps presenting the facts about the impact of the Wall in a visually engaging manner.
• Website and social media:
  • A new section of Al-Haq’s website will be dedicated to the campaign and, together with Al-Haq’s Facebook and Twitter pages, will feature regularupdates on events and multimedia.

• Local photo exhibitions of images depicting the impact of the Wall on the landscape of the OPT. The first of these opens at 6pm tonight at Al-Ma’mal Lab, 1, St. Peters St., New Gate, Old City, East Jerusalem.
• A concluding seminar on 9 July featuring local and international campaigners, academics and policymakers exploring alternative courses of action based on Third-State Party responsibility under international law.

Take Action
Visit Al‐Haq’s website at www.alhaq.org/10years2long to find out how you can take action to call for dismantling the Annexation Wall.

For further information please contact: