Ar-Ram, North Jerusalem, Palestine - Tomorrow, Friday, June 11, 2004, the community of Ar-Ram will gather at Ar-Ram intersection at 12h15 and organize the Friday prayer there as a demonstration against the construction of the wall throughout their town. They will be joined in their nonviolent protest by international and Israeli peace activists.

The planned route of the Wall runs through the main road of the town, from Ar-Ram checkpoint to Qalandiya checkpoint cutting off thousands of residents from Jerusalem. Once the Wall is completed, the Israeli military will have total control over the access of Ar-Ram residents to health and school services, turning the whole area into an enclave.

 
Residents will hold their second demonstration tomorrow

Ar-Ram, North Jerusalem, Palestine - Tomorrow, Friday, June 11, 2004, the community of Ar-Ram will gather at Ar-Ram intersection at 12h15 and organize the Friday prayer there as a demonstration against the construction of the wall throughout their town. They will be joined in their nonviolent protest by international and Israeli peace activists.

The planned route of the Wall runs through the main road of the town, from Ar-Ram checkpoint to Qalandiya checkpoint cutting off thousands of residents from Jerusalem. Once the Wall is completed, the Israeli military will have total control over the access of Ar-Ram residents to health and school services, turning the whole area into an enclave.

"The people have jobs in Jerusalem, businesses in Jerusalem, their children studying in Jerusalem schools. We are in fact part of Jerusalem. If an 8-meter high Wall is going to cut us off from Jerusalem, what can we do?" said Sarhan Salime, Mayor of Ar-Ram and longtime partner in dialogue with Israeli peace activists during the last demonstration on Saturday, June 5, 2004.

Residents of Ar-Ram remain determined in their nonviolent struggle against the Wall and for the survival of their town.

DATE: Friday, June 11, 2004
TIME: 12h15
PLACE: Ar-Ram Intersection

For more information, please contact:

Sarhan Salime – Local Council Chairman: +972.67.893.194
Fadwa Khader (English): +972.52.263.3788
Local Council Office: +972.2.234.8808
ISM Media Office: +972.2.277.4602

[IMAGE: this map, issued by PENGON on June 10th, shows the devastating path of the Apartheid Wall through the Ar Ram area, which is currently the Palestinian gateway between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Though construction first began in the area last February, the recent days have marked a heightened urgency in resistance to the Wall’s construction in this area, as Occupation Forces have been quickly pulling up roads, blocking access and tightening their grip on Ar Ram. The Wall’s construction in Ar Ram, as in other areas will result in the division and separation of Palestinian communities, including schools, places of work, land, medical facilities and family. Palestinians have been mobilizing against the Wall’s construction, fully rejecting it as a tool for expansion, colonization and apartheid.
For more information on the Apartheid Wall, visit www.stopthewall.org.]