Palestinian Authority Chairman Yassir Arafat delivered a televised speech Monday morning, shortly before the hearing regarding the security barrier between Israel and the West Bank began in The Hague.
Monday has been marked a day of protest against the barrier. Rallies are taking place all over the Palestinian territories and Palestinian students will be released early from studies to take part.
Arafat talked extensively about what he called the “annexing, expanding, racist fence.” He claimed the fence “swallows up 58 percent of Palestinian land,” rendering Palestinian communities “isolated ghettoes,” controlled by settlements.
He said the fence is an aggression against holy sites, both Christian and Muslim, and prevents Palestinians from reaching these places.
“The world must see the extent of this human catastrophe,” he said.
Arafat emphasized the mass destruction and anguish caused by the separation barrier which he claimed aims to prevent a Palestinian state, its capital Jerusalem, from being realized.
The chairman said he hopes the peace forces within Israel will resist the fence and that the International Court in the Dutch capital will stand behind the truth, international law and human rights.
Arafat made no mention of the bus bombing in Jerusalem on Sunday morning which killed eight people and wounded dozens. The official Israeli stand regards Sunday’s bombing as additional evidence of the necessity for a security fence that will keep out terrorists.