The International Solidarity Movement’s theme for this summer is “Freedom Summer Palestine 2004” lasting for 56 days; it symbolically marks the 56 years that have passed since the tragic fall of Palestine in 1948 (one day, for every year of displacement, dispossession, occupation, killing, torture and above all racism.)

August 19th will mark the grand finale of the freedom march, organized by the International Solidarity Movement and its associates along the so-called West Bank barrier (the Annexation Wall in the West Bank). The freedom march which began on the 30th of July in the city of Jenin, will come to a final showdown with Israeli troops at Al-Ram checkpoint en route to Jerusalem. The 18 day march has passed threw 60 Palestinian cities, towns and villages.

Currently the freedom march is at the neighborhood of Beitunia close to Ramallah heading towards Qalandia checkpoint, where a sit in will be staged in support of some 7200 Palestinian prisoners held illegally in Israeli jails. The prisoners have been on hunger strike as of the August 15th in protest of their inhumane treatment by Israeli authorities. However, prior to the sit in, the freedom march will visit President Arafat at his Ramallah compound in order to share the stories they have heard from the communities about the hardships resulting from the Wall and the impact it has on the lives of Palestinians throughout the West Bank.

For the spectacle that it is, the ISM freedom march comprising of Palestinians, Israelis and people from all corners of the world, has unfortunately not received the media coverage it so deserves. Except for a few cases, where the march was greeted by Israeli forces with tear gas and rubber coated metal bullets, did the freedom march receive mediocre coverage by local and international media. An ISM member had this to say, “There is no doubt that the freedom march is going to be a success, the only thing we are missing is proper media coverage so that the world can see the magnitude of this event, and most importantly to get our message across the outside world.”

Participants of the freedom march said that throughout the march they were constantly accompanied by 2-3 Israeli army jeeps. There were several cases where the Israeli army became hostile towards the protestors, to mention a few, on August the 6th protestors traveling from the town of Jayyus to Qalqiliya along the path of the Wall were followed by the Israeli Army jeeps on both sides of the fence. Around 10:40 a.m. the Israeli Army attacked from behind the marchers with tear gas and rubber bullets, on the grounds that a group of children were allegedly throwing stones at the soldiers.

On August the 8th when a freedom marcher who hails from New York was arrested by Israeli soldiers because he refused to move from the middle of the road in protest of the Israeli army detaining several Palestinian accompanying the freedom marchers. Furthermore, on August 12th an ISM member was shot in the leg with a rubber coated metal bullet near the Balata refugee camp, when he tried to visit a family whose home had just been demolished. All these incidents highlight the ‘great threat’ that these freedom marchers pose to the state of Israel. How Ironic that a freedom march, non-violent in essence and practice, chanting phrases such as, “Free Palestine” or “The Wall must go down” are deemed by Israel as a threat so grave, that it can only be countered by using their infamous violent and totally unbalanced methods of retaliation.

The ISM freedom march will reach Jerusalem on the 18th and 19th of August, the freedom marchers will be joined by a group of Israelis from Gush Shalom (an Israeli and Palestinian human rights organization) with people coming from all over Israel to join the grand finale in Jerusalem.

The final march in Jerusalem will be followed by the much anticipated decision of the Israeli Supreme Court concerning the appeal raised by the inhabitants of the Al-Ram area challenging the legality of the wall. The main Jerusalem-Qalandia road connecting Al-Ram with Qalandia checkpoint has already been dug up and the 8 meter concrete slabs lie on the side waiting to be erected.

If the wall is deemed legal by the Israeli Supreme Court the Jerusalem suburb of Al-Ram will have a monstrous wall cutting right through its middle, preventing people from crossing the main road, cutting off merchants from their customers, workers from their work places, students from their schools, patients from their hospitals. Tens of thousands of Palestinians will be cut off from the West Bank, and even more so tens of thousands of Palestinians will be cut off from Jerusalem.