wfn.org | WCC NEWS Christians in hunger strike against Israeli wall

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - Press Release
For immediate release - 12 July 2004

CHRISTIAN ACTIVISTS SUPPORT HUNGER STRIKE AGAINST ISRAEL'S "SEPARATION WALL"

	  Free photos of the hunger strike tent available, see below.

A hunger strike protesting Israel's "separation wall" was joined by
Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) activists
on Friday 9 July. Organized by Israeli-Arab Knesset member Doctor Azmi
Bishara, the strike coincided with the declaration by the International Court
of Justice that the construction of the barrier is "contrary to international
law". The following stories about EAPPI participation and support are
available at http://www.eappi.org/  (click on Accompaniers' reports):
 
-- "Members of the EAPPI support hunger strike against the wall"
The ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague Friday, calling
Israel's construction of a "separation wall" illegal, was greeted by hunger
strikers in a tent on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem with more joy than
a full-course meal would have brought. Read more at
http://www.eappi.org/eappi.nsf/index/rep-lf-11.html

-- "A day without food - joining the hunger strike against the wall"
"As I walked through the door, I felt the first rumble of hunger. It was only
11 o'clock in the morning and I had had breakfast. But I had just decided to
fast for 24 hours and I could not escape the question of whether that was a
good idea." Read more at
http://www.eappi.org/eappi.nsf/index/rep-mr-06.html

-- Free photos from the "hunger strike tent" in A-Ram (North of Jerusalem)
are also available at
http://www.eappi.org/eappiphotos.nsf/collectionslist/35.html
 

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) was
launched in August 2002. Ecumenical accompaniers monitor and report
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, support acts
of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians
and Israeli peace activists, offer protection through non-violent presence,
engage in public policy advocacy and stand in solidarity with the churches
and all those struggling against the occupation. The programme is coordinated
by the World Council of Churches (WCC). 

Media contact in Palestine/Israel: +972 (0)2-628-9402 +972 (0)67 379 766

For further information, please contact Juan Michel, WCC  media relations
officer,  tel: +41 22 791 6153, mobile +41 79 507 6363, media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in
more than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.