There is an interesting report on the conference on Palistine held last weekend in Olympia. From The Arab American News:

Some 300 of the foremost experts and activists on Palestinian human rights gathered April 20-24 in Olympia, Washington, for a four-day event that aimed to educate and coordinate actions toward justice in Palestine.

The conference was organized by the Rachel Corrie Foundation, which was begun by Rachel's parents after she was crushed to death in March 2003 by an Israeli bulldozer while protecting the home of a Palestinian doctor. A lawsuit by the Corries which seeks an investigation by the U.S. government is still pending.

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All of the facts missing from the mainstream media were on the tongues of the numerous eyewitnesses present, and in the careful analyses of experts - the likes of Hass and Barghouthi, the latter who recently ran for Palestinian president and is now a member of Parliament.

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The Wall and Apartheid

Speakers were unanimous in depicting the present situation of Palestinians as a system of Apartheid. From the 30-foot Wall, twice the height of the Berlin Wall, to the existence of Jewish-only roads, to the stark contrast between basic services for illegal Jewish settlements to those for Palestinians. Water available to Palestinians to drink is considered unfit for corn crops in Canada. Sanctions against Palestinians have already been imposed by the Israelis, with their clear devastating effects illustrated here, and they have not led to security, peace or stability.

The Wall was designed in 1994 to plan for annexation of Palestinian territories, and included the uprooting of 1.3 million trees, mostly olive groves, the main source of livelihood for Palestinians. Today the wall is 750 kilometers long and creates a map of a "country" which makes no sense, unless you look at underground water supplies to see that Israel has systematically been taking the most valuable land for itself. In 90% of cases, the Wall separates Palestinians from Israelis in open-air prisons with gates that only Israel has the power to open or close.

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A recent Johns Hopkins study determined that 20% of all deaths of Palestinian children aged below one year happened due to the Wall, which prevents Palestinian access to doctors and hospitals.