Banner Drop on Princes Street – September 2003

Saturday, 27th September 2003

A huge banner bearing the words "Stop Israel’s Apartheid Wall" was draped across a high building on Edinburgh’s busy Princes street last Saturday, September 27th.

The stunt coincided with a rally on the Mound nearby, one of hundreds around the world opposing the occupations in Palestine and Iraq. The bold red lettering was painted over a background depicting the 8 metre-high structure which virtually encloses the Palestinian town of Qalqilya. This is part of the apartheid wall Israel is building through the West Bank, which in other places consists of barbed wire, electrified fences, trenches, ditches, and roads. When the barrier is completed it is estimated that from 10 to 42% of the Palestinian West Bank will be effectively annexed on the "Israeli" side of the barrier.

Among a number of activists gathered below was Mick Napier who has recently returned from Palestine. He said "The wall in itself constitutes a crime which will, according to Israeli human rights organisations devastate the lives of many tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians. The same bulldozers which are tearing down the walls of Palestinian houses may well be involved in helping to build this wall."

Minutes after the banner was unfurled, several police cars and vans arrived at the scene and arrested three men as they descended from the scaffolding surrounding the building. They were held for three hours before being released pending charges. On the streets below the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Many members of the public expressed support to the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign activists who had gathered there. The banner remained in place for approximately 3 hours before it was removed by workmen at the request of the police.