Al-Ma'asara 15.1.10 Israeli army harassing protest organizers.m2p

Al-Ma'asara 15.1.10 Israeli army harassing protest organizers.m2p

In spite of the violent oppression, phone threats and nightly invasion of the village the village of Ma'asara demonstrated again this Friday.

Recently the village had been suffering from increasing military violence, declared by the army as a tool to stop demonstrations as of 2010. After having invaded the village after recent demonstrations and patrolling it at night on weekdays, soldiers raided the houses of several prominent activists in the dead of night between Thursday and Friday, causing damage to property and threatening activists that if demonstrations continue a boy might get killed in the village. Soldiers said that they believe it is what the villagers want as it would "portray" the soldiers as killers. Soldiers also threatened the villagers with arrests if demonstrations continue, and encouraged the husband of one of the main female activists to divorce her if she continues "making trouble".

But in spite of all this, a demonstration did take place in the village, thought somewhat smaller than usual. 50 Palestinians, Israelis and internationals marched from the village centre towards its agricultural lands and the route of the wall. On their way they learnt that the army has sent jeeps to roam the village, and that armed soldiers were standing on the rooftops around the demonstration area.

Demonstrators still proceeded and reached the line of soldiers blocking the main road with razor wire. Demonstrators beat their drums, chanted slogans, and in their Arabic, English and Hebrew speeches pronounced their commitment to the popular and non-violent struggle against the wall, the settlements and the occupation in spite of oppression, and called upon the soldiers to cross over to the side of joint struggle, in stead of supporting the war crimes and land and water theft.

The demonstration ended peacefully.



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