Saturday, July 10, 2010

Demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah in front of the evicted Palestinian Homes

Demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah in front of the evicted houses - Fri 9-7-10: "yisraelpnm | July 09, 2010

In the same week that a number of prominent lawyers, including one former legal advisor to the government, released a letter stating that police actions in Sheikh Jarrah are discriminatory and illegal -- four hundred demonstrators showed up at the weekly protest to prove the letter right. The demonstrators demanded to be let in the neighborhood, something that has been denied them for months now, while right-wing settlers are allowed to have protests in the same place.

Demonstrators marched in perfect order, avoiding the road and sticking to the pavements, and asked police officers to remove roadblocks and let them in. When met with brut force and pushed back, demonstrators raised their hands in the air as a sign of non-violence.

After about half an hour, some eighty demonstrators were able to make their way around the blockade, and started a demonstration opposite the Palestinian houses taken over by settlers with High Court backing. The police, which now had to handle a demonstration on several fronts, increased the violence, arrested ten demonstrators, and hit many more. After about an hour of intense efforts and much violence, met with passive resistance, all demonstrators were pushed back to the garden opposite the neighborhood -- the only place the police allows demonstrations to take place, in spite of several court rulings.

Eventually, after more than two hours of energy packed demonstration, activists decided to leave, and marched to the Jerusalem detention centre, to cheer up those arrested earlier.



- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog