Um Salamuna village protest the construction of the wall
by George Rishmawi
Around two hundred protesters marched in the village of Um Salamuna, south of Bethlehem to protest the construction of the wall on their land and to commemorate the 31 anniversary of Land Day.
Protesters, including Palestinians, Internationals and Israelis, carried signs and banners and chanted slogans calling for the removal of the Wall, describing it as land theft that is killing the Palestinian life.
The protest started with a prayer at the land slated for confiscation by the Israeli authorities for the construction of the wall.
No clashes erupted with the soldiers as the protesters remained nonviolent. Provocative moves by some of the protesters were stopped by the organizers of the action.
The crowd arrived at the Mosque of the village where some speeches related to the Land Day were made. The speakers stressed the importance of the nonviolent resistance to protect the land from being confiscated by the Israeli army.
A wide area of the village of Um Salamuna and the near by villages are confiscated for the construction of the wall and the expansion of the Israeli settlement of Ephrata.