19 June 2009
Demonstrators gathered in Al Ma’sara today to protest the construction the wall and the illegal expansion of Israeli settlements.
100 Palestinians, Israelis and internationals marched through the streets carrying a 30-foot long Palestinian flag, chanting against the Wall and demanding an end to the occupation. As the march approached a main thoroughfare, soldiers blocked the road with razor wire and refused to let the demonstrators pass. Protesters gave speeches and shouted at the soldiers, demanding to know why they had blocked their peaceful march. Tensions mounted when a soldier began making menacing gestures at an elderly Palestinian woman, but the situation deescalated without confrontation. At one point the protesters sat down in the shade of the Palestinian flag and began having a picnic. The protest lasted for a little over an hour, and dispersed peacefully.