Home / Reports / Christmas in al-Ma’asara: Demonstrators march in solidarity with Abdallah Abu Rahmah

Christmas in al-Ma’asara: Demonstrators march in solidarity with Abdallah Abu Rahmah

25 December 2009

Some 80 demonstrators marched in this Friday’s Christmas demonstration in Ma’asara, which focused on solidarity with Bil’in’s arrested popular committee member Abdallah Abu-Rahmah. Kids, adults and Santa Clauses were handed out used tear-gas and stun grenades, and hung them as decoration on the holiday tree.

The tree-carrying procession reached the regular military road block, where some of the children chose to decorate even the soldiers’ barbed wired fence with some grenades. Santa Clauses were waving flags, slogans where chanted, and speeches were carried in Arabic, English and Hebrew. One of the prominent speakers was Palestinians MP Dr. Mustapha Barghouti.

The demonstration’s jolly Christmas spirit did not catch the soldiers and border policemen, who jumped nervously at any sight of someone touching their fence. At some point five policemen crossed the fence and tried to arrest one of the village youth, but failed and had to face some heavy mocking while returning to their unlawful place behind the fence.

The demonstration ended peacefully and with season’s greetings to all present.