Today’s weekly non-violent protest in the village of al-Ma’sara, West Bank, ended with a violent outburst by the Israeli military as they marched in to the village.
The protesters, with numerous local residents, internationals, and anti-Zionist Israelis in attendance, marched peacefully through the village to the sounds of chants calling for the end of the construction of the separation wall being constructed at the edge of their village, separating the local farming communities from their lands.
The construction of the wall began in 2003, and has been deemed illegal by international courts.
As the demonstration ended, a young child threw a small stone that struck an armored jeep, local sources stated. The Israeli military responded with an unnecessary display of force, marching towards the protesters, shoving them back with the butts of their rifles.
IMEMC were on hand to observe a resident of the village struck multiple times by a member of the Israeli military for doing nothing more than stand his ground, and refuse to be forced back. As small skirmishes broke out the military became more heavy handed forcing protesters back to the beginning of the residential section of al-Ma’sara.
A stand off occurred, with the protesters determined not to allow a military incursion into the village. This was to no avail. The military started rolling sound bombs into the crowd, forcing the protesters to disperse. As the peaceful protesters turned to run, the Israeli military began to target members of the crowd, throwing the sound bombs directly at them.
As the forces marched further into the village, they became ever more violent towards those who refused to back down, including those from all camps in attendance.
Eventually the march came to a stand, and after many tense minutes the military and the protesters agreed that both would back away to their separate areas.
These non- violent protests have been running every Friday for three years, with constant acts of aggression coming from the Israeli military. Since the turn of the year the violence and aggression has escalated. Full story
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