Anti Wall protest in Al Khader village near Bethlehem

Saturday March 29, 2008 00:20 by Manar Jibrin & Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

At least 250 Palestinians from the village of Al Khader located near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, joined by Israeli and international peace activists staged a protest on Friday midday against the illegal Wall Israel is building on the village's land.

The villagers of Al Khader protesting the Wall on Friday, photo by IMEMC's Ghassan Bannoura

The protest started by performing the Friday prayers at Al Nashah Israeli checkpoint located at the entrance of the village. Shortly afterwards, protesters marched towards the checkpoint where they were stopped by a razorwire blockade installed by the Israeli soldiers.

Members of the local Popular Committee of Land Defense in Al Khader and the Mayor of the village delivered speeches in Arabic. The protests were then finished peacefully without any clashes with the army.

Samer Jaber, from the local Popular Committee of Lands Defense in Al Khader said that "In addition to protesting the illegal confiscation of our land we also commemorate the 32nd anniversary of Palestinian Land Day."

On March 30 1976, Palestinians voiced their rejection of the Israeli policies of racism and annexing Palestinian lands in demonstrations in the Arab town of Saknin, in the Galilee.

On that day, six Palestinian residents of Saknin were killed by the Israeli police, and Palestinians and Arabs have been commemorating that day since then. The day became known as Land Day, a day of national rejection of the Israeli occupation, Israeli land annexation policies, and Israeli racist policies against the Palestinians living inside Israel.

The illegal Israeli wall will annex more than 18 thousand acres of land in the Bethlehem area to Israel. 5 000 acres of these lands belong to residents of Al-Khader, who depend on farming for a majority of their livelihood.

bethlehem | non-violent action | news report ghassanb at imemc dot org