Undeterred by the rainy weather, people from al Maâsara gathered to march in their weekly protest against the apartheid wall and settlements. The people from the village were joined by Islamic Supreme Judge in Palestine, Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, and international activists. Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi led the people in Friday prayers at the mosque of the village before the march headed to the area of the wall. The people were carrying pictures of Omar Ala ad-Din, a youth from the villages, who had been released on Monday after having been subjected during a one week term in prison to continuous ill-treatment and torture.
The area of the wall was sealed off by the occupying forces with razor wire, interrupting the path of the people. The coordinator of the local committee against the Wall and the settlements, Mohammed Brijiyeh, opened the speeches vowing that the people will not be stopped by intimidation from their popular resistance against the occupation and the theft of their land. Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi praised the village of al Maâsara and its tireless resistance against the occupation. He added that the bond of the people from al Maâsara to their own land is as well a bond with Jerusalem â the Palestinian capital and integral part of the identity of the Palestinian people. Finally, Jumaâ Zawahra, another member of the local popular committee against the Wall and the settlements, reaffirmed that al Maâsara will continue its struggle despite all the practices of occupation and repression against the people.
After the speeches, the demonstrators marched towards the barbed wire to try to remove it and access their land isolated behind the Wall, but the Israeli occupation forces stationed there entered into fist fights and scuffles with the protestors.
After the rally, many of the demonstrators proceeded to the house of Omar Ala ad-Din to express their solidarity.