***image2***Today, the demonstrators who came out to join the protest march were able to stop the work of the Occupation bulldozers for two hours. For weeks now, the people of Beit Jala, on whose lands the Apartheid Wall is to be constructed, have staged ongoing protests to stop the bulldozers from destroying their land and building the Wall.
The protestors, accompanied by international supporters stood in front of the bulldozer and with their bodies in a line prevented the bulldozers from working. The demonstrators were even able to fix and raise a Palestinian flag on one of the bulldozers.
***image3***After a while, the approximately 200 heavily armed soldiers stationed there to ensure that the destruction of Palestinian land could continue unhindered, started their crackdown on the demonstrators. They beat many of the protestors and injured three. Eight international activists were arrested but released in the evening hours. Some of the demonstrators were successfully removed from the grip of the occupation forces by others.
The people underlined that they will not accept the military order of the occupation authorities that bars them access to their lands. Instead they will continue to protest until the occupation of Palestinian land ends.