A colorful march in al-Ma'asara village celebrated five years of protest. On the occasion, Italian activists, including former vice president of EU Parliament Luisa Morganitini, served pasta to protesters.
Approximately one hundred residents and activists joined the weekly demonstration against the Wall and settlement in al-Ma'asara village this week. The festive demonstration marked five years of active resistance by the small village. Like every other week in the past years, the demonstration commenced at the center of the village and progressed in a colorful parade towards the lands of the village which were confiscated for building a wall around the adjacent settlement of Efrat (construction has been suspended for the time being).
Surprisingly, only one military jeep with two soldiers awaited the demonstration as it left the village, for the first time in months approaching the lands. A few hundred meters later, however, the parade was stopped by a bigger force of soldiers and Border Police officers, which began pushing the demonstrators backwards. Despite the fact that military violence – mainly in the form of shoving and hitting with clubs - persisted throughout the demonstration, tear-gas and other ammunition was not being used. Also, in contrast to most demonstrations in the village, the army did not declare a closed military zone.
Soldiers shoving demonstrators in al-Ma'asara,2011-10-20 Picture Credit: Activestills
The demonstration persisted for over an hour, mainly stretching upon the length of the road leading to the village, occasionally being pushed back by the soldiers. In between, protesters waved flags, sang songs and chanted, danced to samba drums and made speeches marking five years of popular struggle. At a certain point some of the Italian activists, including former vice president of EU Parliament Luisa Morganitini, pulled out large pots of pasta and started serving lunch to the protestors as a tribute for five years of struggle.
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