[youthagainstsettlements] Fwd: Report on Saturday demo (22 May 2010)

[Issa Amro]

23rd May 2010

Palestinian residents of Hebron gathered on Saturday, supported by a large
group of Israeli activists, to protest against the continued restrictions
on their freedom of movement within Hebron. This includes the total
closure to Palestinians of Shuhada Street, a key thoroughfare on which all
Palestinian shops and homes have been sealed shut.

Approximately 100 people joined the demonstration which gathered at a
military barrier which blocks one of the entrances to Shuhada Street from
the Old City. After an hour or so of speeches, chants and songs, and the
distribution of numerous boycott 'contracts', which ask people to commit
themselves to boycotting settlement products, the demonstrators marched
through the Old City to a second blocked entrance, from which soldiers
tried to force them back. The march continued, stopping at the Palestinian
Authority Municipal Inspectors office, which the Israelis closed last
week, in a direct contravention of the Oslo Accords (1994). As protesters
moved through the Old City, settlers in the floors above poured water and
threw eggs at them.

The settlements in Hebron are, like all settlements within the West Bank
and East Jerusalem, illegal under international law. Palestinian residents
of the Old City and the district of Tel Rumeida suffer severe restriction
of movement, frequent harassment and occasional violence at the hands of
both soldiers and settlers. Shuhada Street has been closed to Palestinians
since 1994, forcing shops to close and residents to leave their homes.

ISM


--
Issa Amro
Palestine - Hebron