Above: Soldiers block the road at a previous demonstration in al-Ma’sara. Photo: Stop the wall
On May 1, people from the village of al-Ma’sara and the neighbouring
villages in Bethlehem area commemorated Workers Day with a march in protest
against the Apartheid Wall. The Wall continues to encroach on their land and
isolates their villages. The demonstration and Workers Day festival was
organized by the popular committees of the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign in al
Ma’sara and Bethlehem district, in cooperation with the Bethlehem branch of
the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU).
Israeli Occupation forces repressed the mobilization and fired on the crowd
with tear gas, sound bombs and rubber coated steel bullets. Nine people were
injured, among them the head of the PGFTU, Shaher Sa’ad. Soldiers arrested
‘Azmi Sheukhi from Hebron, Mustafa Fawagreh from Um Salamoneh and Muhammed
Brajiya, Mahmoud Zawahreh, Hasan Brajiya, all members of the popular
committee in al Ma’sara. They are still held in prison.
The events of May 1 are the latest of a strategy of escalation implemented
over the last months by the Occupation forces and which has lead to increased
arrests, injuries and deaths among the coordinators and activists against the
Apartheid Wall.
Several weeks ago, Basem Abu Rahmeh was shot and killed in the village of
Bil’in while last week, 37 people were injured in similar protests.
Ni’lin suffers regular invasions and arrests. This Friday, Occupation
forces took over several homes as military bases. In February, Occupation
forces staged a full day raid detaining 75 youth and arresting 16. The
occupation forces regularly impose curfews and other collective punishment
measures.
International trade unions must act in the face of these attacks on trade
unionists, workers and villagers.
The popular committee against the Apartheid Wall of al Ma’sara and Bethlehem
district, the Bethlehem branch of the PGFTU and the Anti-Apartheid Wall
Campaign call upon trade unions across the globe to:
– Demand the release of the Palestinian activists arrested on Workers Day.
– Raise awareness about the land theft and ghettoization of Palestinian
communities through the Wall and the grassroots resistance against it.
– Support the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) and
promote concrete BDS actions to hold Israel accountable for its crimes and
force it to respect Palestinian rights.
SIGNED BY:
Popular committee against the Apartheid Wall of al Ma’sara and Bethlehem
district
Bethlehem branch of the PGFTU
Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign