Yesterday was another Saturday, another demonstration against the military occupation and the attacks by settlers. A lot of internationals showed up, along with many Israelis. We decided that because of the brutal arrests and beatings of Palestinians previously, we would be the ones facing the soldiers.
We walked down the street and were stopped by a line of soldiers. People were chanting the "1-2-3-4 occupation no more, 5-6-7-8 end the killing end the hate". Some of the Israeli activists were playing drums. A military jeep drove up and the commander began telling us to disperse, that this is an illegal demonstration and that we had 5 minutes. A gray haired Israeli Jewish woman began speaking to the soldiers, appealing to them in Hebrew and telling them that the occupation is illegal, that they should not be attacking civilians. I began talking to some of them, telling them I know they are good people who do not want to be here and that they can make the right choice and not follow orders that are immoral and illegal. I also said that one day justice will come. Other activists kept chanting.
I noticed some soldiers moving in behind us and soon we were sorrounded from both sides. The soldiers in the front began pushing and shoving people. Another group of soldiers then ran into the crowd and tackled one of the activists and dragged him to their lines. There were a few minutes, then they began pushing us again and I saw them "snatch" the Israeli drummer. He was grabbed by the back of the neck and dragged off and tackled and taken. 3 other people were taken this way. The Israeli woman was one of those arrested.
A girl suddenly walked up to me and let me know that a French journalist who was close to the soldiers and understood some Hebrew heard them saying that they planned to take me next. I moved back a bit.
The line of soldiers suddenly stopped. Some people began applauding sarcastically. Then they charged at us again. I saw a big guy running towards me and began sprinting uphill along with everyone else. Alhamdullilah (praise be to God), I had a headstart and unlike him, I wasn't wielding a machine gun or heavy body armour so I managed to outrun him relatively easily.
After the demo was over and were one block away from them, some Palestinian kids showed up and began taunting the soldiers. One threw a rock. He was very far from the soldiers and it did not even come close to reaching them. However, one of the organizers moved in right away and shooed them away and told them to go home. I was very impressed by the discipline of the Palestinians in Hebron.
We received news that some of the jailed activists have been released. One of them has been hurt in the head by a soldier but is now alright.
After the demo we went to Layla's house, she invited us to break the Ramadan fast with us. She kept on offering endless plates of food, until we were all so full we could barely stand. I love Palestinian hospitality, it knows no bounds.
Pictures to come.
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