Atira Village Supporters Protest Road Closure

Atira Villagers, Israeli And International Supporters, Protest Road Closure

This morning in the village of Atira, villagers protested the Israeli army's decision to block route 443 and isolate the village from the nearby city of Ramallah, where most villagers work and go to school.

Israelis and internationals gathered with Palestinian residents of Atira and demonstrated peacefully at the roadblock.

This is the third such demonstration in several weeks. The Israeli military and border police responded by declaring the demonstration illegal and declaring the roadblock a closed military zone.

The military promised community leaders that a meeting would be scheduled with the appropriate authorities and that they would return to resolve the situation at 3pm the next day.

At the beginning of the second intifada, the Israeli military closed the road completely, separating Atira residents from their jobs, universities and secondary schools in Ramallah.

Residents were forced to take a longer, more difficult route to get to Ramallah, and what was once a journey of about a half an hour was turned into a two-hour, twice a day, commute.

Roughly six months ago, the Israeli military installed a checkpoint on the road, allowing residents to pass for a half an hour at 7:30 am, a half an hour at 3pm and an hour between 7 and 8 pm.

Now, once again, the military is threatening to close access to this road completely. This has caused great economic hardship to the village, which is surrounded by illegal Israeli settlements and a highway, which is for use by Israelis only.

The community plans to continue resisting this roadblock and other injustices through non-violent means in the future.

ENDS

More: Latest World News | Top World News | World Digest | Archives

© Scoop Media