Hungry and Thirsty for Justice: "We refuse to die in silence"

On Saturday August 8th, a small group of Palestinians, including Younes and Youssef from Beit Ummar and Hassan from Al Massara, took part in a peaceful march near the village of Beit Ummar, to protest the killing of Ali, a Palestinian infant who was burnt alive by settlers in Nablus.

The rally was completely peaceful, and it was made very clear by the participants that it was not against Jews or even most Israelis, but the settlers.

In his speech, Hassan said to the soldiers that he works with Jews and Israelis, and this has nothing to do with protesting their religion. He encouraged the soldiers to do something productive in Tel Aviv, like study, instead of taking part in the occupation. He compared the killing of the baby to how the Nazis burnt the Jewish people alive during the Holocaust. The family had actually lost two members by the time the rally began... during the morning of the demonstration, we learned that the child's father, Saad Dawabsha, passed away.

Younes and Hassan made it clear to the Army and Border Police soldiers present that the Palestinian people would continue to peacefully resist the settlers. In the words of Hassan, "we refuse to die in silence".

The soldiers and BP were out in great force, and pushed Younes and Youssef and Hassan around, shoving Younes to the ground. No one retaliated with any violence. After about fifteen minutes the speeches ended, and everyone left.

Some of the participants pose for a picture, just before the beginning of the protest.

A large group of Israeli soldiers and Border Police await. This is despite the fact that they knew this would be a peaceful demonstration. Hassan is very firm against anyone throwing stones at demos he is part of.