‘There is another way’: Palestinians, Israelis march together against the occupation

Roughly 300 Palestinians and Israelis marched along a major West Bank highway Friday afternoon to demand an end to the occupation and to protest Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The monthly protest march is deliberately held on a road that both Palestinians and Israeli settlers use, with the intention of demonstrating a joint Palestinian-Israeli anti-occupation message in full view of settlers.

Photos by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org

SM4A2277

The march set out from the “Tunnels Checkpoint,” the main checkpoint for settlers entering Jerusalem from the southern West Bank settlements of Gush Etzion.

YI012566

Israeli soldiers and police accompanied the march the whole way.

SM4A2480

A single right-wing Israeli counter-protester showed up but kept to the other side of the highway where he waved an oversized flag.

SM4A2414

The march has been organized by a consortium of peace and anti-occupation organizations in recent months. On Friday the most prominent organization was Combatants for Peace. The main slogan was: “There is another way.”

YI012695

The march ended at Husan Junction, a kilometer and a half south-west of the “Tunnels Checkpoint.” At the turnoff is a sign, common throughout the West Bank, warning Israelis not to enter Palestinian villages and cities.

SM4A2591

End of article module for Members

TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence.    We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies.   This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza.   We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.   Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

Make a Donation