Fifty Palestinians, Israelis and international activists managed to stop construction today during a demonstration against the wall. This is the second day in a row demonstrators confront army and police in an attempt to save village land from being destroyed for the wall. Three people were arrested yesterday – the village’s mayor and an assistant of his, who were released a few hours later, and the mayor’s son, who still remains in custody.

At about 10 am the demonstrators marched towards the works, passed the armed security men, who aimed live ammunition at the protesters. Demonstrators then climbed the bulldozers, successfully bringing all work in the site to a halt for over two hours.
After a large force of police and army arrived at the scene, demonstrators agreed to shortly move away from the bulldozers, so that workers fix a water pipe they had damaged as a result of work on the wall, and cut the village’s water supply.

As soon as it became clear that construction work on the wall continues, demonstrators returned to block the bulldozers.

Four Israeli anarchists and two internationals were subsequently arrested, and taken to a police station in a nearby settlement. They were all released a few hours later, on condition that they do not come near the path of the wall in Um Salamuna for 15 days