Protesters walked towards the construction site of the wall, but as every Friday for the past three years, they were intercepted by dozens of soldiers who had again cut off the main road with a razor wire fence and prevented villagers from reaching their lands.

Demonstrators waved flags and chanted slogans. A number of Women held posters of their imprisoned sons and relatives and lead in chants demanding the release of all political prisoners. Senior Palestinian officials, including Minister Maher Ghneim, gave speeches expressing their support for the Popular Committees commitment to resisting Israels colonial policies and its success in mobilizing continuous support from local, international, and Israeli activists.

Todays demonstration, which marked the foundation of the Fatah movement, comes following threats issued two days ago to members of the Popular Committee warning that its members would be targeted and arrested if the protests in alMasara continued in 2010. The soldiers, who had taken position behind the barb wire, appeared more tense than usual. One soldier repeatedly aimed his weapon at the protesters from a hill overlooking the street. At one point, soldiers pushed into the crowd, when children attempted to remove the barb wire.

As the procession retreated, small clashed broke out between local youth and the soldiers, which included the shooting of rubber-coated bullets and tear gas by the army, and stone throwing by the youth. As aggression increased, five military vehicles entered deep into the village of alMasara. Soldiers continued to shoot teargas for an hour and remained at the entrance of the village until late in the afternoon.