About 23 runners were injured on Friday evening as Israeli police forces violently attacked the Jerusalem Marathon organized by activists in solidarity with Palestinian families facing forced expulsion in occupied east Jerusalem.
Hundreds of runners participated in the event which started in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and ended 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) away in Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan district. Dozens of Palestinians living in these two neighborhoods are facing the threat of losing their homes to extremist Jewish settlers.
The runners wore white T-shirts with the phrase “Jerusalem Marathon” and the number “7850” printed on them.
7850 is the number of Palestinians who are facing forced expulsion in the holy city according to the organizers.
Israeli police forces physically attacked the protesters and used stun grenades to disperse them even though the run was peaceful.
“The young people were simply singing and cheering and were happy that they had done a marathon” a reporter for al-Jazeera satellite channel said.
On social media activists posted footage of Israeli forces beating protesters.
One of the runners Jalal Abu Khater posted images of his bruised leg and tweeted: “I was beaten six times attacked by Israeli forces for running in my ancestral town and city.”
“We ran 3.5 kilometers from Sheikh Jarrah to Silwan. I arrived at the finish line Batn al-Hawa Silwan neighborhood under threat of ethnic cleansing by Israel” Abu Khater said.
“Out of nowhere Israeli forces raided the finish line where we had gathered and been singing songs drinking water and resting our legs. They were violent attacked everyone indiscriminately beating throwing grenades and firing rubber bullets at some” he added.
