Large numbers of Palestinians are staging a sit-in atop Mount Al-Urma in the West Bank amid settlers’ attempts to seize it.
By Shatha Hammad | Middle East Eye | Mar 5, 2020
‘I am here 24 hours a day, I don’t get tired nor do I feel bored… I will stay here to protect our lands, whatever it costs.’
—19-year-old Adham Zuhair
Around the stove, about 30 Palestinians gather inside a big tent on top of Mount Al-Urma, east of the town of Beita in the occupied West Bank, taking a rest and preparing for the latest confrontation with Israeli soldiers and settlers.
Hours earlier on Monday, settlers had tried for a second time to reach the top of the mountain, but the residents of Beita, which lies south of Nablus, had quickly gathered to defend their lands.
Clashes erupted, during which the Israeli army opened fire, wounding two Palestinians with live ammunition and 10 others with rubber bullets.
Residents of Beita have continued their daily sit-in at the top of Al-Urma since last Thursday after they were alerted to calls by settlers on social media to seize the mountain and turn it into an Israeli religious tourist route.
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