6-09-09, 10:32 am

Protesters march in Tel Aviv to mark 42 years of occupation under slogan: 'End the occupation start living'

Tel Aviv – Thousands of peace and communists activists marched Saturday, June 6, 2009 in Tel Aviv marking 42 years of Palestinian territories occupation. Protesters chanted: 'End the occupation, start living' and 'Israel-Palestine, two states for two peoples.' Around 5,000 demonstrators marched in the rally, which led from Rabin Square to the Tel Aviv museum in front of the Ministry of Defense.

The marchers belong to organizations and parties such as Hadash (the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality), the Communist Party of Israel, Banki-Shaviva (Young Communist League of Israel), Meretz, Gush Shalom, and Yesh Gvul.

Member of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) Dov Khenin (Hadash) spoke at the protest. 'Forty-two years of occupation are 42 years too many,' said MK Khenin. 'This year Israel is at a crossroads: Either we move to create a just Israeli-Palestinian peace or dangerous deterioration leads us to terrible regional war.'

Head of Hadash, MK Mohammed Barakeh addressed the demonstration. He said 'occupation norms' were slowly penetrating Israeli society and threatening democracy with such occurrences as 'the Nakba laws, the discrimination against the Arab-Palestinians in Israel, the harming of freedom of speech and politics, and more.'

MK Nitzan Horovitz (Meretz) also addressed the crowd, calling on Israel to stop settlement building in the Palestinian occupied territories and restart a 'real peace process.'