I am a runner.
I run marathons around whole world. Never have I been attacked violently by police forces as I was today, during the Jerusalem run from #SaveSheikhJarrah to #SaveSilwan.
I was beaten six times, attacked by Israeli forces, for running in my ancestral town & city.
We ran 3.5 kilometres from Sheikh Jarrah to Silwan. I arrived at the finish line Batn Al-Hawa, Silwan neighbourhood under threat of ethnic cleansing by Israel.
All runners wore t-shirts that had # 7850 printed on back, the number of Palestinian Jerusalemites under threat.
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, & firing rubber bullets at some.
#SaveSilwan
I was attacked, they were beating me violently on my legs, my running legs, my everything. They beat everyone in the vicinity as they violently suppressed our gathering at the finish line. We were exhausted, yet they wanted to crush us even further.
#SaveSilwan #SaveSheikhJarrah
After they had already beaten all of us multiple times and emptied the whole space of gathered Palestinians in the heart of my ancestoral town of Silwan, they were ready to inflict more violence upon us. #SaveSilwan
The wanted to keep attacking all of us who were present at #JerusalemMarathon finish line.
Look at this video. I got attacked for 2nd time. I felt they really wanted to break my legs. Was my running gear too provocative? A tank top, shorts, & trainers. They hated it. They hate us
4 hours later. I am in so much pain I can barely walk, let alone run. I am thankful to have a friend who knows what I need for immediate relief,, yet I know I won't be able to use my legs normally for days.
I have to cancel tmw morning run with my RTM team in Lifta, Jerusalem.
On a good day, I can run a whole marathon in 3hrs20mins. Below are marathons I ran in past years
1. Malta Marathon 2020 🇲🇹.
2. Tokyo Marathon 2019 🇯🇵.
3. Santiago de Chile 2018 🇨🇱.
4. Edinburgh Marathon 2016 🏴.
But, in my city #Jerusalem, a hateful state🇮🇱 denied me that right.
Thank you @sunnyboymorgan, I actually ran Cape Town's Two Oceans half-marathon three years ago. What a wonderful race (difficult, but beautiful), I cannot wait to be back to do more running 🇿🇦.
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