A bicycle marathon set off on Friday from the central Gaza Strip to the Erez crossing demanding an end to the Israeli siege on the region.
The marathon which was organized by the group Youth for Gaza, started at 6 am with dozens of youths who gathered at the al-Samer crossroads in Gaza city before setting off down the streets, waving Palestinian flags until they reached the Erez crossing.
Participants of the marathon called for the end of the “slow death” policy of Israel’s siege while also demanding that Gazans be allowed to travel out of the enclave for medical treatment.
Bicycle marathon in #Gaza demands end to Israeli-imposed siege #Palestine #Israel https://t.co/xVc1tSFp0S pic.twitter.com/wIpciyyooZ
— Ma'an News Agency (@MaanNewsAgency) September 9, 2016
The near decade-long Israeli blockade has plunged the Gaza Strip’s more than 1.8 million Palestinians into severe poverty.
The destruction from three Israeli offensives over the past six years and slow reconstruction due to the blockade led the UN in September to warn that Gaza could be “uninhabitable” by 2020.
(MA’AN, PC)
