Bethleham 'right to movement' Marathon
Published date: 4 April 2016 09:57 UTC
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Last update: 4 years 10 months ago

Women hold a bunch of balloons in the colour of the Palestinian flag at the start of the marathon. (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Noura jumps as the crowd warms up before the race (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Lamar is 14 and running to encourage other young people and women to run. (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

A group of youths attempt to follow warm up exercises. (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Runners set off from the Manger Square. Some 4,400 participants run 10km, half and full marathon. (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Some 50 disabled athletes took part in the run. Ra'ed Ahwethi travelled from Nablus to complete 10km (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Women enter Aida Camp. A square kilometre refugee camp in Bethlehem, home to nearly 5,500 refugees (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Runners pass by one of the many watchtowers along the Separation Wall encircling Bethlehem. (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

A runner grabs a drink at a pit stop. Dates, bananas and oranges were also on offer. (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Runners descend from the Nativity Church at the start of the race (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

A volunteer pushes a wheelchair-bound participant in Aida camp along a wall picturing some of the inhabitants killed in clashes against the Israeli army over the years (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Runners perform one of many u-turns in the route. Each runner is identified as they step on the electronic mat thanks to a timing chip attached to their shoelaces. This ensures that timings are accurate and, given the u-turns, it's a way to easily prove that each athlete has followed the correct route (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Mahmoud Abu Shamsia, an actor with Al Basta theatre, walked the 10Km race pushing a portable 'checkpoint' to remind participants of the restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on Palestinian freedoms (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

A group of kids in Aida camp watches the runners go by. (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

The right to movement - Article 13 of the Geneva Convention (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Balloons are released into the air (MEE/Silvia Boarini)

Ra'ed Ahwethi wins a medal (MEE/Silvia Boarini)