Thousands run for freedom of movement in Palestine marathon
Bethlehem: Thousands of Palestinian and international runners on Friday took part in the sixth edition of the Palestine marathon in Bethlehem, aiming to shed light on the movement restrictions imposed in the Palestinian territories.
Starting near the Church of the Nativity, the annual race took the participants through the city's landmarks as well as the Aida refugee camp, as they ran along the Israeli separation wall in an event the Palestinian Olympic Committee began sponsoring last year.
"I come every year and I am here to break the barriers that Palestinians have. We do not have the freedom to do what we want," Muhsen al-Homouz, originally from Bethlehem, told Efe. "But I am also here to support the sport and encourage everyone to join in."
Photographers captured the festive atmosphere of the race, showing the diverse group of participants including individual runners, families with children, elderly people and people with disabilities.
Music played at the starting and finishing point while many of the participants carried Palestinian flags and banners of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement.
Around 7,000 runners, according to the news agency Maan, started the race at 8.00 am and went through the different categories of the event: the 42-kilometre marathon, the half marathon, the 10-kilometre race and the five-kilometre family run.
The marathon's cause of claiming the right to freedom of movement was best visually represented by the image of the participants running along the concrete wall which separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem.
The wall, built by Israel in 2003, cuts through the Palestinian territory of the West Bank and was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice a year after its construction.
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AIMIM wins Malegaon Central seat by 162 votes
Malegaon (Maharashtra), Nov 23: In a closely contested election, Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has retained the Malegaon Central assembly seat, winning by a razor-thin margin of 162 votes.
This victory in the north Maharashtra constituency marks a significant turnaround for Khalique, who previously enjoyed a commanding lead in the 2019 elections, winning by over one lakh votes.
Khalique, an Islamic scholar, received a total of 1,09,653 votes this time, narrowly defeating his nearest rival, Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra party, who got 1,09,491 votes.
There were a total of 13 candidates contesting in this Muslim dominated constituency. Barring Khalique and Rasheed, two other candidates -- Shaan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed of Samajwadi Party and Ejaz Baig Aziz Baig managed below 10,000 votes. Other remaining candidates were below 1,000 votes.
This election marks Khalique's third term as an MLA. He initially represented the Malegaon Central seat in 2009 as a member of the Jan Surajya Shakti party.
However, Khalique faced a setback in the 2014 elections when he contested under the banner of the Nationalist Congress Party and lost.
His return to the assembly in 2019 under the AIMIM banner solidified his political presence, and despite the significantly reduced margin this year, he has once again emerged victorious.
The results highlight the competitive nature of the Malegaon Central constituency and underscore Khalique's resilience in maintaining his position amidst changing political dynamics.
