Bethlehem, West Bank. 31st March 2017.

1. 00:00 Start of the race

2. 00:08 Start sign, reads (Arabic and English) "The fifth Palestine marathon, Start "

3. 00:13 Various of runners

4. 00:23 Israeli security tower

5. 00:28 Various of runners near separation wall

6. 00:43 Mostafa Barghouti , PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) Executive committee member

7. 00:48 SOUNDBITE (English): Mostafa Barghouti, PLO Executive committee member:

"We participate with six thousand people today in the fifth Palestine marathon to send a message, we are demanding freedom. This is a marathon about freedom of movement, it's a marathon against the apartheid wall that is built around Bethlehem and other places. It's a marathon demanding freedom of the Palestinian people from occupation and the system of apartheid. It's a marathon for real peace, peace without violence, peace without occupation and peace without apartheid."

8. 01:18 Various of runners

9. 01:48 Runners at the finish line

10. 01:53 Finish sign, reads (Arabic and English) "The fifth Palestine marathon, Finish "

11. 01:58 Palestine marathon winner, Mervin Steenkamp, shaking hands with Palestine Olympic Committee chairman Jibril Rajoub

12. 02:07 Trophies

13. 02:12 Steenkamp on podium holding trophy

14. 02:19 SOUNDBITE (English) Mervin Steenkamp, Palestine Marathon winner:

"I feel very exited, very emotional also because it's for me an honour and a privilege to run in Palestine, running against the wall of separation. The route this year, they changed it a bit so there was more hills. This year was tougher and that's why my time was slower than last year."

15. 02:45 Steenkamp holding South Africa flag

16. 02:50 Tee-shirt reading (Arabic and English) "Free Movement"

17. 02:56 Second place, Thaer Shanaah

18. 03:00 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Thaer Shanaah, Palestine Marathon runner-up:

"The participation of foreign runners gave the marathon an international character when they came to run in Palestine and we want this marathon to become an international event in the coming years. This is a big event that sends the message and shows the suffering of the Palestinian people when we run to complete the 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometres) near the separation wall because we don't have a route with this distance because the occupation control the area."

19. 03:27 People celebrating

20. 03:33 Church of Nativity

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 03:38

Over 6,000 people took part in the fifth Palestine Marathon on Friday (31st March) with the race starting and finishing at the historic Church of Nativity in Bethlehem.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Palestinians and competitors from around sixty countries took over the roads of the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Friday for the 2017 Palestine Marathon.

Organisers said over 6,000 people took part in the fifth Palestinian Marathon, as Palestinians together with 700 participants from around the globe raced through the historic city of Bethlehem.

The race started and finished at the Church of Nativity in Manger Square and part of the route was near the Israeli-built West Bank separation wall.

Israel said the separation wall is needed to keep Palestinian attackers out of Israel, while Palestinians say the separation wall is stolen Palestinian land.

For the second year in a row Mervin Steenkamp from South Africa was the first across the line and pocketed a prize of 1,500 US dollars .

He completed the 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometres) in two hours and 51 minutes.