Thousands run the Palestine Marathon in Beit Lahm

More than 3,000 runners from around the world took part in the second annual Palestine Marathon on Friday, passing the Apartheid Israeli separation wall and curbing around checkpoints on the 42-kilometer (26 miles) course.

The marathon is held under the banner "Right to Movement" in order to highlight Israeli obstacles to freedom of movement in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The marathon took place in Beit Lahm ('Bethlehem') and entailed a two-directional run on the same 21-kilometer (13 miles) stretch around the central Palestinian city and nearby villages.

Due to Israeli restrictions on Palestinian movement and physical barriers such as checkpoints and the separation wall, organizers have had difficulty finding an appropriate, continuous 42-kilometer loop within the occupied West Bank.

Organizers said around 2,500 participants hailed from across the Palestinian territories, while around 700 came from 39 different countries. Besides Palestinians, Denmark, the US, and the UK were the countries most represented in the race.

On Tuesday, the Israeli High Court of Justice turned down an appeal by the human rights group Gisha on behalf of Gaza runner Nadir al-Masri, who was denied entry to the West Bank to compete in the marathon.

Al-Masri, 34, was also denied entry to the West Bank in 2013 to compete.

Israel tightened restrictions on Palestinians traveling in and out of Gaza after Hamas came to power in the coastal strip in 2006.