NEW YORK, June 27, 2013 (WAFA) – Youtube has removed on Monday a video featuring Palestinian women protesting Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian Territory following a protest by singer Alicia Keys citing “copyright infringement,” a statement by the US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation said on Wednesday.

It said Keys has taken legal action to remove the popular video from Youtube that depicted the women’s protest to the tune of Keys’ song “This Girl Is on Fire.”

According to a Youtube notification, the video, that echoed widespread calls for Keys to cancel her July 4 concert in Tel Aviv, was removed due to a claim by “Alicia Keys c/o Ziffren Brittenheim LLP” of “copyright infringement.”

The video had been featured on MSNBC’s Grio, the Atlanta Black Star, and many other websites.

Rana Hamadeh, a Palestinian protester featured at the beginning of the removed video standing atop an Israeli military vehicle waving a Palestinian flag (video from that protest), explained, “It is enough that we face physical and emotional violence and restrictions on our daily lives. But now we are also being silenced on the internet.”

She said that “I think if Alicia Keys understood the call to boycott, she would agree to honor it.”

She added: “Alicia Keys should protect Palestinian children's rights, and listen to the message from Palestinian women, rather than silencing them.”

The makers of the video also expressed dismay at Keys’ removal of the empowering video. A number of parody videos of “This Girl Is on Fire” have not been removed from Youtube.

The video’s removal came amidst mounting calls for Keys not to play in Israel. The Palestinian branch of an international organization focusing on children’s rights, Defense for Children International Palestine, urged Keys to uphold the mission of her non-profit “Keep A Child Alive” and cancel her concert due to Israel’s abuse of Palestinian children’s rights.

French human rights advocates held protests at Keys’ concerts in Lyon, Marseille and Paris, where they managed to directly ask both Keys’ musicians and Keys herself to cancel the concert in Israel.

More than 50 US organizations working with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation also sent Keys’ publicist and “Keep a Child Alive” a letter asking her to cancel her July 4 show.

M.S./F.R.