Bill joined the MPT Long-Term team, arriving Thursday July 26th.  We, Bill & Peter, were informed Saturday that a demonstration was being organized in Al Walaja in the afternoon, so we left to take part.

The village of Al Walaja, population about 2,500, is located about four miles west of Bethlehem. The separation wall being built will completely surround the village, demolishing many homes and separating the people from their fields. The only passage in and out of the village will be through a monitored tunnel connecting it with the next town of Beit Jala. (See MPT June 17th Report for more background). Walaja is one of 19 Bethlehem District villages banding together to find ways to counter and creatively respond to the systematic evictions and seizure of their land.

The mayor of Al Walaja and two council members had gathered with about 20 other people from the town.

Sami Awad, Executive Director of Holy Land Trust (HLT) in Bethlehem was also there, and we spoke with him briefly. He has good reason to be there.  HLT and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD) two weeks ago rebuilt the home of Munther Salim in Al Wajala. In 2004 Mr. Salim began building a home for his family of five on his property. The next summer he received an Israeli home demolition warning. He went to the Israeli court several times. He was told to pay a fine (equal to almost $1,500 U.S. dollars) for refusing the demolition warning. He was told the land belonged to the Jerusalem municipal district. (Other homes near him had received building permits from the Walaja Village Council). In January 2006 an Israeli demolition crew arrived with dozens of soldiers and police and bulldozed his home. A month later the family began rebuilding it. Eight months later it was bulldozed again. They were then living with a relative, and the Israelis came and demolished that home as well. It is likely that the new home rebuilt by HLT and ICAHD will be demolished too. Persistence in the face of the violence of occupation is strong.

After some deliberation by the village leaders, it was decided that they would not have the demonstration on this day. We were told that there would be a bigger demonstration in Walaja next Friday, with people from the broader Bethlehem area invited.
 

Bill and Peter visited the home of Omar (true name withheld), a leader of the Walaja campaigns to deal with the growing imprisonment and land confiscations. He said he expects good new this week from his lawyer, thinking the Israeli court will reinstate his permit to return to work in Jerusalem. Currently he cannot leave Walaja since he is under house arrest for his activism. We wish we could share his sense of optimism. About six months ago he and others attained a victory when the Israeli court overturned an order to demolish 24 of their homes, including Omar’s. They are now working on a case to overturn the demolition order for more than twenty other families.
 

Omar told of one neighbor whose home was demolished twice – first in 2003, then in 2005. He and his family now live in the Dheisheh Refugee Camp, his mind broken under the violence of occupation.

Omar also said that recently he counted about 50 young people living nearby who have no jobs. Looking out over the hill and valley, he said that each house has its own story. Each is a tragedy in the village, the result of the oppression from Israeli occupation. Some younger people are not marrying; they can’t afford to get married. They have no money, no place of their own. Yet, they want to stay and defend their land.

Omar told of another man we’ll call Ahmed, who is 55 years old with a family. He and his married brothers can’t get a permit to Israel to work (and there is no work in Walaja). Sometimes they sneak into Jerusalem to work. One of his sons received a demolition order two years ago.  That son now can’t move an arm and a leg (paraplegic). They don’t have money for medical help. His wife finds work where she can.

Later today (Sunday) the two of us will head to the South Hebron Hills for some days to again offer protective accompaniment to the shepherds there, who frequently sustain Israeli settler attacks.