Israel ramps up demolitions in West Bank village


Fayha' Shalash The Electronic Intifada 7 August 2024

Barbed wire surrounds the village of al-Walaja. (Yahel Gazit / ActiveStills)

Mahmoud al-Araj has been in the village now called al-Walaja since he was born.

Now in his sixties, he recalls when “we lived a quiet life, cultivating our land and eating what we harvested.”

The calm was relative and should be contextualized.

Around 1,600 people were uprooted from the original village of al-Walaja when it was invaded by the Israeli military in October 1948. A few hundred of them would set up a new village, keeping the name al-Walaja.

Located west of Bethlehem, it was a few kilometers away from their original village.

During the 1970s, Israel founded the settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo. Land was stolen from al-Walaja for their construction.

The Israelis would subsequently build a bypass road around al-Walaja. It was designed so that settlers would have access to Jerusalem.

Mahmoud al-Araj and his family live near the entrance to the village. The road was built “right next to our homes,” he said.

“Now we have trouble sleeping because of the constant noise,” he said. “The road is suffocating us.”

“We cannot sit on the balcony at night and children cannot play outside,” he added. “We are afraid that they will be harmed.”

In the first decade of this century, the Israeli authorities began implementing a plan for Har Gilo’s expansion – at al-Walaja’s expense.

Israel’s massive wall in the West Bank is strangling the village, too. The section of the wall in al-Walaja partly comprises barbed wire.

Over recent weeks, the Israeli occupation has ramped up its violence against al-Walaja.

Between 9 and 22 July, the Israelis demolished 10 residential buildings in the village. Almost 80 people were displaced as a result.

Israel uses the pretext that homes were built without permits when carrying out demolitions. In practice, it is virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain permits from their occupiers.
“War against all Palestinians”

Ahmad Abu al-Tin is among those whose homes were attacked.

In mid-July, the Israeli forces arrived with bulldozers at his home. No warning was given.

He had been told that the house faced a demolition order a few months prior. He then paid “huge sums of money to lawyers,” so that he could challenge the order and seek a building permit.

He had no luck obtaining one.

When the bulldozers arrived, Ahmad and his neighbors were made to leave their homes immediately. The Israeli forces would not allow them to remove their furniture before the demolition.

Ahmad and other members of his family saw their home being reduced to rubble.

“What is happening to us is a small part of what is happening to the people of Gaza,” he said. “This is a war against all Palestinians.”

Since the demolition of his home, Ahmad and his immediate family have been sheltered by his brother, who lives in Bethlehem.

Their conditions are cramped. Six people have to live in one room.

Along with the destruction and threatened destruction of their homes, al-Walaja’s people have faced countless other human rights violations. They include movement restrictions and reducing the delivery of water to villagers.

Israel has even sought to deny religious freedom. Calls to prayer are being muffled, with Israel complaining that Palestinian mosques are too near its settlements.

All of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.

Adel al-Atrash, an activist from al-Walaja, noted that Israel’s policies have proved devastating to farming.

“Al-Walaja could have all the elements of a prosperous life,” he said. “But the Israeli occupation has made that impossible.”

Fayha’ Shalash is a journalist based in the occupied West Bank.