APN | Palestine – Bethlehem

22 September 2024

Behind the Apartheid Wall, between the villages of Al-Walaja and Al-Maliha, APN managed to enter through the tunnel gate built by the occupation on the land of farmer Omar Hajajla, and plant 200 grape seedlings with the support of Mr. Hashem Al-Hunaidi.

The Israeli occupation began construction on the Apartheid Wall around the village of Al-Walaja in 2010, which separated the villagers from their agricultural lands to the north. The residents of Al-Walaja continued to protest against the occupation, who fired bullets and tear gas at them, standing in the way of the machinery and bulldozers. In 2011, they filed a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court to halt the construction of the wall on their land, but the court rejected the petition, and construction continued.

Thus, Al-Walaja was cut off from the city of Jerusalem, with the Apartheid Wall surrounding it from three sides. Omar Hajajla’s land was among those separated from the rest of the village, and he fought for many years until an Israeli court ruled to build him a special gate in the path of the wall, equipped with surveillance cameras, allowing him to pass to and from the village. No one else is allowed to pass through this gate without prior authorization.

Farmer Omar refused all offers to sell his land and resisted all pressures from the occupation and settlers, holding firmly to his land, home, and village.