Peaceful protest in Al Walaja village faces down massive army presence

Friday August 24, 2007 15:25 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

At around 12:30pm, some 100 unarmed protestors congregated in the village of Al Walaja, near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. Local villagers met with Israeli and international peace activists, and communally held prayers together.

Demonstrators march down street in Al Walaja village - photo by Anahi Ayala Iacucci 082407

Al Walaja, like other Palestinian villages in the outskirts of Bethlehem, stands to lose some 50% of its land to make way for expanding Israeli settlements, the route of the annexation wall and the construction of a new settlers-only bypass road.

The protestors marched a short distance, close to the Christian Cremisan Monastery, which has recently had dozens of olive trees destroyed, and much of its lands confiscated by the Israeli military, where a force of 50 Israeli soldiers were waiting. The non-violent demonstration rallied nearby, on a local Palestinian street, while the soldiers watched at a distance from a nearby hillside.

After one incident where an Israeli jeep passed close by, provoking protestors, and detonating two stun grenades in the middle of the crowd, the demonstrators listened to speeches given by local community leaders, detailing the nature of the land theft taking place in the village.

The Israeli military placed a flying checkpoint on the main road connecting Bethlehem and Al Walaja, and prevented all vehicles from entering the village during the demonstration.

After the speeches, the demonstration dispersed, finding that the initial deployment of Israeli troops had been reinforced by a further seven armoured personnel carriers, in a typically-huge over reaction on behalf of the Israeli military to what is, every week, a small, non-violent popular demonstration.

bethlehem | non-violent action | news report ghassanb at imemc dot org

Dozens of Israeli soldiers watch from the hillside - photo by Anahi Ayala Iacucci 082407