Yesterday, international and Israeli activists joined Palestinians from the South Betlehem area in their weekly demonstration against the construction of the Annexation Barrier on their agricultural land. Participants met in the entrance to Um Salamuna and began marching down the street, which has both Palestinian and Israeli settler traffic from Efrat to Tekoa. Demonstrators were not attempting to block the road to vehicular traffic, but rather were making sure that their message of “no, no to the Wall!” and “End the Occupation!” was heard. When the approached the site of the construction of the barrier, soldiers from the Israeli Occupation Forces stopped the march in the middle of the streets. … Continue reading

This morning when a farmer and his family attempted to pick the olives from their trees that may be inaccessible next year if the Annexation Barrier is completed as planned, the Israeli military forbade them from going to their land, which is near the illegal Israeli settlement Efrat. So the plans for the weekly demonstration in Um Salamuna against the construction of the Annexation Barrier were altered and international activists joined the farmer and his family and other demonstrators to bring in their olive harvest.

Demonstrators began with trees on what will remain on the “Palestinian side” of the Fence, but then decided that they would … Continue reading

This week Palestinians and internationals demonstrated against the bulldozers which were once again tearing up grapevines near the road to the Efrat settlement on the land of Um Salamuna. For the past several months the Israeli military has not used the bulldozers on Fridays since the people of the South Betlehem district have been organizing weekly demonstrations against the construction of the Annexation Barrier on their land. Today, however, demonstrators arrived to find that the bulldozers were indeed at work again, destroying their agricultural land and way of life.

The group of Palestinians and internationals marched towards the bulldozers, coming within 50 meters of them before they were stopped by … Continue reading

October 2, 2007 was the International Day of Nonviolence. On Friday October 5, in commemoration of this day, international and Israeli activists joined Palestinians from Um Salamuna and the wider Betlehem region who have been struggling against the construction of the Annexation Fence through their land for the past 8 months in a demonstration on the land of Um Salamuna. Demonstrators marched to the path of The Fence and then began to march towards their lands which will be confiscated and added to the Efrat settlement. Dozens of Israeli Occupation soldiers came down from the settlement prevent the demonstrators from continuing their march.
When the soldiers met the march, … Continue reading

This Friday, September 21, Palestinians from the village of AL-Walaja were accompanied by international and Israeli activists as they stepped up their campaign against the confiscation of their land and the construction of the Annexation Fence, which will surround their entire village. Once again, the Israeli Occupation Forces tried to prevent international and Israeli activists from participating in the demonstration, and once again they were unsuccessful. People gathered under the trees near the site where Israeli-owned Caterpillar bulldozers have been uprooting fruit and pine trees to clear the way for the Annexation Fence. After a short speech by a sheikh and leader from the women’s organization, the group marched … Continue reading

This friday Israelis and internationals again joined the people of Al-Walaja in their struggle against the construction of the Annexation Fence on their land. The Israel Occupation Forces have gone to great lengths to prevent these non-violent demonstrations from occuring, including setting up roadblocks all around the village and on at least one occasion claiming that the entire village was a closed military zone. Not to be dissuaded, about 100 people gathered in the small village and marched towards the path of the Fence. Israeli army and border police blocked the march and demonstrators linked arms in a show of peaceful defiance. They then surrounded a military police jeep, … Continue reading

On Friday, August 31, international and Israeli activists joined the people of Um Salamuna in their weekly demonstration against the Annexation Fence being built on their land. This week, the march took a new path, walking up into the land of Hassan, a farmer who will lose most of his land to the illegal settlement of Efrat if the Annexation Fence is completed. This was the first time in over 3 months that Hassan has been able to access his land, which is close to the settlement and on the other side of the where the Fence is being constructed. As demonstrators began walking up into Hassan’s vineyards, the Israeli … Continue reading

The villages of Artas and Al-Walaja, both just outside of Betlehem, have been engaging in almost weekly demonstrations against the construction of the Annexation Fence on their land. Both villages have been steadfast in their resistance, and international and Israeli activists have been standing in solidarity with them. This past week the Israeli Occupation Forces demonstrated just how concerned they are by these weekly non-violent protests. On August 24 internationals and Israelis attempted to go to the weekly demonstration in Al-Walaja. However, just before the entrance to Al-Walaja, which has only one main road, the IOF set up a checkpoint and would not let any internationals or Israelis they … Continue reading

This friday international and Israeli activists joined the people in Al-Walaja, Betlehem district, as they continued their struggle against the construction of the Annexation Barrier on their land. The demonstration began in the street of Al-Walaja, where a sheikh described the current situation in Al-Walaja and the devastating impact the Annexation Barrier will have on their community. After a collective prayer, the demonstrators marched to the land that had recently been bulldozed by the Israeli Occupation Forces. A woman from the community spoke passionately about the role of the international community. In particular, she directed her comments to Christians worldwide. A nearby monastery that was built many years … Continue reading

The struggle against the Annexation Barrier continued in Al-Walaja this Friday. The residents, accompanied by international and Israeli activists and Palestinians from the surrounding area, gathered near the site of the current construction of the illegal Annexation Barrier for Friday prayer. After praying, demonstrators marched peacefully along the construction site. The residents of Al-Walaja will be some of the tens of thousands of Palestinians caught between the Annexation Barrier and the Green (armistice) Line. The case of Al-Walaja is particularly egregious since, because of their location between the Gush Etzion settlement bloc and the ‘Greater Jerusalem’ envelope, they will be completely surrounded by the Barrier which is confiscating much … Continue reading