Al-Walaja
Encyclopedia
al-Walaja is a Palestinian
town located in a seamline enclave in the West Bank
, four kilometers northwest of the city of Bethlehem
. It is under the joint jurisdiction of the Bethlehem Governorate
and the Jerusalem municipality. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
the village had a population of 2,041 mostly Muslim
inhabitants in 2007.
of Quds. It had a population of 100 Muslim households and 9 bachelors and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summercrops, vines or fruit trees, and goats or beehives.
In the late 19th century, al-Walaja was described as a "good-sized" village built of stone. Between 1922 and 1947, under the British Mandate
, the population doubled.
The old village, less than two kilometers northwest of the new town on the Israeli side of the Green Line
, was captured by the Harel Brigade
of the Palmach
in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
. The village defense consisted of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
and the Arab Liberation Army
as well as a local militia
. It was reclaimed by Arab forces more than once before it capitulated to Israeli troops on October 21, 1948.
The original location was on the opposite side of the wadi. In the 1949 Armistice Agreements
the Green Line was drawn through the village, with 70% of the land and 30 water springs on the Israeli side.
In January 1952, an IDF patrol seized two Arab villagers in a field 300 meters on the Jordanian side of the armistice line and brought them to an abandoned house in Walaja, where they were killed. Israeli told UN investigators that they had been shot inside Israeli territory when they had jumped out from behind a rock. The UN and Jordanian cross-examiners were unable obtain an Israeli admission, but the Israeli delegate on the Mixed Armistice Commission wrote privately to his superior that the allegations were true but the patrol was not acting under orders.
After the Six-Day War
, Israel redrew the Jerusalem municipal boundaries, annexing half of al-Walaja's remaining land
for the construction of Har Gilo
and Gilo
. Fruit orchards were cut down and homes were demolished
due to the absence of building permits.The Israeli West Bank barrier
is being built through the village lands.
In April 2010, Gush Etzion
settlers and residents of al-Walaja united to protest the extension of security fences around Jerusalem. The event was partially coordinated by the Kfar Etzion
-based organization ארצשלום ("Land of Peace") dedicated to building contacts between Jewish settlers and West Bank Arabs.
s. The residents fled when it was captured and the Israeli village of Aminadav
was built on the land. One of the few oldtimers is Abed Rabbeh, who lives alone in a cave and raises chickens. When US President Barack Obama
was visiting Israel, Rabbeh invited him to his cave but the US Consulate in Jerusalem sent a brief note of regret saying this could not be arranged.
, claimed to be the oldest in the world.The Al-Walaja sports club was established in 1995. A women's club and the Ansar Youth Center opened in 2000. In 2005, the Ministry of the Interior established the Agriculture Charitable Society to aid local farmers.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
town located in a seamline enclave in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, four kilometers northwest of the city of Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
. It is under the joint jurisdiction of the Bethlehem Governorate
Bethlehem Governorate
The Bethlehem Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip within the Palestinian Territories. It covers an area of the West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Its principal city and district capital is Bethlehem...
and the Jerusalem municipality. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....
the village had a population of 2,041 mostly Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
inhabitants in 2007.
History
In 1596, Walaja appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Quds of the LiwaLiwa (arabic)
Liwa or Liwa is an Arabic term meaning district, banner, or flag, a type of administrative division. It was interchangeable with the Turkish term "Sanjak" in the time of the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of the empire, the term was used in the Arab countries formerly under Ottoman rule...
of Quds. It had a population of 100 Muslim households and 9 bachelors and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summercrops, vines or fruit trees, and goats or beehives.
In the late 19th century, al-Walaja was described as a "good-sized" village built of stone. Between 1922 and 1947, under the British Mandate
British Mandate
British Mandate may refer to:*British Mandate for Palestine*British Mandate of Mesopotamia...
, the population doubled.
The old village, less than two kilometers northwest of the new town on the Israeli side of the Green Line
Green Line (Israel)
Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
, was captured by the Harel Brigade
Harel Brigade
Harel Brigade is a reserve brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, today part of the Northern Command. It played a critical role in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.- War of Independence :...
of the Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. The village defense consisted of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
and the Arab Liberation Army
Arab Liberation Army
The Arab Liberation Army , also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji...
as well as a local militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. It was reclaimed by Arab forces more than once before it capitulated to Israeli troops on October 21, 1948.
The original location was on the opposite side of the wadi. In the 1949 Armistice Agreements
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israeli forces and the forces in...
the Green Line was drawn through the village, with 70% of the land and 30 water springs on the Israeli side.
In January 1952, an IDF patrol seized two Arab villagers in a field 300 meters on the Jordanian side of the armistice line and brought them to an abandoned house in Walaja, where they were killed. Israeli told UN investigators that they had been shot inside Israeli territory when they had jumped out from behind a rock. The UN and Jordanian cross-examiners were unable obtain an Israeli admission, but the Israeli delegate on the Mixed Armistice Commission wrote privately to his superior that the allegations were true but the patrol was not acting under orders.
After the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
, Israel redrew the Jerusalem municipal boundaries, annexing half of al-Walaja's remaining land
for the construction of Har Gilo
Har Gilo
Har Gilo is an Israeli settlement and communal village located about five kilometers south of Jerusalem, and two kilometers west of Bethlehem in the northern Judean hills of the West Bank....
and Gilo
Gilo
Gilo is a neighborhood in southern East Jerusalem with a population of 40,000, mostly Jewish. It is one of the five ring neighborhoods of Jerusalem and is built on land in the West Bank that was annexed to Israel in 1980 under the Jerusalem Law. The international community regards it as an...
. Fruit orchards were cut down and homes were demolished
House demolition in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
House demolition is a controversial tactic used by the Israeli Defence Forces and Israeli settlers in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip against Palestinians....
due to the absence of building permits.The Israeli West Bank barrier
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
is being built through the village lands.
In April 2010, Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestinian territories. The core group includes four agricultural villages that were founded in 1940-1947 on property purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, and ...
settlers and residents of al-Walaja united to protest the extension of security fences around Jerusalem. The event was partially coordinated by the Kfar Etzion
Kfar Etzion
Kfar Etzion is a religious Israeli settlement and kibbutz located in the Judean Hills between Jerusalem and Hebron in the southern West Bank. It has a population of 400 and falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council...
-based organization ארצשלום ("Land of Peace") dedicated to building contacts between Jewish settlers and West Bank Arabs.
Demography
According to a census by the British Mandate government in 1945, al-Walaja had a population of 1,650 inhabitants and a land area of 17,708 dunamDunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s. The residents fled when it was captured and the Israeli village of Aminadav
Aminadav
Aminadav is a moshav in central Israel. Located southwest of Jerusalem near Yad Kennedy, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council...
was built on the land. One of the few oldtimers is Abed Rabbeh, who lives alone in a cave and raises chickens. When US President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
was visiting Israel, Rabbeh invited him to his cave but the US Consulate in Jerusalem sent a brief note of regret saying this could not be arranged.
Landmarks and cultural institutions
The village has three mosques. It is also the site of al- Badawi, a 5,000 year old olive treeOlive Tree
The Olive Tree was a denomination used for several successive centre-left Italian political coalitions from 1995 to 2007.The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi, Professor of Economics and former leftist Christian Democrat, who invented the name and the symbol of...
, claimed to be the oldest in the world.The Al-Walaja sports club was established in 1995. A women's club and the Ansar Youth Center opened in 2000. In 2005, the Ministry of the Interior established the Agriculture Charitable Society to aid local farmers.
See also
- East JerusalemEast JerusalemEast Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
- List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
- List of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict
External links
- Al Walaja Village (Fact Sheet)
- Al Walaja Village Profile
- Al Walaja Areal Photo
- The priorities and needs for development in Al Walaja village based on the community and local authorities’ assessment
- Welcome To al-Walaja
- al-Walaja, from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural Center is an organization established in 1996. It is located at 4 Raja Street, Ramallah in the West Bank. The traditional manor that houses the centre was the former family home of Khalil Salem Salah, the mayor of Ramallah between 1947/1951, is now owned by the Palestinian...
- Palestinian statehood: The olive tree of al-Walaja - video
