Al-Walaja | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | الولجة |
| • Latin | Al-Walaja (official) |
 | |
  Al-Walaja Location of al-Walaja withinPalestine | |
| Coordinates:31°44′8″N35°9′39″E / 31.73556°N 35.16083°E /31.73556; 35.16083 | |
| State |  State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Bethlehem |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village council |
| • Head of Municipality | Saleh Hilmi Khalifa |
| Area | |
• Total | 17.7 km2 (6.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2017)[2] | |
• Total | 2,671 |
| Name meaning | "The bosom of the hill"[3] |
al-Walaja الولجة al-Walaje, el-Welejeh | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Al-Walaja (click the buttons) | |
 al-Walaja Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°44′27″N35°8′46″E / 31.74083°N 35.14611°E /31.74083; 35.14611 | |
| Palestine grid | 163/127 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Jerusalem |
| Date of depopulation | October 21, 1948[5] |
| Area | |
• Total | 17.7 km2 (6.8 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 1,650[1][4] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Amminadav[6] |
Al-Walaja (Arabic:الولجة) is aPalestinian village in theWest Bank, in theBethlehem Governorate of theState of Palestine, four kilometers northwest ofBethlehem. It is anenclave in theSeam Zone, near theGreen Line. Al-Walaja is partly under the jurisdiction of theBethlehem Governorate and partly of theJerusalem Municipality. According to thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 2,671 in 2017.[2] It has been called 'the most beautiful village in Palestine'.[7]
Al-Walaja was depopulated during the1948 Arab-Israeli War, in October 1948.[5] It lost about 70% of its land, west of the Green Line. After the war, the displaced inhabitants resettled on the remaining land in the West Bank. After its occupation by Israel during theSix-Day War, Israelannexed about half of al-Walaja's remaining land, including the neighborhood Ain Jawaizeh, to the Jerusalem Municipality. Large parts of the land were confiscated for the construction of theIsraeli West Bank barrier and theIsraeli settlements ofHar Gilo andGilo, one of theRing Settlements of East Jerusalem.
In 1596, al-Walaja appeared inOttoman tax registers as being in theNahiya of Quds of theLiwa of Quds. It had a population of 100Muslim households and 9 bachelors; an estimated 655 persons. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3 % on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, vines or fruit trees, and goats or beehives; a total of 7,500akçe.[8][9]
In 1838, it was noted as a Muslim village,el-Weleje, in theBeni Hasan District west ofJerusalem.[10][11]
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 counted 78 houses and a population of 379, though the population count included men only.[12][13]
In 1883, thePEF's "Survey of Western Palestine" described al-Walaja as a "good-sized" village built of stone.[14]
During the latter half of Ottoman rule, al-Walaja was the administrative seat of the Bani Hasan subdistrict (nahiya), which consisted of over ten villages, includingal-Khader,Suba,Beit Jala,Ayn Karim andal-Maliha, and served as thethrone village of the al-Absiyeh family.[15]
In 1896 the population of Al-Walaja was estimated to be about 810 persons.[16]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Walajeh had a population 910, all Muslims,[17] increasing in the1931 census to 1,206, still all Muslim, in 292 houses.[18] Between 1922 and 1947 the population doubled.[19]
In the1945 statistics the population ofEl Walaja was 1,650, all Muslims,[4] and the total land area was 17,708dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 17,507 dunams were owned by Arabs, 35 dunams were owned by Jews, and 166 were public property.[1] 2,136 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 6,227 for cereals,[20] while 31 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[21]
The old village, less than two kilometers northwest of the new town on the Israeli side of the Green Line, was captured by theHarel Brigade of thePalmach in the1948 Arab-Israeli War. The village defense consisted of theEgyptian Muslim Brotherhood and theArab Liberation Army as well as a localmilitia. It was reclaimed by Arab forces more than once before it capitulated to Israeli troops on October 21, 1948.[5][22] Thousands of villagers fled. In the1949 Armistice Agreements, the Green Line was drawn through the village with 70% of the land and 30 water springs on the Israeli side.[23]
The village was completely destroyed during the 1948 war and the villagers rebuilt it east of the 1949 Armistice Line inside the West Bank territories.[24]
In January 1952, anIDF 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. Israel 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 to 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.[25]
After theSix-Day War in 1967, the whole of Al-Walaja has been underIsraeli occupation.
Israel redrew the Jerusalem municipal boundaries, annexing half of al-Walaja's land that had remained after the 1948 war.[23] Although the Ain Jawaizeh neighborhood of al-Walaja was included in the Jerusalem Municipality, imposing Israeli law on its inhabitants, residency rights in Jerusalem were denied. Ain Jawaizeh does not receive municipal services and homes may not be built.[26][27] The splitting of the village caused various problems. Cars of local residents of both parts were confiscated by the Israeli Border Police for trespassing illegally into Israel.[27]
After the1995 accords, 2.6% of al-Walaja land was classified asArea B, while the remaining 97.4% was classified asArea C. 45 and 92 dunams of village land were confiscated for the construction ofGilo andHar Gilo respectively.[23][28]
In 2003 through January 2005, Israel demolished Palestinian houses in Ain Jawaizeh and issued demolition orders against 53 other houses.[29] Land confiscation orders issued by the IDF in August 2003 showed that the route of the barrier will completely surround the residents of the village, allowing them only one entry/exit point. The two main access routes for Ain Jawaizeh to Bethlehem were both closed, and the only access road to Jerusalem was restricted for access to Har Gilo by Israeli-licensed vehicles only.[27] In April 2005, fruit orchards were cut down and homes weredemolished due to the absence of building permits to make place for the construction of the barrier.[30]
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 theKfar Etzion-based organization ארצשלום ("Land of Peace") dedicated to building contacts between Jewish settlers and West Bank Arabs.[31]
In 2012, a group ofHarvard students were expelled from al-Walaja when they tried to visit a house which was due to be demolished due to theWest Bank wall.[32]
In September 2018, four houses built without planning permission were destroyed by Israeli border police, injuring about 40 people in the process.[33] Lawyer Itai Peleg representing some of the villagers wrote that Israel had for years refused to approve a master plan for the village and that "there is no dispute that the State of Israel and its various authorities and the Jerusalem municipality give the residents of al-Walaja no service whatsoever other than ‘home demolition service.’"[33]
Though technically their lands are incorporated into the Jerusalem municipality, the Israeli authorities have refused to issue most residentsblue cards. The area is planned as a national park for residents of Gilo. Picking olives from their lands, divided from the adjacent village by the Separation Barrier, can require a roundabout 25 kilometer trek. In October 2019, on Walaja resident was fined $US200 for picking olives from his family land.[34]
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 17,708dunams.[1] The residents fled when it was captured and the Israeli village ofAminadav was built on the land. One of the few old-timers is Abed Rabbeh, who lives alone in a cave and raises chickens. When U.S. PresidentBarack Obama was visiting Israel, Rabbeh invited him to his cave but theU.S. Consulate in Jerusalem sent a brief note of regret saying this could not be arranged.[35]
The village has three mosques.[36]
Walaja is the site of Al-Badawi-Boom, an ancientolive tree claimed to be approximately 5,000-year-old and therefore the second oldest olive tree in the world after"The Sisters" olive trees inBchaaleh, Northern Lebanon.[37][36]
The 'Ain el-Haniya spring (also spelled Ein Haniya or Hanniya) in theRephaim Valley, located on village lands, but separated from it by the West Bank barrier, flows from among the ruins of a Romannymphaeum and boasts a number of archaeological remains. It has historically been used as a source of water for people and flocks, for irrigation and for recreation. Once restoration and development work was completed in 2018, the site was reopened as part of the Refa'im Valley Park, but only Israelis were allowed access to it.[38][39][40] A Christian tradition places here the baptism of theroyal Ethiopian treasurer by thedeaconPhilip, known as the Evangelist, and the ruins of a Byzantine church are standing next to the spring.[39]
'Ain Joweizeh is another spring in the immediate vicinity of Al-Walaja. During anarchaeological survey in 'Ain Joweizeh, an ancientJudahitewater system was found, together with aProto-Aeolic capital.[41]
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.[36]
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