Demonstrators in alWalaja managed to disrupt the construction of the wall for a short time today, sitting on and in front of the bulldozers. Despite the very peaceful nature of the protest, Border Police officers who arrived at the scene violently attacked the demonstrators in their attempt to clear the area and allow the renewal of construction work on the wall. One child was lightly injured after being hit in the head with a rifle's butt.

Demonstrators preventing a bulldozer from clearing a path for the wall through alWalaja's lands. Picture credit: Anne Paq\Activestills

Twelve of the demonstrators – four Palestinians and eight Israelis – were dragged away and hauled into armored Border Police jeeps. One of the Palestinian detainees was maced with pepper-spray when he was already restrained and walking towards the jeep. The rest of the crowd was pushed farther and farther back, using force, as construction resumed. Two more Palestinians, including the village's mayor, were arrested at that stage. Another Israeli was arrested long after the demonstration had ended, on his way back to Jerusalem, when he drove through a checkpoint at the entrance to the village.

A Border Police officer assaulting a demonstrator in alWalaja. Picture credit: Anne Paq\ActiveStills

All those arrested were taken to court, where a judge forbade the Israelis from approaching the path of the wall in alWalaja for periods of 60 or 90 days. The Palestinians were forbidden from participating in an "illegal" demonstration.

Al-Walaja is an agrarian village of about 2,000 people, located south of Jerusalem and West of Bethlehem. Following the 1967 Occupation of the West Bank and the redrawing of the Jerusalem municipal boundaries, roughly half the village was annexed by Israel and included in the Jerusalem municipal area. The village's residents, however did not receive Israeli residency or citizenship, and are considered illegal in their own homes.

Once completed, the path of the Wall is designed to encircle the village's built-up area entirely, separating the residents from both Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and almost all their lands - roughly 5,000 dunams. Previously, Israeli authorities have already confiscated approximately half of the village's lands for the building of the Har Gilo and Gilo settlements, and closed off areas to the south and west of it. The town's inhabitants have also experienced the cutting down of fruit orchards and house demolition due to the absence of building permits in Area C.

According to a military confiscation order handed to the villagers, the path of the Wall will stretch over 4890 meters between Beit Jala and alWallaja, affecting 35 families, whose homes may be slated for demolition.