22 Feb. 2008: Israel isolates Nu'man village from both Jerusalem and the West Bank

51, a Palestinian farmer from al-Walajah village, southwest of Jerusalem

What's the story?

‘Abed was born and raised in Dheishe refugee camp, but his family hails from al-Walajah – a West Bank village that was annexed (link to item on Walajah), in part, to Jerusalem's municipal boundary after the 1967 war. The family stills owns some land there. 17 years ago, after Israeli contractors began to show interest in the land, ‘Abed decided to go live on it, to physically assert his ownership. He now lives there, in an ancient Cana'anite cave, tending to the crops and persistently withstanding threats of eviction under various means. Recently, Israel has published its intention to build a new settlement there named Giv'at Ya'el.

‘Abed hosts friends on a regular basis, and is part of an international team that runs the peace initiative All Nations’ Café.

Why does ‘Abed walk all this way?

To reach the court in Jerusalem, ‘Abed is barred from simply taking the straight, short road to Jerusalem that runs close to his home, which would take him about half an hour. First, he must go in advance to the Liaison Office and get a permit. Then, on the day itself, he has to walk along a dirt path to the town of Beit Jala, take a taxi to Bethlehem checkpoint, which is the only southern entrance for Palestinians into Jerusalem, and take another taxi to the court. The journey takes some three hours in each direction.

What's the problem with the Separation Barrier?

In 2010, Israel began construction of the Separation Barrier around al-Walajah. The planned route will encircle the built-up area of the village, severing it from most of the villagers’ farmland, grazing land, and the road leading to Jerusalem, and leave them with only one egress road, in the direction of Beit Jala.