Al-Walaja village is one of the oldest Palestinian villages, about 8 kilometers southwest of Jerusalem, and 4 kilometers northwest of Bethlehem. The Israeli occupation took control of its lands – which before the Nakba had an area of more than 17 thousand dunums (a dunum is equivalent to a thousand square metres) – and only 3 thousand dunums of it remained until 2025.
Part of its people settled a few kilometers away from their abandoned lands, and founded what later became known as “New Walaja.”
the site
Before the 1948 Nakba, the village of Al-Walajah extended on a high hill about 8 kilometers southwest of the city center of Jerusalem, and about 4 kilometers northwest of the city of Bethlehem, at an altitude of approximately 750 meters above sea level.
In the nineteenth century, the village flourished with its agricultural crops, and formed a food basket for Jerusalem and its surroundings, thanks to the abundance of its flowing water and the fertility of its lands cultivated with various crops.
The village witnessed remarkable development with the construction of the railway that linked Jerusalem to the Palestinian coast, and passed through its lands, which contributed to the expansion of its urban area and enhanced its building character using stones and cement.
It is narrated in popular tradition that the name “Al-Walaja” was derived from its strategic location surrounded by mountains, which made it a natural passage for passers-by, as they used to enter through it, that is, enter from it, so it was called Al-Walaja, meaning the entrance.
The village is bordered to the east by the villages of Sharafat and Al-Maliha, to the north by Ain Karem, to the northwest by Sataf, to the west by Battir, to the southwest by Al-Qabou, and to the south by Al-Khader. Its land area before the occupation amounted to about 17 thousand and a half dunums.
With the outbreak of the Nakba in 1948, the Israeli occupation seized more than 70% of the lands of Al-Walaja, and then completed control over most of what remained of it after the 1967 setback.
Despite the forced displacement that prompted the villagers to migrate towards Arab countries and neighboring Palestinian areas, a portion of them settled a few kilometers southeast of their original village, and founded what later became known as “New Wallaja.” This was supported by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), which provided them with shelter within the borders of the West Bank, within the Bethlehem Governorate.
After the setback of 1967, the occupation tightened its settlement cordon around the village, establishing the “Gilo” and “Har Gilo” settlements on its eastern and southeastern lands, then separating the settlements and the remaining village lands through bypass roads that serve the settlers only, before strengthening control by building the Israeli separation wall, which annexed large areas of Al-Walaja lands to the borders of the occupation municipality in Jerusalem.
As a result, the village has only one outlet left from the northern side, controlled by the occupation through a military checkpoint erected deep within its lands, obstructing the movement of the village residents and restricting their movement.
Population
The population of Al-Walaja before the outbreak of the Nakba exceeded 1,910 people, distributed among about 300 houses. Most of them were Muslims, and their lives were closely linked to agriculture, which formed the mainstay of their economy. Grains and orchards occupied more than 8 thousand dunums (a dunum is equivalent to a thousand square metres) of their land.
As for New Walaja, which was founded after the Nakba, its population is estimated at about 3,000 people, according to data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics for the year 2025, and it is inhabited by 4 large families: Al-Araj, Al-Hajajleh, Abd Rabbo, and Al-Wahadna.
Despite its residents’ keenness on education, they suffer from a severe lack of infrastructure and basic services, as the village includes only two schools with limited classrooms, one of which was established by UNRWA, and is not sufficient to accommodate the increasing number of students, forcing them to enroll in Bethlehem city schools to continue their education.
Historical landmarks
The buildings of Al-Walaja village were characterized by traditional architecture, built of stones, bricks and cement, and their houses were close together, separated by narrow and winding alleys, reflecting the ancient Palestinian rural fabric.
The features of the village consisted of a group of simple shops, in addition to historical monuments such as agricultural terraces and baths, which are believed to date back to the Roman civilization.
It also contained a mosque known as the Forty Mosque, which taught children reading and writing in addition to performing prayers, and this was before the opening of a basic boys’ school in the village.
Despite the occupation’s destruction of Al-Walaja, some of its landmarks remained, the most notable of which remained:
The village is rich with about 18 springs of water, the most prominent of which is the spring of Al-Haniya, which was a natural outlet for the Palestinians and a major source for serving farmers and shepherds.
Since 2016, the occupation authorities have allocated more than 14 million Israeli shekels (about 4 million dollars) to transform Al Ain and the surrounding area into a “national park” under the management of the Israeli “Nature Authority.”
To implement the plan, the Al-Walaja military checkpoint was moved to a location closer to the village, which separated Al-Ayn from Al-Walaja lands, and restricted the people’s access to it, while the area was allocated for the settlers to rest and entertain.
In the vicinity of Al Ain, there remain the rubble of 3 houses belonging to the Al-Saifi family, which was displaced from Al-Walaja in the 1948 Nakba.
The spring’s water flows into a pool that is believed to have formed part of a church attributed to one of the Apostles in the Byzantine period, and therefore it is considered a sacred spot for Christians as well.
- Ain al-Jawza tunnel
A water tunnel dug into its rocks passes through the village, known as the Ain al-Jawza tunnel. It is one of the largest water spring tunnels in the Palestinian countryside. Despite estimates that attribute it to the Iron Age, the irrigation system used in it is believed to be older than that.
- Perennial olive tree
The village contains one of the oldest Palestinian olive trees, estimated to be about 3,500 years old.
Occupation of Walaja
On October 21, 1948, Israeli gangs attacked the village of Al-Walaja, but a group of irregular Egyptian soldiers repelled the attack alongside the Palestinians, which thwarted attempts to occupy the village at that stage.
In April 1949, Jordan signed a truce agreement with Israel, as a result of which the village of Al-Walaja was granted to the Israeli occupation, along with the villages of Beit Safaf, Battir, and Al-Qubbo.
Subsequently, the occupation annexed about 70% of its lands under its control, and established the “Amindav” settlement on part of it in 1950, leaving only 6,000 dunams of its area remaining.
The Jerusalemites migrated from their village, and some of them moved to a nearby area where they established what was later known as “New Walaja.”
Following the 1967 setback, the occupation expanded its control to include about 50% of the remaining lands of Walaja, and established the “Gilo” settlements in 1971 and “Har Gilo” in 1972.
His authorities also built a road that penetrated the lands of the abandoned village to facilitate the movement of settlers, and surrounded it with the apartheid wall, reducing its lands to about 3 thousand dunams, with only one exit to the village remaining from the northern side.
Under the Oslo Accords signed in 1995, more than 99% of the lands of Al-Walaja were classified as Area C, which are areas under the control of the Israeli occupation, and building on them is prohibited without obtaining a permit from the Israeli authorities, which they often refuse to grant.
Greater Jerusalem Project
Within the framework of the Greater Jerusalem settlement project, which aims to expand the borders of the settlements surrounding Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities seek to control the entire village of Al-Walaja and displace its residents.
Its strategic location constitutes a focal point for strengthening the settlement blocs surrounding Jerusalem, known as the “ring settlements,” with the aim of imposing broader Israeli control and greater Jewish dominance.
To achieve this, the occupation implemented a series of settlement projects in the Al-Walaja lands, the most dangerous of which were:
The occupation municipality in Jerusalem announced at the end of 2017 its intention to move the Al-Walaja checkpoint, which is located on the northern side of the village.
The authorities prepared for this project by demolishing more than 14 Palestinian homes in the area adjacent to the barrier between 2020 and 2024, then in 2025 they moved it two kilometers south towards the village lands.
The project deprived Al-Walaja residents of access to about 1,200 dunams of their agricultural land, and also prevented them from enjoying recreation in Ain Al-Haniya, which came under Israeli control after the barrier was moved.
The checkpoint constitutes the only outlet for the village residents, and therefore the occupation exploits it to restrict their movement, which negatively affects their economic, educational and social lives. For example, the occupation closed the checkpoint for two weeks following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation launched by the Palestinian resistance on the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
Since the 1970s, the village of Al-Walaja has suffered from systematic policies to demolish Palestinian facilities. Between 1982 and 2014, the occupation authorities issued about 100 demolition orders for homes in the village, and threatened about 70 other facilities between 2018 and 2025.
In 2024, it demolished about 24 homes, in addition to 40 facilities between 2016 and 2022.
The occupation claims that the demolished homes were built without permits, but residents’ attempts to obtain these permits often face repeated Israeli rejection, as a result of the absence of an approved structural plan for the village.
In 2016, the villagers filed a collective lawsuit that included 38 cases of demolition threats to the occupation courts, with the aim of forcing the authorities to develop a structural plan, which might facilitate the issuance of licenses and prevent demolition decisions, but the court rejected this and postponed the decision on the cases several times.
In 2022, 50 American Democratic representatives called on then-US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to stop the displacement of 38 Palestinian families from Al-Walaja as a result of Israel’s threats to demolish their homes, stressing that these measures undermine the dignity of the Palestinians and the chances of achieving peace.
- Building settlements
In order to achieve the Greater Jerusalem Project and surround the Holy City with a ring of extended settlements, the Israeli “District Committee for Construction and Organization” approved in 2021 the establishment of 700 new settlement units on the lands of Al-Walaja.
The beginnings of settlement activity in the village go back to after the Nakba, when the occupation authorities established the “Amindav” settlement on its lands in 1950.
Then, in 1971, the occupation established the “Gilo” settlement on the lands of Al-Walaja, Beit Jala, Sharafat, and Beit Safafa, which it occupied after the setback, and it extended over an area estimated at about 3 thousand dunams.
A year later, the occupation began building the “Har Gilo” settlement on the lands of Al-Walaja and Beit Jala, on an area of 400 dunams. He then developed plans to implement an expansion of “Har Gilo,” including the establishment of additional units and facilities, along with bypass roads linking it with neighboring “Gilo,” the settlements north and south of Jerusalem, and the Bethlehem settlements, which strengthens Israeli control over the vicinity of Jerusalem and deepens the isolation of Al-Walaja.