Days Of Palestine – Bethlehem

Israeli occupation forces on Thursday demolished a Palestinian-owned house in the village of al-Walaja, northwest of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to local sources.

Ibrahim Awad, a local activist, told Official WAFA news agency that Israeli occupation forces raided the village and proceeded to demolish the 80-square-meter house, which belongs to Abdul Qader Abu Hammad, under the pretext it was built without a permit.

Moreover, the forces demolished a workshop in another area of the village owned by Saleh Khalifah.

Awad said al-Walaja has been under a systematic Israeli attack through measures such as house demolition and detention, which aim to force citizens out of the village in favor of Israeli settlers.

Al-Walaja, five kilometers west of Bethlehem, has a population of some 2,800 people. A total of 97 percent of the village land is completely isolated by Israel’s apartheid barrier and most of it was joined by Israel to Jerusalem. The majority of this land is agricultural land, forests and open space.