Ahmed Bargouth, 63, sits in the shade of a walnut tree and contemplates the view before him.
Across the valley is Jerusalem’s zoo, which his grandchildren have never been able to visit, although they have watched animals through binoculars.
Below is the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv railway, also never traveled by the Bargouth family. Its route here marks the Green line, drawn after Israeli and Arab armies agreed an armistice in 1949, when Bargouth was aged two, which placed most of the original village of Al Walaja out of the reach of its Palestinian owners. A cluster of Israeli houses stand on land owned, inhabited and farmed by the Bargouth family and other villagers.
Behind Bargouth is the Jewish settlement of Har Gilo, built — illegally under international law — on occupied Palestinian territory and fast encroaching on what remains of the diminished village.
And in front of Bargouth’s garden, planted with figs, plums, grapes and pomegranates, is an ugly scar of raw flattened earth where Israel is erecting a section of its separation barrier that will encircle the village and cut off farmers from fields, students from places of learning and patients from hospitals.
The original route of the barrier — which Israel says is necessary for security reasons — would have cut Al Walaja in two. The community launched a legal petition to keep the village intact, which was granted — with the catch that the revised route, announced in April 2006, would completely encage the village. Al Walaja would become a tiny Palestinian enclave connected to the nearest West Bank town by one road or tunnel controlled by a checkpoint.
This spring the bulldozers arrived. To Bargouth’s dismay and anger, the barrier — which he expects to be a concrete base topped by a fence — will run through his land a few meters from his house. To create the required 100m-wide strip of restricted ground for the barrier’s route, the Israeli military uprooted 88 of Bargouth’s olive trees.
“Some were 180 years old, some were new trees,” he said.
The military offered to replant the trees, but Bargouth refused to be complicit in the action.
More than 80 percent of Bargouth’s land will be on the other side of the barrier. Going by the experience of other West Bank farmers cut off from their land by the barrier, he expects limited access. The future, he says, is bleak.
“There will be no other source of income. We are decent people, we work hard. My children and grandchildren will look at the wall in front of us and know they have stolen our land,” he said.
Just below his terraces of fruit trees lies the family cemetery where his parents and his grandmother are buried. It is directly in the path of the barrier.
“I went to court to get an order, preventing them touching the tombs,” he said.
A hearing later this month will decide on which side of the barrier the graves will end up. He said: “Not only are the living suffering, but also the dead. Why should I need a permit to visit the graves of my parents?”
According to the UNRWA, the UN body that deals with Palestinian refugees, around 70 percent of Al Walaja’s land was lost in the 1948 war.
Then, following the Six-Day War in 1967, nearly half the remaining land was annexed by Israel and placed under the expanded Jerusalem borders. In the 1970s more land was confiscated for Jewish settlements. Now even more land is being taken to construct the barrier.
Al Walaja has been the focus in recent months of protests. Bargouth hopes there will be more, despite the stiff military presence. However, he believes, non-violent protest may not be enough to save his and others’ land.
“The occupation must be resisted by all methods, from demonstrations to the gun,” he said.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS