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Every Wednesday Make a Reservation
Departure time: 8am (08.00)
Return: 2pm (14.00)
Departure location: New Gate Old City, Jerusalem
Cost: Shekels NIS 235
Bring a packed lunch or order light lunch (15 shekels) of:
pitot, humous, labane, vegetables.
Bring water, comfortable walking shoes, bathing gear (for a dip in the spring pool), flashlight.
A beautiful walk in the south Jerusalem hills and an encounter with harsh historical and political realities.
The story of the village of wallaje is a microcosm of the Palestinian tragedy - from its first destruction in the 1948 war, through its partial annexation in 1967 to its current struggle with the seperation fence which is planned to surround it completely.
We will walk through the valley where the village of Wallaje once stood, enjoy the pools of fresh spring water, explore the ancient tunnels that lead the water to the pools and see out the remains of the mosque, the cemetery and the agricultural terraces - the only survivors of systematic destruction.
From here we will look across the valley to the village's current location, the settlement that has been built on top of it and the bulldozers now marking the course of the fence all around it. At the beautiful Ein Haniya spring we will meet a refugee from the village, and end with a visit to his family land, which he is now struggling to protect against encroaching Israeli settlements.
In 1987 the municipality of Jerusalem illegally extended its borders to include part of Wallaje lands without extending citizenship or residency rights to any of the inhabitants. Therefore the residents of the village are, under Israeli law, technically in Jerusalem illegally and are subject to arrest. Building permits are not issued and any homes built by the villagers on their own land are subject to demolition.
