On June 1llth, Israeli settlers from the settlement of Efrata were screaming at the Israeli occupation forces, demanding them to stop the popular demonstrations of Wadi Rahal as villagers and activists carried out their weekly protest of the Wall and Israeli Occupation. The villagers were also insisting upon their ownership of the land and asserted their resolve to prevent further confiscation.
Along with international supporters, villagers of Wadi Rahal began their weekly demonstrations against the Wall in the center of town and moved towards the area of the Wall. However, when the demonstrators tried to enter the confiscated land behind the Wall, the occupation forces, who were heavily armed and in large numbers, stopped the procession using the threat of violence.
Efrata settlers, who live on lands belonging to the village of Wadi Rahal, emerged from their houses, demanding that the occupation forces suppress the protest calling for the destruction of the Wall and the end to Israeli occupation. The settlers also ordered the occupation forces to stop the protest from reaching the confiscated lands.
When the demonstrators came to the area of the Wall, the coordinator of the popular committee against the Wall and the settlements in Wadi Rahal, Shadi Fawaghreh, addressed the demonstrators upon the anniversary of the Nakseh (start of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza). Fawaghreh asserted that the suppression of the demonstration would only increase the Palestinian determination to struggle for the destruction of the Wall, the end to Israeli occupation, and the reclamation of Palestinian lands. Anas Ziyadeh, who is also a member of the popular committee addressed the crowd in English and insisted upon the fact that Palestinians have the right to life and self-determination – a right guaranteed by international law.
In addition, Al-Haj Abu-Muhammad or Ismaâil Husayn, a 75-year-old Palestinian activist also addressed the protest in his personal account of the Palestinian Nakbeh, the Nakseh, and the atrocities of the occupation. He gave a very moving talk about the tragedies he had witnessed and insisted that the Palestinians should not give up in the struggle to protect their lands. He also asserted that the Palestinians would not accept anything less than the liberation of all of their lands.
The village of Wadi Rahal is one of the villages that has recently joined other villages in their weekly demonstrations. Its committee emphasizes that they will continue the popular resistance in the village until they liberate the land and see an end to Israeli occupation.