The news is full of stories about Israel/Palestine lately. The special focus this week has been Palestine's acceptance as a full member in UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and the Israeli response in the wake of the decision to increase building and expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
While these stories fill up the news, what goes un-noticed is the further expanding of the separation wall. What few outside of Israel/Palestine, and even many Israelis do not know, is that the separation wall, which started being built in 2002, is not yet finished in many areas. Instead of being a stagnant and completed issue, the separation wall, continues to threaten many areas and is rapidly under construction.
A group of young Palestinians joined together to create a peaceful mass and demonstration against the confiscation of the area of the Cremisan monastery and winery by the building of the separation wall. The Cremisan monastery is the last green area left for Palestinians in the Bethlehem area to enjoy picnics and walks. It is also the only winery in the Palestinian territories.
Not only is Cremisan in danger, but the agricultural land surrounding the village of Al-Walaja and agricultural land in the area of Makhrur, which belongs to many families in Bethlehem and Beit Jala. As the priest poignantly stated: "More and more injustices are committed, and the world seems to watch completely incapable of helping our oppressed Palestinian nation."
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| The Priests and Crowd at the Mass and Demonstration on the outskirts of Cremisan. |
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| The area of land that will be confiscated by the Israeli separation wall. |
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| The settlement of Gilo. Living here, you would never know that just across the valley Palestinians face the threat of losing their land. |
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To those on the other side in Gilo, the organizers of the demonstration wrote a message: "We Live and Exist Here."
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© Devon Forster
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