Schakowsky, Price, Raskin, Yarmuth and Pocan Lead Colleagues in Urging State Department to Stop Displacement of 38 Palestinian Families in East Jerusalem

WASHINGTON - Representatives Jan Schakowsky, David Price, Jamie Raskin, John Yarmuth and Mark Pocan led a letter with an additional 45 Members of Congress in urging the U.S. State Department to engage with the Israeli government to prevent the displacement of 38 families in the Palestinian village of al-Walaja. The proposed demolition of these home would impact about 300 people while further undermining long-term Israeli security, Palestinian dignity, and prospects for peace.

The letter stated, "Al-Walaja is a Palestinian agricultural village that lies less than a mile south of residential West Jerusalem and northwest of Bethlehem. It has existed since the Ottoman period with some residents able to trace their ancestors to the village in the 1600s. In 1949, as part of the armistice agreement between Israel and Jordan, al-Walaja residents who had resided in what became Israel were compelled to relocate to the Jordanian side of the Green Line. Israel captured this land in the 1967 war and, after occupying the West Bank, annexed roughly one-third of al-Walaja to Jerusalem's municipal boundaries. The Jerusalem Municipality has yet to approve master plans and
provide local government services to the part of al-Walaja annexed to its territory. This prevents residents from legally building new homes."

A copy of the full letter can be found HERE. The Israeli Supreme Court is set to hear a case on this matter on March 30, 2022.

###