Challenges and Sumud in 2025

The year 2025 began under difficult circumstances in the village of Al-Walaja, as the war was still ongoing and its impact continued to affect all aspects of daily life. These impacts included the demolition of homes, the closure of roads, and the restriction of access to crossings used by workers. Since the majority of the village’s residents rely on work inside the occupied territories, these measures severely affected household incomes and led to a significant deterioration in the local economy, resulting in increased unemployment.

During the year, occupation forces demolished ten houses and a horse stable, destroyed a retaining wall, damaged agricultural lands, confiscated a kiosk, and demolished agricultural rooms and a bakery. In addition, ten stop-work orders were issued (meaning that the villagers cannot continue construction).

On 12 May 2025, the Ein Yalo checkpoint was relocated to a new site, effectively preventing Palestinians from accessing their agricultural lands and the Ein Al-Haniyya spring by the end of the year.

Despite these challenges, a number of community activities were implemented in 2025 in cooperation with the organization Kurve Wustrow. These included training workshops led by the women of Al-Ruweisat, who introduced Palestinian cuisine to various groups of international visitors.

Further activities were organized for different age groups within the village, including children aged 6–13, youth aged 14–18, and elderly residents over the age of 50, aiming to engage the community and strengthen social ties under difficult conditions.

We remain steadfast and continue our work as Rweisat for Wood Art. To learn more about these initiatives, you can follow our updates on our website.