Dozens of Palestinians and supporters gathered today at Wadi al-Rababa fields in Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem to show support for the Palestinian landowners’ struggle against Israeli attempts to take over their lands, reported WAFA correspondent.
The Committee for the Defense of Silwan and Wadi al-Rababa Lands called for the gathering that included a picnic in the threatened lands of Wadi al-Rababa in response “to the lies by the various arms of the Israeli occupiers that claim control over Wadi al-Rababa lands,” as came in a statement by the committee, accusing the Israeli Nature Authority of organizing trips for Jewish students to these land in an attempt to prove control over them and turn them into a biblical garden.
“This is our land which we inherited from our fathers and grandfathers,” said Ahmad Sumrein, a landowner and activist in the committee. “We will never give it up regardless of the cost and we will not accept anything short of them (Israelis) leaving it in order to protect our rights in Wadi al-Rababa.”
The valley, known as Wadi al-Rababa, is more than 200 dunums in area owned and dwelled by dozens of Palestinian families.
Recently, the landowners went to court to stop efforts by the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem and the Nature Authority to steal their lands by claiming they want to turn them into a Jewish biblical garden.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)