Wadi Foquin is a village of 1,300 people about 5 miles southwest of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. It lies in a rich agricultural valley on the Green Line—the Israel-Palestine border—with the Israeli town of Tzur Hadassa overlooking it on one side and two Israeli-only settlements, Hadar Betar and Betar Illit, on the other side, in Palestinian territory. Betar Illit has a current population of 50,000 and is planned to eventually accommodate 100,000.
Like many other villages in the West Bank, Wadi Foquin is losing generations-old farmland due to settlement construction and extension of Israel’s separation barrier, both illegal under international law. Since 1948, in fact, fully three-quarters of the village’s land has been expropriated by the Israeli government. Dynamiting for settlement construction has also dried up many of the natural springs used for irrigation, and construction debris and raw sewage discharged from Betar Illit have contaminated fields and made them unsuitable for growing. Village life is further constricted by Israeli military checkpoints and Israeli-only bypass roads, which limit access to markets, jobs, schools, and healthcare facilities.
Friends of Wadi Foquin has worked to provide financial assistance for projects supporting the economic survival of the village, made annual visits to Wadi Foquin, and—as the village has come under increasing threat from settlement expansion—advocated for its survival on Capitol Hill. This community development project is supported by the United Methodist Church, through its General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). Projects include Bee Project, Youth Leadership, Women’s Initiative, Community Center and “Come & See Exposure Trips.”
On March 18, 2024, the radio show, Speaking of Palestine, interviewed Adam Manasara from Wadi Foquin. To listen: https://archive.org/details/speakingofpalestine20240325
Friends of Wadi Foquin website: https://www.friendsofwadifoquin.com/
To donate to Friends of Wadi Foquin: https://www.friendsofwadifoquin.com/donate.html