This article was originally published by Maan News and is republished with permission.

More than one hundred Palestinian, Israeli, and international demonstrators gathered in the village of Al-Walajah, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem today to protest Israeli limitations on Palestinian freedom of movement on Friday.

Using shovels, picks, and their bare hands, a large group of protesters managed to clear a road running from Al-Walaja to nearby Beit Jala.

Minutes after the women, men, and even young children removed the earth mound, rolling massive boulders into a ravine, a small white car rolled through the newly-cleared motorway. The sight elicited a cheer from the sweaty group.

Gathering first for Friday prayers on the dusty construction site for a planned segment of the illegal Israeli separation wall, the protesters marched, chanted, and also built piles of rocks and brush intended to block construction vehicles.

Shireen Al-Araj, a member of the municipal council of Al-Walajah, said the village is pursuing a lawsuit to block the construction of the wall, which will deny the villagers access to their land if built. She said the case is currently on appeal in the Israeli Supreme Court.

Movement emboldened by victory in Bil'in

Many at Friday's demonstration felt encouraged by a recent legal victory by residents of the West Bank village of Bil'in, near Ramallah. The Israeli high court ordered the military to change the route of the barrier, which currently blocks the villagers from reaching their farmland. Palestinian and international activist demonstrated in Bil'in for over two years before the ruling.

Awni Jubran, Director of Nonviolent Action for the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem said Bil'in's success gives him hope for the development of an action-oriented "nonviolent culture" in Palestine.

Janet Benvie, a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, said the court's ruling on Bil'in had been "a real shot in the arm" for the nonviolent resistance movement. She argued that protests like those in Bil'in and Al-Walaja are effective at putting pressure on the Israeli government: "I think Israel actually is quite sensitive to international opinion."