Amid the Western media’s obsessive search for a Palestinian Gandhi, many stories of peaceful, non-violent resistance are often overlooked. One such story is that of Budrus, a small West Bank village — dotted with ancient olive trees and cacti — lying very close to the Green Line (the internationally-recognized border separating Israel from the West Bank). In 2003, Budrus’ residents found out that Israel’s separation wall would swallow chunks of their land. It was then that the villagers decided to employ non-violent tactics to protect their trees and land.

Budrus’ story was captured in an award-winning film directed by Julia Bacha in 2009. The story of the unarmed popular struggle is now being told in the form of a graphic novel (available here in Arabic) through the eyes of 15-year-old Iltizam, the daughter of Ayed Morar, who spearheaded the peaceful demonstrations.

The graphic novel’s creator, Irene Nasser, said the purpose of the book is to keep the story alive and highlight the role that the women of the village played in recapturing some 95% of the land that was intended for confiscation for the wall’s path.

“After seeing the impact the film had locally and internationally, we wanted to highlight some of the issues shown in the movie and bring those to Palestinian children,” said Nasser, the strategic projects coordinator at Just Vision, the book’s publisher. “A key element was the role of women who took to the front lines and changed the nature of the struggle in Budrus.”