Palestine: Waiting for the settlers to come.
Have spent the last few days based in Nablus, travelling around the villages in the area, hearing story after story of the Occupation. For example.......
Yatma village - where the spring which had previously provided free water to the village was stolen by the army for a nearby settlement. Now the settlement get priority and as much water as they need, while the village has to buy back the water from their own occupiers, still going about half the week with none.
Burin village - where we came across a team building a wall next to the school because of the hassle that the kids get from soldiers, even though they know that the wall (along with the school) will most likely be demolished (AGAIN) because the area is officially under Israeli control and Palestinians are not allowed to build anything without permission (which they never get). Land is regularly grabbed for settlements - a big chunk had been taken the day before. As an added extra, they also have regular attacks from craaaaaaazy Zionist settlers. But don't worry, the army will come for protection.....oh wait, protection for the attackers, not the villagers.
Kufr Qaddoum - where we joined their regular Friday demonstration, against the roadblocks which double the length of the journey to the nearest city of Nablus. We arrived along the majorly bumpy backroads, because there was a 'flying checkpoint' blocking the road which is now used as a replacement for the main road. When we got there, there were ALREADY soldiers invading the village - pre-empting any demonstration. They were blocking people from going to mosque, and shot tear gas into completely civilian areas before the procession even started, at head height. Great. Several confrontations and many burnt tyres later (to stop the army invading any further), we headed home.
Aska refugee camp - where there are refugees from Palestine, inside Palestine. The land and houses that they lived in were taken during the Nakba in 1948, and although they still have keys and ownership papers, they now cannot return - the guy we spoke said that he knows that a Russian family live in his house in Jaffa. Instead, the refugees now live in half a kilometre squared - from which they are not allowed to expand, except upwards. The result is a claustrophobic mish-mash of tiny streets, towered over by tottering homes. Three or four times a week, the settlers nearby want to take a pilgrimage to Joseph's tomb. Unfortunately Aska Camp is, oh so inconveniently for the settlers, inbetween the settlement and Joseph's tomb (fun fact, Joseph himself actually apparently has tombs around the West Bank, and Egypt...and a lot of people say that this particular tomb actually resembles an Islamic burial site, what with the grave pointing at Mecca and all...so they may be all pilgrimaging for nothing.) This means that around three times a week, people from the camp are not allowed to use the road - the army come and close it down for about 7 hours on each day, limiting movement and essentially creating a curfew, so that the busloads of settlers can travel through on their daytrip.
Then last night we spent the night at Khan al Liban. This is the home of 17 year old Jalaal, his little brothers and his mum and dad. However, although they had all the hassle of buying a new home, buying furniture for it and doing the move, the family have never lived in their new house. This is because when they tried, they were attacked by their neighbours up the road - the settlement of Ma'ale Levone. The mother and two of the kids were beaten by 30 men - the kids, who are 13 and 9 had to be hospitalised afterwards. “Nour was thrown at the wall by one of the big settlers, and they were laughing” said Mu'min about his little brother being attacked. Their furniture and car were also trashed and burned.
Jalaal, who had been trying to fend off the attackers, grabbed an axe and hit one of the settlers. As soon as the army arrived, he was arrested and branded a terrorist. The settlers were not arrested. They were not charged. They have total impunity. Jalaal has only just had his bail paid, with money raised through ISM donations and has now come home, awaiting trial.
We went to visit, welcome Jalaal home and stay the night at the now empty house to deter more settler damage (the family are staying at their old house in the nearby village of Liban.)
It was a beautiful evening of freshly picked figs, almonds and walnuts from their garden, and more tea and fresh pomegranate juice than you could possibly drink. The family were so welcoming, and after a shy start, we had a lot of fun with the kids, with them drawing portraits of us all and also serenading us with some excellent beatboxing. You wouldn't believe that these were the same kids that someone had attacked just over two weeks ago.
We four internationals went to stay in the empty house, waiting for the settlers to come. Having just spent 5 weeks camping, I'm used to hearing noises outside a tent and assuming that they're nothing dangerous - like the snuffling noise that you can hear? That's probs a rabbit rather than a bear. However, this was the reverse. That rustling? Could be a settler sneaking up to attack. Luckily it wasn't, and the worst injuries that we sustained were some mosquito bites. But that was just one night - we don't live there, and nor can the family as the attacks are completely unpredictable.
Finally, last night we also heard that a farmer, Akram, had been attacked on his land by some settlers - we went to visit him in hospital and found him with a broken arm and a broken face. The three men who had beaten him with sticks and rocks had literally left him for dead.
A lot of families here spend their time waiting for the settlers to come, afraid and alone. It sounds like a horror film, but it's real life
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| Settler pollution in Yatma |
Yatma village - where the spring which had previously provided free water to the village was stolen by the army for a nearby settlement. Now the settlement get priority and as much water as they need, while the village has to buy back the water from their own occupiers, still going about half the week with none.
Burin village - where we came across a team building a wall next to the school because of the hassle that the kids get from soldiers, even though they know that the wall (along with the school) will most likely be demolished (AGAIN) because the area is officially under Israeli control and Palestinians are not allowed to build anything without permission (which they never get). Land is regularly grabbed for settlements - a big chunk had been taken the day before. As an added extra, they also have regular attacks from craaaaaaazy Zionist settlers. But don't worry, the army will come for protection.....oh wait, protection for the attackers, not the villagers.
 |
| Israeli forces invading Kufr Qaddoum |
Aska refugee camp - where there are refugees from Palestine, inside Palestine. The land and houses that they lived in were taken during the Nakba in 1948, and although they still have keys and ownership papers, they now cannot return - the guy we spoke said that he knows that a Russian family live in his house in Jaffa. Instead, the refugees now live in half a kilometre squared - from which they are not allowed to expand, except upwards. The result is a claustrophobic mish-mash of tiny streets, towered over by tottering homes. Three or four times a week, the settlers nearby want to take a pilgrimage to Joseph's tomb. Unfortunately Aska Camp is, oh so inconveniently for the settlers, inbetween the settlement and Joseph's tomb (fun fact, Joseph himself actually apparently has tombs around the West Bank, and Egypt...and a lot of people say that this particular tomb actually resembles an Islamic burial site, what with the grave pointing at Mecca and all...so they may be all pilgrimaging for nothing.) This means that around three times a week, people from the camp are not allowed to use the road - the army come and close it down for about 7 hours on each day, limiting movement and essentially creating a curfew, so that the busloads of settlers can travel through on their daytrip.
 |
| Aska refugee camp |
Then last night we spent the night at Khan al Liban. This is the home of 17 year old Jalaal, his little brothers and his mum and dad. However, although they had all the hassle of buying a new home, buying furniture for it and doing the move, the family have never lived in their new house. This is because when they tried, they were attacked by their neighbours up the road - the settlement of Ma'ale Levone. The mother and two of the kids were beaten by 30 men - the kids, who are 13 and 9 had to be hospitalised afterwards. “Nour was thrown at the wall by one of the big settlers, and they were laughing” said Mu'min about his little brother being attacked. Their furniture and car were also trashed and burned.
Jalaal, who had been trying to fend off the attackers, grabbed an axe and hit one of the settlers. As soon as the army arrived, he was arrested and branded a terrorist. The settlers were not arrested. They were not charged. They have total impunity. Jalaal has only just had his bail paid, with money raised through ISM donations and has now come home, awaiting trial.
We went to visit, welcome Jalaal home and stay the night at the now empty house to deter more settler damage (the family are staying at their old house in the nearby village of Liban.)
 |
| Nour with some of his artwork |
We four internationals went to stay in the empty house, waiting for the settlers to come. Having just spent 5 weeks camping, I'm used to hearing noises outside a tent and assuming that they're nothing dangerous - like the snuffling noise that you can hear? That's probs a rabbit rather than a bear. However, this was the reverse. That rustling? Could be a settler sneaking up to attack. Luckily it wasn't, and the worst injuries that we sustained were some mosquito bites. But that was just one night - we don't live there, and nor can the family as the attacks are completely unpredictable.
Finally, last night we also heard that a farmer, Akram, had been attacked on his land by some settlers - we went to visit him in hospital and found him with a broken arm and a broken face. The three men who had beaten him with sticks and rocks had literally left him for dead.
A lot of families here spend their time waiting for the settlers to come, afraid and alone. It sounds like a horror film, but it's real life
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