In the small, scattered village near A-Rakiz, where, in addition to the Maon farm that also overlooks them, there are new buildings of new settlers. One of these is   Amichai Shilo, who is helped by the hilltop hellish youth who know no boundaries and about whom much has been said many times in the last two years. In practice, when called by the Palestinians, the police almost always arrive late and even then, do nothing to help them.

The Hamamda families live there. They surrounded themselves and made a barbed wire fence. But clearly it does not deter the settlers.

Not far from where they live, but difficult to get to, you can see the cave, which once served as a residence for one of the families and now settlers have also settled in it and are terrorizing the people when they climb with their herds onto the young olive groves and everything they try to grow for a living. They usually do not have cameras and do not take pictures out of fear. Volunteers do not always get to them either.

Fadel says that this is the routine of life during the days and nights. They come with their cars, turn on their headlights and make noise and shout words that Fadel does not want to repeat. He just adds and talks in despair about an impossible life without protection from anybody that is supposed to protect them and to prevent the settlers from their frightening and threatening violent behaviour. Because the police always arrive late and the army does not prevent them.

And they are told: “Go to the Kiryat Arba police to file a complaint”…

We arrived, we brought food, we listened and saw what was happening. We took pictures and we are reporting. Now the problem has reached the media as well.

It will be interesting to see when something practical will be done about the settlers’ reckless behavior, if at all. Nationalist crime is what they call it on the radio, when the real policy of this government is to expel communities and expand existing settlements and also build new ones.