7.45 am to 11.45 am

First we went to Ouja, and accompanied the shepherd Mohammad with his flock near the “andarta nun dalet” – the memorial for the helicopter crash, not far from the groves of Omer’s farm. This is an area that Mohammad only ventures into when we are accompanying him. On other days, he is afraid to graze there and stays much further away from the memorial – where there is much less for the sheep to eat.

It was a peaceful time, and we were not interrupted by soldiers or settlers. Possibly due to the fact that Mohammad decided to take his sheep back earlier than usual, because of the heat and also because he had errands to do in town.

We continued to the northern Jordan Valley, an area near the Um Zuka reserve and to the north of the army base there. A flock was grazing here, accompanied by two Taayush members form Tel Aviv.  We came to discuss with the herders about the effect of an agricultural barrier, in the middle of nowhere. This barrier used to be opened by the army at set times, but has now been closed permanently, requiring the Palestinians in the communities along the valley to make a much, much longer roundtrip to get to the centers of service in the larger towns and villages on the other side of that barrier. 

We continue to the home of another herder, to collect more evidence of how the barrier’s closure affects their daily lives. It means paying large sums of money to have water for the sheep delivered by truck, when if the gate was open, he could drive his tractor to the spring himself. It means paying a taxi large amounts to get to medical services in the towns, to buy food. And all his children need to stay with their grandparents in the town, in order to be able to attend their schools.