A-Rashash, Jordan Valley: An entire community was expelled from its home
The catastrophic fate of residents of Ein Rashash, who were evicted from their land and from their homes after living there for 40 years, during five of which they suffered constant abuse from the “Angels of Peace” settlers, is an open wound. It is particularly hard for them because there really isn’t any place for them in the crowded village of Duma (where they have been evicted to). The tight-knit community and the extended families have been divided up into three groups and each of them sent to a different area on the edge of the village.
As she did three weeks ago, Hagar brought women from the three groups together in the eastern part of Duma. Some of the women went ahead and waited for us with children and babies. Gradually more women from 13 families arrived together with lots of children of every age. Teenage high school girls came too, some of them in all their finery, what beauties!
Conversation flowed, led by Hagar, who asked them to talk about life in exile since our last visit. There was lots of gossip and laughter. We gave the children a large sheet of paper and lots of colors and they formed a group and drew an enormous picture together. The most obvious themes of all the pictures were home, trees, and of course – why not? – the Palestinian flag. Five-year-old Assil sat on the sidelines at first, engrossed in one of the books that we had brought to be exchanged. Later she joined the group and showed she knew what to do with the pencils as if she was already a schoolgirl.
The meeting was held in a shig – a tent/shack used for gatherings. At night, it’s used by men only because their shig was destroyed by the army several months ago.
We then continued our drive to Ma’arjat, on the eastern side. We took books and board games that we’d lent them on our previous visit and will exchange them for new ones. The parents weren’t home. The oldest girl, aged 13, told us that yesterday, while the family was away, two settlers arrived on horseback (witnessed by the neighbors), entered the home and sprayed foam from a fire extinguisher onto the fridge, on the food, and then opened all the water taps and left. When the family returned, there wasn’t a single drop of water left in the tank and they had to throw away all the food.
We moved on to Ras el Ein, where we spoke with one of the women who will be in charge of our planned sewing project.
Our last stop was Hamra, where we met with Mahmoud. It was important for me to clarify to him, following extensive conversations I’d had with Adv. Eitay Mack, what the consequences would be – both risk and chance – of everything he’d do. We don’t want to take any step – legal move or total avoidance – that he is not a hundred percent interested in taking. His response was this: “This is the life of Palestinians under occupation – even when I breathe, I’m taking a risk.” His mulberries are selling well, thanks to an ad on Facebook and a roadside sign beside the entrance to their farm. He gave me some jujube tree honey (sidr in Arabic) for an annoying cough that I’ve had since I first caught the flu two weeks ago.
On the way – a sign calling for revenge – just one of many.
Location Description
A-Rashash
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A-Rashash was founded by the patriarch of the family, Haj Suleiman, who fled in 1948 from Tel Amal near Tivon. He leased land around the valley from one of the Palestinian residents and raised a glorious family that today consists of three family heads numbering about 100 people, with electricity from solar panels and water that they bring in trailer tanks from Ein Samia. There is no school there and the children attend an elementary school in the village of Duma, which is over the mountain at a distance of about 5 kilometers, and leave when they reach high school.
The daily life of the residents of the place consists of trying to avoid the machinations and damage of the settlers of the settlements and outposts that surround their village, and to protect the grazing lands of the sheep that remain in their possession. At the same time there is the constant threat of the orders of the civil government carried out by the army. About 3 years ago the residents decided to give up the extensive grazing areas and the access to the Ein Rashash spring and they graze around the encampment and buy feed for the sheep for a lot of money.
After the outpost hooligans managed to drive out the residents of Ras a Tin, Ein Samia and Kaboun, hence began the severe day-and-night harassment of of A Rashash. Since August 2023, the Jordan Valley activists have been holding 24/7 vigils in the pastoral communities to protect them and encourage them to stay on their land. There are refreshing responses, but not enough to provide the residents with long-term protection. You are Welcome to join.
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Jordan Valley
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Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley is the eastern strip of the West Bank. Its area consists of almost a third of the West Bank area. About 10,000 settlers live there, about 65,000 Palestinian residents in the villages and towns. In addition, about 15,000 are scattered in small shepherd communities. These communities are living in severe distress because of two types of harassment: the military declaring some of their living areas, as fire zones, evicting them for long hours from their residence to the scorching heat of the summer and the bitter cold of the winter. The other type is abuse by rioters who cling to the grazing areas of the shepherd communities, and the declared fire areas (without being deported). The many groundwaters in the Jordan Valley belong to Mekorot and are not available to Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley. The Palestinians bring water to their needs in high-cost followers.
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