‘Azzun, Imatin
09:00 We left from the Rosh Ha’ayin train station.
09:30 ‘Azzun Women’s Club. About 15 women showed up, some with their children. It’s a large group. It’s hard to work with them all. Ruth teaches crochet; Dafna and Saraleh assist her, adding to the pleasant atmosphere. The socks project they organized has ended because the women who participated learned how to knit them. In previous classes they learned the trick of knitting the shape of the sock, applied what they learned and displayed the socks they’d knitted. Some of them want to continue with ordinary crochet (wool and thread). Others decided to work with different material. Ruth had asked them to bring colorful plastic bags. She showed them how to cut the bags into strips to create “woolen” balls.
11:30 Nadim returned us to the Rosh Ha’ayin train station.
10:00 The class in Imatin. Eight women came. Two brought their children, aged 2 and 3. I kept them busy coloring on paper I’d brought for “scribbling.” Most of today’s class was devoted to reading practice. The simple texts deal with everyday matters. The women are pleased to be able to identify words. The text contains their names and the names of the children. They have special requests for next time; I promise to fulfill them. They asked how long the classes will continue. One of the young women replied for me: Until we’re able to speak Hebrew fluently.
11:30 Dvorka and Rachel met with the coordinator regarding the trips to the beach. They’d previously had a similar meeting in ‘Azzun. When the pupils learned why they’d come they became very excited. We talked for about half an hour. Before we left one of the pupils showed us girls’ clothing she’d sewn. We were very impressed. They were made with skill and with taste. They’ll be sold to one of the teachers in a nearby school.
12:00 Back to Tel Aviv.
'Azzun
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Azoun (updated February 2019)
A Palestinian town situated in Area B (under civil Palestinian control and Israeli security control),
on road 5 between Nablus and Qalqiliya, east of Nabi Elias village. The inhabitants are allowed to construct and improve infrastructures. The Separation Fence has confiscated lands belonging to the town's people. In 2018 olive tree groves owned by one of its inhabitants were confiscated for the sake of paving a road to bypass Nabi Elias. Azoun population numbers 13,000, its economic state dire. Its infrastructures are poor, neglect and poverty rampant. In the meantime, the town council has completed paving an internal road for the inhabitants' welfare.
Because of its proximity to the Jewish settler-colony of Karnei Shomron and its outposts, the town suffers the intense presence of the Israeli army, especially at nighttime: soldiers enter homes, arrest suspects, trash the house and sometimes ruin it, as they do in numerous places in the West Bank. At times a checkpoint closes the entrance to the town, so no one can come in or get out.
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Imatin
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Imatin This village lies in the West Bank, 19 kilometers southwest of Nablus city and 23 kilometers east of the city of Qalqiliya. Its inhabitants' number 799, all members of four families from the neighboring village of Imatin. Far’ata is identified with the Biblical Far’atoun, and an archeological survey has identified findings on a timeline from the Second Iron Age until the days of the Ottoman Empire. After the Oslo Accords, the built-up area of the village was categorized as Area B, but 80% of its farmlands were classified as Area C. In 2002, settlers founded the outpost of Havat Gil’ad, which they claim is located on privately-owned land purchased by the Zar family. The Palestinians claim they own the land. The Civil Administration has issued demolition orders for all the structures in this outpost and they were declared illegal, but nothing was done about it. On February 4, 2018, the Israeli government unanimously ruled to regulate this outpost by defining it as a new settlement or by erecting a new settlement next to it. Beginning in 2012, the Palestinian Authority ruled to include Far’ata in the local council of Imatin, a larger community. For further information: http://vprofile.arij.org/qalqiliya/pdfs/vprofile/immatin_vp_en.pdf
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