MAIN POINTS: Huwwara is on the main north-south highway, #60, and whenever an entrance to any of the villages around it is closed by the IDF, the people of Huwwara suffer. The amount of olives is small this year also due to the olive leaf fly causing flowering decay.

 Israeli settlers threw heavy stones at the Palestinian car passing through Tapuach Junction and killed the woman in the car. The Israeli occupation of Palestine will end when the Israeli hegemony will end and the Muslims will then become the dominant power. This is, we were told, what is written in the Koran.

Huwwara: Since, as happened last time, the head of the local Council was absent, we spoke with A., who remembered that he had also received us last time. Mustafa had called a day earlier and made the appointment with him, which is always a good idea.

 Present problems: Huwwara is a very centrally located town. Roads in many directions pass through it–- to Jammain, to Nablus, to Ramallah, to road #5 into Israel, and more. Whenever the IDF closes one of these roads, Huwwara suffers. Closed entrances and exits are an almost daily occurrence. This makes travelling very difficult and long, since they have to go all around by back roads, which are often badly paved. Five days earlier, on Oct. 11, a man from Zeita-Jammain tried to imitate the the Barkan industrial area terror attack. The army closed the main street of Huwwara, closed all the businesses in  town and went from shop to shop looking for the perpetrator. It was night by the time they found the man, and only then did the army allow the stores to open. (A. does not know what happened to the man, since he is from another village in the area).

The olive harvest has begun, handicapped by two problems. First, the farmers with groves near the settlement of Bracha got permits for a few days in which to harvest their olives. While the families were working, a large group of settlers from Bracha chased the harvesters out of their groves by throwing stones at them. Someone from Huwwara was given a camera and his mission is to stay at a distance from the harvesters and to make a video of anything that happens. On A.’s computer we saw very clearly the video documenting the settlers’ violence disturbing the harvest. He said he would send to Machsom Watch this and any other videos that will be made. Now all the videos go to B’tselem and OCHA.

Secondly, due to an unusual  event, the olive harvest this year is unfortunately smaller. The olive trees were infected by the olive leaf fly.  The pest caused degeneration of the flowers, and therefore the fruit was reduced. This year’s harvest, so far, was reduced by at least 10%. 

The Municipality has  therefore asked Israeli authorities to allow them to request helicopter spraying services before next year’s harvest.

We also saw a video  documenting how the Palestinian woman from Bidia, was killed by a big heavy stone thrown into her husband’s car, through the windshield. Mustafa told us that she was admired in the area as a very beautiful woman. A. says there is absolutely no doubt that this murder could only have been committed by settlers. (A rumour tried to incriminate Palestinians with throwing the stones). At the place where it happened, near Tapuach Junction, no Palestinian is permitted to walk. Palestinians can drive by in their cars, but any Palestinian who would dare to go there on foot would be immediately shot. There is a special, long path which the Palestinians must use to walk around the junction. A. assumes that this terrible act was done to revenge the stabbing in the Barkan area.

There is no problem right now with water or electricity. We certainly hope it stays that way.

When speaking about a solution to the conflict in our area, we heard an idea which was quite new to us: a divine intervention.  A. told us about a passage in the Koran in which he believes, and which describes how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be solved. According to this passage, the Jews will be dominant in our area, they will have hegemony over all other peoples. But at some point this power will begin to break down, and then the Muslims will become dominant. He doesn’t see any other solution than what is written in his Holy Book. As examples of Israel’s great and spreading power, he said, “just look at Natanyahu in the Congress in the USA, and at the UN”.

Another more glaring example was the unprecedented visit to Mecca by two Israelis who, disguised as Arabs, recently entered the Holy Place and filmed a video. As Mustafa pointed out to us, till then no non-Muslim has ever been allowed to enter the sacred place Mecca. Nor has anyone ever dared do so. So, A. added, if they went in, it was because the King gave them a permit. When these Israelis  came back, they posted on Facebook this video, where they are heard speaking Hebrew.  A., who was born in Kuwait, and studied in Jordan, doesn’t believe any Arab country will come to liberate Palestinians from the Israeli occupation. “It will happen the way it is written in the Koran.” And he hopes that then the Palestinians will be free to live as they wish.

Beita: Since we had spent a long time in Huwwara, we thought that perhaps we could have a short visit in Beita. We had no telephone number, so we hadn’t made an appointment; and when we came to the Council there was no one to talk to. We therefore took the name and telephone number, and will return for a visit on a suitable occasion.