Numerous incidents occurred today: we  unloaded packages of clothes from our cars, sold SIM cards, chased a donkey, held a shift of protective presence in Farsiya, and paid a visit to Isa in Haras. 

Bosmat has already joined me in several shifts and I am happy that she has joined the group.  Mira, who is 79 years old, is already in the group.

We sold SIM cards at Khalat Makhul for which I serve as an agent between them and one of the cellular phone companies in Israel. I receive money from them once a year and pay the company.   While we were selling SIM cards we received a call from Samra saying that their donkey was missing.  They knew where it was, but it was beyond the area where they are permitted to so and they were afraid that the army would arrest them if they attempted to retrieve it.

The donkey is five years old and had run away because it was hungry and thirsty and they have nothing to feed it or water for it to drink so he had gone to search for food and water.  Donkeys also tend to wander in search of females.    We took two young people and went to look for it near the road to Um Zika.  We were still searching for the donkey when he returned home braying.

A more interesting story is that they have land east of the road to Um Zika where they are not permitted to go.    This means that their grazing area has been illegally decreased

The flock is suffering from diseases that have caused lambs to die.  It is the season in which lambs are born and the entire flock needs to be vaccinated before the lambs are born.

We then drove to Farsiya to provide protection.  We went to the A. family, and the mother and  some of the children had gone to the village to visit the parents.  While we were there we heard shouting from the other homes.   When we got there we found two settlers in a car who claimed that they were traveling in the area.   They were carrying weapons and had a naïve look.   We had varying opinions about how dangerous their presence was.  We will never know.  The film was not sent due to legal reasons.

According to the Palestinians the two had demanded that a 17-year-old youth get into their car, and he refused.  The Israeli asked what the problem was and what they were afraid of, and they eventually left.  We attempted to calm everyone down.  Two women were fearful and were crying and the mother of the youth whom they had attempted to persuade to get into the car was frantic.  Since she was widowed she has been extremely heartbroken and fearful.  Everyone is constantly wondering when the settlers will come.  Luckily the men will soon be returning to better grazing areas and things will be more safe and secure.

Two officials arrived on agricultural business and I had to speak with them.  They wrote down what had occurred, phoned to verity things, and left.

We also met with Isa at his lovely home in Haras.  Like most of the villages, the village was blocked at the time.  We parked outside and found our way by people’s directions.  Children approached us and asked us “What’s your name?”  Perhaps they thought we were tourists from abroad and wanted to show us how great things were in Palestine.