We entered by way of Road 5 and drove to Salfit, next to Ariel settlement. The main entrance to Salfit has been closed for a long time so we had to drive via a bypass way. The Salfit area contains several villages: Iskaka, Yasuf, Marda and Firka.

We reached Salfit without coordinating our visit ahead of time. On the road we ran into someone and stopped. He asked who we were, and when we answered, he said he worked for the Palestinian Authority and invited us to his office. Z. resides in A-Dik village. He welcomed us nicely, but asked us to refrain from speaking Hebrew. He said that a few days ago the Israeli army came to his office and trashed it.
Z. is responsible for the body that cares for prisoners and released prisoners, on behalf of the PA. They take care of prisoners and their lawyers (usually lawyers from inside Israel), as well as caring for released prisoners and their families medically, mentally and socially. In the past financial aid was given too but this ceased. Now they cannot help with money because the PA has not been receiving the money owed to it by the Israeli government.
Z. told us that he himself was a prisoner in Israel for 10 years, from 2000 until 2010. In jail he didn’t wish to learn Hebrew. His son, on the other hand, learned Hebrew and English by himself, and he speaks, reads and writes in both languages. In 2019, when Z. was already filling his present post, he and his wife were detained for a while and their car was confiscated. He gave us the relevant details on Facebook. He said that he works in other areas as well: with the Qadi council, as an inspector of teachers, and in a group that mediates and helps to solve conflicts people have.
He told us about his 20-years-old son who was hurt in a road accident near Issawiya, inside Israel, while driving with a permit: a car hit him as a pedestrian, and a friend who was with him was killed. Z. said that a peace organization notified him of this and updated him that his son was hospitalized at Sha’arei Tzedek (in Jerusalem) Hospital. Now his son is already home.

Fathiya spoke about MachsomWatch, how and when the organization was founded, its past and present, and of cases in which MachsomWatch members helped people at checkpoints. Z. knew of the cases she described. We also spoke about the help we extended to people who were “blacklisted”, until October 7, 2023.
Z. told us about his farmland, which he is not allowed into, and showed us photos of the olive harvest. Shortly thereafter, settlers accompanied by soldiers came and stopped the harvesters. According to him, the settlers attack the outskirts of the village every day from different directions, smashing windows and objects, burn cars and wreak havoc. They are joined by youngsters from Ariel settlement.

On Sunday, October 18, 2026, settlers accompanied by the Israeli army chased villagers from their lands during the olive harvest, as well as the volunteers who came to help them. They are under constant pressure, have no livelihood left nor salaries, and this is especially hard for the youngsters.
Z. and several others have founded an organization to pass from one home to another and encourage its residents to come to their lands, tend them and go harvesting without fear, so they can find their livelihood again. He also described the hardships facing those who move around the West Bank, for many roads are blocked, and property is damaged. He said that sheep have lately been poisoned at Al Mughayar. Z. spoke of the dire economic conditions and about the youngsters’ mental desperation and lack of hope, which according to him endanger the entire region. As usual these days, our talk also dealt with the upcoming Israeli elections and hope of change.

We continued to Yasuf. Here too, the main entrance is closed and we had to drive the long way to get there. A member of the local council, M. and another person, A. waited for us at the local council house. M. told us that their village is surrounded by three settlements: the larger Tapuach, the smaller Tapuach and another still nameless settlement. He said that in the past the head of the village council had been shot. They also told us about their past meetings with Issam Makhoul and Mohammad Baraka and ties with Hadash party, as members of the Palestinian People’s Party.

The settlers have erected Anton’s Farm containing 4 caravans, about 50 meters away from Yasuf houses. They have connected to a water pipe and steal water from Yasuf. Around the village are settlements and outposts, among others in the area lying between Tapuach and Marda.

Yasuf, too, has suffered greatly from attacks by settlers and the Israeli army. While the owners of the olives await army permits in order to harvest, the settlers do the harvesting. M. said that this year’s harvest season is catastrophic. According to them, settlers aided by soldiers come to the harvest with German shepherd dogs and attack the villagers, even steal olives that have already been harvested. The villagers are given harvest permits for one day only, which is not enough. The discussion also dealt with “Rabbi” Lior’s ruling that allows olive theft.

On October 1^st, about 30 settlers wrecked a chicken coop and burnt vehicles. One settler reached one of the houses and tried to break in. He told the owner that the house was his own, and when the Palestinian owner tried to prevent him from entering, the settler shot him to death. This was a 51-year-old father of a family. The army was summoned but arrived only after the Palestinian had been shot. He was taken to a hospital and died shortly thereafter. At first the army wouldn’t let the family bury him, but they were finally permitted to bury him that night.

In Yasuf, too, we discussed the Israeli elections and the vote of Palestinian citizens of Israel.

We drove back though Salfit. We saw Road 505 being widened. Opposite Marda we saw the lone house under construction, which in the past had soldiers on it and an Israeli flag beside the Massiah flag. Now there were no soldiers, but two Massiah flags were waving, and an election campaign poster with Smotrich on it was stretched over the house. No one cares that this is Palestinian property, of course.

The Awarta and Beit Furik Checkpoints were unmanned at the ground posts, only up in the watchtowers. On our way back headed toward Burin, on Road 555 near the junction there were soldiers but we didn’t see them stopping any cars.

We visited D. at Burin. She sent olives and oil with us to her Israeli friends who buy them from her. She also spoke of the settlers problem and showed us photos and a video of settlers harvesting her own trees. She also showed us photos of the road between Madama and Burin, under the bridge, blocked with dirt piles by the Israeli army.