Meitar crossing : The parking lot on the hill is empty. Probably because of the torrential rain that fell on us. The lot opposite, on the left, is full.

Route 317

We turned to the Muhammad Jabarin family in Shu’b al-Butum, which lies east of the road, south of Abigail, and north of Mitzpe Yair, illegal outposts dating back many years, which, of course, are not included in the Firing Zone, for which the state is threatening  to uproot twelve Palestinian villages in Masafer Yatta.

Abigail is expanding, and new villas are popping up. From the road you can see new caravans. Mohammad draws my attention to the fact that next to the bus, which has been for some time right next to Abigail, a truck, a tent, a sheepfold and several cars have been added.

In a conversation with the Jabarin family, whom we have already visited before, they confirmed that for the past five months, since the expansion in Abigail, it has been very hard to get to their tiny home. Especially when the weather is bad. The family includes Leila, Mohammad and their thirteen children and grandchildren. They all live in this house.

The house is in a very bad way and is not habitable. In the kitchen the floor is wet and containers are placed to collect the dripping water. The children were taken to a clinic in Al-Carmel due to severe colds. For heating, a stove is used, into which plastic parts from an old car are inserted instead of wood. A container was placed on the stove that collects the dripping from the roof.

Harassment by the settlers of Abigail and Mitzpe Yair: Muhammad and Leila say that almost every day the settlers come to the area where they live, and to the area where the wheat is grown, which is, unfortunately for them, near Abigail. They harass the family members, including the children, claiming that the land belongs to them. On rainy days, the settlers take a break.

The family has filed complaints with the Kiryat Arba police, and the police replied that it was state territory. Mohammad heard that the police told the settlers that they could graze on the family’s property. Recently, two donkeys were stolen from them, probably by the people of Mitzpe Yair. They will probably never be seen again.

We continued to Al-Mufaqara, east of Abigail, between Abigail and Havat Ma’on, south of At-Tuwani.

We visited Fadel, whose family includes two women and their children. They live in a cave, are there both day and night. The cave is heated with wood, and it is difficult to breathe. On these rainy days, the children do not go to school at At-Tuwani, which is a four-kilometre walk away.

Fadel tells about the daily arrival of settlers, by motorcycle, or ATV, or van, or on foot. Most of the time, they make rounds near the mosque. When Fadel and other shepherds from the village are in the pasture, the settlers arrive and harass. The army gives the settlers  full backing, and expels the Palestinians sending them back to the village, arguing that it is a firing area. (But not for the settlers, it seems).

A few months ago, we reported on a post that was placed at the entrance to Al-Mufaqara, near Abigail. So now a rotating camera has been placed on it.  According to Fadel, another camera was attached to a water tank. The cameras allow the settlers to follow the Palestinians when they leave for their grazing grounds with their sheep. Then, almost at once , the police or the army arrive and chase the Palestinians back to the village.

Today’s shift included two visits from which we left with a heavy heart. On the way back, a spectacular rainbow appeared near the Carmel settlement. Everything seems so  clean and pastoral.