T.H

It was a freezing cold, rainy day. The hills are abloom and the air crystal clear – too bad the lives of humans in this valley are unbearable (the Palestinians’, not the Jewish settlers’…)

The tractor owners of Ras Al Ahmar have paid their ransom fines but have yet to get their tractors back because they were required to sign a commitment including certain limiting conditions, that forbid them to use their own equipment inside firing zones… cruel sophistry that in fact tells them to take the tractors, but get lost from the lands on which they have been living long before ‘we’ decided to turn them into ‘firing zones’. In the meantime, a petition has been filed with the Israeli Supreme Court and the State has not yet deigned to respond, so no session has been set. Not urgent, after all these are only Palestinians who are in dire need of means for their survival, tractors that among things serve to transport water.

About a month ago we visited the new outpost currently being erected by the Maskiyot settlers, in what is conveniently named the “Umm Zuka Nature Reserve”. Since our visit, about 14 settlers have moved in, among them youths who have dropped out of the various educational facilities, and the older settlers groom them into licensed outlaws. According to the usual procedure, a large tent was erected, a corral for the cattle, and water pipes as well as electricity cables have been installed – all just a few meters away from the army base and under its tightly-shut eyes. The outpost residents establish their status as owners and lead their cattle directly into the Palestinians’ grazing areas, chasing them off with threats. Now the Palestinians in the area are very fearful of the “great problem” that has arisen. And a propos the Maskiot settlers, M. told us that a few days ago, the settlement’s violent security official caught two boys from En Al Hilwa who grazed their flock in the area where he claimed they are not allowed. The dedicated official passed them onto the soldiers who beat them up, and for ‘dessert’ – detained them for two hours. Hadidiya also saw an outstanding incident – about a week ago Palestinian hunters arrived at night from another area in the Jordan Valley and used a hunting rifle. Army troops were alerted by the shots, the shooters escaped towards the encampment whose dwellers were asleep at the time. What did the soldiers do? Grabbed Abu Saker’s two sons out of their beds and arrested them. The 16-year old was transferred to Megiddo prison (inside Israel), and the 27-year old is held at Huwwara (near Nablus). And the mother ‘cried all night long’.

One last bit: a few days ago one cow was missing from a Maskiyot settler’s herd. He alerted the army, the police and various inspectors, and they all pitched in. The Palestinians living nearby – eternal suspects – were interrogated and their tents were searched, after all it only makes sense that whoever lives next to the threatening settlement would steal a marked cow belonging to a local settler.  Surprisingly, the cow was not found. Two days later, M.’s younger brother found it at a distant location and alerted the police. The policemen called its owner to pick it up and… its newborn calf.