Tarqumiya

The Tarqumiya crossing is quiet mid-morning.  Very few people.

On our way south we passed a new plaza between the entrance to Hebron and the entrance to Shuyukh-Sa’ir, which finally opened.

We brought many bags of clothing (mostly) to Fadel, our “adoptee” in Umm Fukara.

We meet (over very sweet tea) his two wives and some of his children, and his two brothers.  They’re slowly moving into the house he’s gradually building, an improvement over the damp, smoky cave they lived in when we visited them in the past.

Raya connects him by phone with a contractor she knows to try to help him find work in Israel.

We also try to add another of Fadel’s daughters to the list of participants in the beach day; for some reason, he registered only her two sisters.

We managed, after speaking with Rachel Afik, to get her on the waiting list in case someone doesn’t show up at the last minute.

We drove to Kafr Zif in response to Haifa’s invitation – she’s a friend of the teacher from the kindergarten Michal reported on the day before yesterday.

We were hosted splendidly; everything was delicious.  We had long conversations (a little in English, the rest translated by our driver); some of her female relatives and their children were present, serving (drinks and food) graciously, everyone smiling at one another.

All the roads are quiet; we saw no military vehicles nor anyone detained.