Sha'ab al-Butum - constant harassment by settlers and soldiers

Again, a shift dedicated to the Jabarin family, in Sha’ab al-Butum. This is an extended family: parents, sons and daughters-in-law with children who are frequently threatened by the settlers of Mitzpe Avigayil. But in recent months, like mushrooms after the rain, more settlements are popping up, surrounding them from all sides.

A settlement means a truck or a bus that is turned into a residence and next to it a shed, a tent, etc., and the people who live in them attack the shepherds with their herds and threaten and curse and drive them away.

The people there repeatedly sow and make a[N1]  vegetable garden, tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, peppers, corn and spice plants. Again, and again, the homes are renovated, stairs are poured to improve the way of access to them. Zumud at its best.

According to them, they are continually harassed so there are always volunteers who also spend the night with them. Apart from the Mitzpe Avigayil settlement, which is too close, you can see from an aerial distance of 5 km, the Ma'on farm on the hill. We brought them again basic food items thanks to your donations. Also, a lot of clothes, shoes and games that are constantly collected by Smadar who has long since become the address in this matter where she lives.

This time, too, we met a volunteer from England and a German volunteer who sleep there at night. They repeatedly emphasize that their presence deters the settlers and keeps them away. And yet the family members say that yesterday 7 soldiers came, walked around for about 3 hours at their place and around them.

In their opinion, they were looking for greenhouse equipment donated to them by Erela and her friends the day before yesterday. Again, so that they could rebuild their ruins. Fortunately, they found nothing.

They are convinced that this was the main reason for these searches because they saw that the settlers were watching them and immediately called the army who interrogated the volunteers. They asked for explanations for their stay and checked their passports. They were told that they have no reason to stay here (there is a video in which you can clearly see the faces of the soldiers and hear their questions about it, but I will not send it).

They also say that there is a new settler from Mitzpe Yair who has settled not far from them, who keeps coming to destroy the fence that they put up. They filmed him, but he ran away. In their opinion, all this disturbing activity is to make them afraid to be there. The father of the family says that when the settlers arrive, they try to push them into areas where they think there are no cameras in them and they can then interrogate the Palestinians without being seen.

They don't know that everything is networked. He repeats and emphasizes that the greenhouses they received were the main search target. They try to disrupt and destroy any activity that signifies restoration and strengthening.

I have a feeling that the sentence from the Passover Haggadah: "When they torture him, he will multiply and break out" is well understood by these "dear" Jews.