Farming Gates

The Meta Peace Team Report for Saturday, November 11, 2017

This morning our team prepared with a Centering Practice of Yoga at the home where we are staying. We were invited to witness and record disruption of Settlers burning and chopping down olive trees at a Palestinian Family Farm.

Palestinian farmers working

On our way we needed to cross through a checkpoint used by the farmers to reach their farmland. When we arrived, the gates were closed, but the people working the checkpoint were present. At this Checkpoint, the Israeli Soldiers noticed that we were Americans and opened the checkpoint.

As a practice, our Team will use our judgment and we chose to stand in line behind Palestinian people, so we are able to witness how they are treated. In front of us, a Palestinian woman had her papers taken. Mother Bear asked the soldier questions and what was the process. Asking the Palestinian woman to leave without her papers puts her at great risk. Mother Bear then asked the soldier, how the woman would receive new papers. She asked several questions of the soldier. After several minutes, the soldier returned the papers to the woman, did not let her through to work with her family farm, and the crossing gates was closed.

Farming Gate just outside of Hebron

We were not able to proceed to the farm field to help the other farmer today as we were not able to get through the gate that leads to the farm land of the Palestinians.

I felt frustrated that so much precious time was lost and I wish that I had thought to videotape the behavior of the soldiers. The woman that was turned away has to make this trek to the gate and she reported that she is often turned away. I was hopeful that with the American's present, the Israeli’s would allow the farmers to get to their fields.

Our peace team