Bedouin Land: A Fragile Desert Ecology and a Tenuous Life

The tan, rocky, low-mountain desert of southern Palestine receives a yearly average of about ten inches of rainfall and that is almost exclusively in the winter. The area was once the floor of a primordial sea and marine snail shells can sometimes be seen. Hardy scrubs and grasses are sufficient to feed the small flocks of sheep and goats of the Bedouin people who eke out a living here.

Eric and Walt hike through the sparse grazing lands.

As the MPTers hiked these rugged south Hebron hills to Tuba mid-morning to avoid the hot noon sun, they reminded one another of the sensitivity of the desert ecology and how well the lifestyle of the Bedouins who live here respects that sensitivity.

Despite the trekking of Bedouin shepherds and the flocks across these desert hills for hundreds of years, there is little visible damage to the landscape. Trails have not been dug into the land. Trails are actually difficult to find by inexperienced pathfinders. Previous to the 1990s, Bedouin flocks were up to 400 animals, but have been reduced to about ¼ of that with the increased confiscation of land for illegal Israeli settlements in this area.

Bedouin subsistence life is gentle to the land. Their diet consists of dairy products and meat from their animals, bread from the wheat they plant and harvest in the slopping ravines, and a few purchased food products.

Goats and sheep provide milk, meat and wool.
A few olive trees, grape vines, and tomato plants provide treats now and then.

A small garden is a source of pride and delight.

The expectation of a harvest

Bedouins dwell in tent-like housing or caves, carefully using the water they draw from deep cisterns on the hill slopes.

Young woman drawing water to be carried by the donkey.
When necessary, they walk, use donkeys and take public transportation to nearby towns. They are a people who seem happy with their families and simple life.

This gregarious young woman gives the team an ongoing commentary in Arabic whether the team understands or not.

However, the Israeli settlers have established large scale agribusinesses which are not environmentally friendly. The limited availability of water and the waste byproducts from intensive agribusiness pose a potential longer-term threat to the delicate desert environment.

Cattle containment stock lots operated by settlers.

Settler-owned and operated chicken containment coops.

MPTers arrived in Tuba on time to do school patrol for the Bedouin children coming home from school, which we repeated the next morning.

Walt walks the school children to the chicken coops to meet the army jeep that will take them through a settler area.

MPTers spent time visiting with two families and helping a bit with the harvesting of the wheat.

MPTers helped harvest the spindly wheat.

Despite the unfamiliar beauty of the land and the welcoming spirit of the Bedouin families, there was a sense of fear at times within the team. The Christian Peacemaker Team [CPT] had reported to them an invasion three days earlier of 20 heavily armed Israeli settlers, army, and police into the nearby At Tuwani village. Several Palestinians were injured and a member of Operation Dove [an Italian peace team that works with CPT] had a possible eye injury. All were returned from the hospital to the village before we left. The Israeli army and police did not respond to the pleas of the Palestinian villagers or the internationals from CPT and Operation Dove even when the police and soldiers were witnesses to the brutality of the Israeli settlers. After hearing this report, MPTers walked two and a half hours with great alertness through desert land where settlers have harassed and seriously injured Palestinians and internationals.

In the evening as the shadows crept across the hills and the women were drawing water, the 17-year old daughter from the family who lives in the cave, spotted two settlers coming down a hill a distance from them. When she pointed out the settlers, she seemed a bit hysterical. Her mother had been beaten by settlers a few months ago. To the relief of the young women drawing water, the settlers turned and returned to the settlement. However, the village invasion news, the citing of settlers on nearby distant hill, and the fact the Israelis were celebrating 60 years of independence [which for Palestine means 60+ years of occupation] kept the team alert.

Preoccupied with a possible settler attack, Eric and Ibrahim trudge under lengthening shadows home with the harvest.

Some MPTers slept fitfully that night wondering if settlers would invade to hurt the people and destroy their dwellings or animals and also hurt them. However, the team only has to deal with this feeling of fear for a brief time compared to the daily occupation the Bedouins feel for themselves, their children, and their livelihood.

Hafez - "Gandhi of the South.'

Returning to At Tuwani, the team stopped to visit Hafez, whom some MPTers call “Gandhi of the South.” He shared his inspiring life story, which is always difficult for him to tell because he relives the suffering at each telling. A few years ago, Hafez was at a meeting with Israeli peace activists when he received a call that his 71-year-old mother was being attacked and beaten by Israeli settlers from the nearby settlement. The settlers were attempting to steal the sheep his mother was herding in an area close to his home. Despite the threat of death with settler rifle shots near his feet, Hafez moved toward his mother. The settlers stopped and retreated, leaving the sheep with Hafez’s mother when they saw the Israeli activists had come to tape the events with video cameras. Hafez thought of revenge, but decided that violence against violence would only continue the violence and would eventually destroy his whole family. Even when faced with this horrible event he chose nonviolence and has continued to work with the Bedouin people of the area, developing leaders and helping to educate people in nonviolence. In a demonstration two years ago, he suffered broken ribs and received a court order that keeps him away from demonstrations, but not the opportunity to continue to organize the people and direct demonstrations by phone from a distance.

The team left with heavy hearts for the suffering of the Bedouin people, but with hope for the future because of the nonviolent work of the communities there, led by the “Gandhi of the South.”

Evening shadows cross the beautiful southern Hebron hills.

Israel and Its Consumption of Palestinian Land

May 6, 2008 The MPT in Palestine spent two days in the Salfit and Qalqiliya areas of Palestine. The Salfit region is a group of 18 villages between Ramallah and Nablus along the proposed path of the Israeli Apartheid wall as it penetrates further into Palestine. The area has been adversely affected by 21 illegal Israeli settlements constructed since 1967. Over 67,000 Israeli colonists have moved into this region taking land from Palestinians without any compensation to the over 64,000 Palestinians living there. The Qalquiliya region has a similar makeup and problems. Israel has occupied the Palestinian nation since 1967 and continues its aggressive strategy of displacing Palestinians from their land by creating illegal settlements to attract Jews from North America, South America, and Russia. More homes and farms will be taken from the Palestinians to further the expansion plans of the Israeli government.

Illegal Israeli Settlement at Sha’arei Tibva

These regions are prime examples of the problems of the illegal Israeli settlements, with Sha’arei Tibva being one such example. This situation is unique, though, in that the Palestinian village of ‘Azzun ‘Atma was surrounded on two sides by the settlement and then completely fenced in by the Israelis so that the Palestinian village is completely surrounded by fences and separated from the Israeli settlement. Both the Palestinians and Israelis enter through the same gate, but not equally. The Israelis drive in and out with their vehicles anytime. The Palestinians are only allowed to walk in and out through a military guarded turnstile or may acquire a permit to drive their vehicle into the area. The Palestinians are subject to a curfew from 7 PM to 5 AM daily.

Illegal Israeli Settlement on Palestinian Land

One of the soldiers guarding the entrance told us that Palestinians could apply for a special permit to enter and exit within the curfew hours. When he was asked how medical emergencies were handled for Palestinians, he said that a Palestinian would have to go to another location to acquire a permit and return before an ill person could be transported through the gate during curfew hours. We also talked with two Palestinians outside the gate. They stated that they were aware of babies being born and deaths occurring behind the gate because the special permit had not been granted or obtained in time by the Israeli military.

Palestinian Village of ‘Azzun ‘Atma Surrounded by Israeli Settlements


Guarded Gate to Azzun ‘Atma and Sha’arei Tibva

The MPT met with the Mayor of one village, the Mayor’s staff from a second village, a woman activist in a third village, and a Palestinian activist in a fourth village, all of whom have ties to Israeli and international peace and justice organizations. As an occupying nation under international law, Israel is responsible for the safety of the Palestinian people it holds captive in the occupied Palestinian nation. Instead, Israel has over the last 41 years openly and egregiously violated international laws governing war crimes. We found that in the small number of villages we visited alone, there have been many recent Israeli violations:

1. Twenty-one illegal Israeli colonial settlements have been established on Palestinian land in the Salfit area. The Israeli settlers can be seen bearing high-powered automatic weapons and have been known to threaten Palestinians. However, the Palestinians are forbidden by military decree to bear weapons and are virtually defenseless. When the settlers prompt conflict, the Israeli military and police have repeatedly taken the side of the settlers or ignore the problem.

2. At least 12 Palestinian houses and 5 Palestinian public buildings have been demolished between September 2002 and May 2004. In one small village containing just over 40 homes, Israel has given notice of 21 buildings scheduled for demolition. The villagers are all refugees that were displaced in 1948 by the establishment of Israel and would again be displaced if their homes were destroyed due to Israeli expansionist plans. We were told of over 80 other home demolition orders that have been issued by Israel in the Salfit area.

3. On any given day, an average of 24 Israeli constructed rock, concrete, and metal gate roadblocks exist in the area and can vary because of random roadblocks set-up by the Israeli military. One person stated that some roadblocks have been distroyed for media events coordinated by the Israeli government and reestablished soon after, even in the same day, or else created one morning simply to be removed later in the day when the media are present.

Main Highway Entrance to Palestinian Village of Azzun Blocked by Israelis

Traffic Bypasses Azzun Due to Israeli Blockage of Road

Israeli Placed Razor Wire at Roadblock

4. On the morning we met with one Palestinian village official, the Israeli military had just arrested a Palestinian bulldozer operator that worked for the village. Based on an agreement between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli army authorities, one of the critical roadblocks put in place by the Israeli military in February 2008 preventing highway traffic into the village was authorized to be removed by the bulldozer operator. Its removal would have ended the 10 kilometer detour that currently exists because of this road closure. However, for some reason, shortly after the roadblock was dismantled, the Israeli military stepped-in and arrested the operator. The day of our visit, village officials were attempting to determine the reason for the sudden change in the Israeli position.

5. It was reported that 1,000 newly planted Palestinian olive trees were uprooted and removed. It was suspected this was done by Israeli settlers. The field was in view of an Israeli watchtower equipped with video equipment, but the Israeli military refused to allow Palestinians human rights workers to view the video for the evening the olive tree theft occurred.

6. The illegal Israeli settlements have at times decided to dump raw sewage into valley village farms and population areas. Although action has been taken to stop the disposal, sewage has still been dumped in the winter season and blamed on rain water runoff. The overbuilding of Israeli settlements together with inadequate sewage treatment poses a significant health hazard for the Palestinians.

7. One village reported curfews being imposed by the Israeli military four times the week prior to our visit over stone throwing incidents at a school. However, on a daily basis the Israeli military drive their vehicles into the school area with their lights flashing and sirens blaring. The school rescheduled the break time to avoid the confrontation, but the Israeli military rescheduled their visits to coincide with the break time. The village believes the military is inciting stone throwing by schoolchildren with their overt actions. The Israeli army has a history of entering six schools in the Salfit region with tanks and shooting and breaking gates and windows. It appears that Israeli institutional military violence is being used against stone throwing cihldren responding to the army’s harrassment and frustrated over the Israeli destruction of their homes and security.

8. The Israeli Apartheid Wall continues to move towards this area, threatening to make one of the deepest cuts into Palestinian land. A village showed where 50% (500 dunams, i.e. 125 acres) of its farmland would be cut off from the village. The farmers will be required to obtain permits to access their farms and travel 11 kilometers (6.84 miles) to reach the farms through Israeli checkpoints.

Israeli Apartheid Wall with Watchtower

Israeli Apartheid Wall Penetrating Palestine

Israeli Watchtower on Palestinian Land

Another View of the Israeli Apartheid Wall on Palestinian Land

9. Another village of 155 houses is threatened with demolition for the benefit of the Israeli Apartheid Wall and Israeli expansionist plans to benefit colonizing Israeli settlers.

10. On a peak overlooking the area is the luxurious home of Moshe Zurer, an Israeli proponent of Israeli colonization of the Palestinian country. His strong influence encouraged the Israeli government with its plan to deprive Palestinians of more and more of their land. He has been highly influential in encouraging the Israeli government.

Israeli Moshe Zurer Mansion Built on Palestinian Land

11. Approximately 400 factories have been located in some of the settlements with limited environmental controls, thereby further endangering the Palestinian homes and farms due to run off and toxic waste disposal. Israeli labor laws protective of workers are not applied in these factories where Palestinians workers are hired.

Israeli Factories Prolifereate on Palestinian Land, But Not Jobs

12. A women advocacy organization is dealing with the spillover social services aspect of the Israeli colonization. The Palestinian children are constantly under attack from the military and settlers, creating new challenges for assuring their mental health. The Israeli government has been an instigator of problems by its protectionist stance on settlers and allowing settler violence against Palestinians to continue. This could have long-lasting negative impacts on the next generation of Palestinians.

13. Since the Aparthaid Wall was built, many Palestinians are no longer able to travel and work where they once did, creating a large problem of unemployment. Many new jobs in the Israeli factories being built in illegal settlements go to the new Israeli settlers. With Palestinian farms being taken-over by the Israeli government and restrictions being put on Palestinians, the Israelis are making the Palestinians a destitute people. It appears the Israelis are pressuring the Palestinians to seek their future outside Palestine so that Israel will have all the land.

The International Womens Peace Services (IWPS) currently works in the Salfit region and is, like MPT, a non-governmental organization promoting nonviolence activities to support peace with justice. Because of the impending impact of the Israeli Apartheid Wall, related home demolitions, and potential loss of access to family farmlands, there will be a greater demand for international support in this region.

As seen in other areas of Palestine, the Israeli Apartheid Wall and expansion of illegal settlements continue to be an effort by the Israeli government to take more Palestinian land with no compensation or consideration for the generations of Palestinians that own and have developed these lands for years. The Palestinians are left defenseless within the Israeli court system. The Israeli military can declare an area to be critical for security and thereby divert the Palestinian land to Israeli ownership. The future looks bleak without action by the international community.

The United States of America was a leader in international actions to force South Africa to abandon apartheid. Is it time for the USA to again step forward and lead the international community in forcing Israel to abandon its apartheid policies against Palestinians?

Never a Day Off in Palestine

This past Sunday, 4 May, the MPT team in the west bank decided to spend their day off visiting some historical and religious sites. However, just because one is taking a short holiday in the West Bank doesn’t mean the Occupation and its effects take the day off, too, as the team soon experienced. The team was told the best and easiest way to reach our location was to travel via a once-a-day bus route, leaving at 7:00 am, so we awoke early and were on our way. Since Sunday is a school day in most communities of the West Bank, the bus encountered many children walking to school, and many college students boarded the bus on their way to a nearby university. Because of demand, all the seats were full and many people stood in the aisle.

At 7:30 am, the bus pulled into line at the checkpoint aptly named “Container Checkpoint,” Two border police soon boarded the bus and started asking the driver questions as the driver supplied various pieces of paperwork. One of the border police, after conversing with the driver, started, almost playfully, counting and recounting those standing in the aisle. Though no English was spoken, he appeared to be complaining about those standing and ordered everyone in the aisle, as well as the men who appeared to be between about 15 and 40 off the bus. The officer then walked through the bus, inspecting our passports while collecting all the Palestinians’ Israeli-issued ID cards.

Border Police board the bus to interrogate the driver.

A Border Policeman goes through ID cards.

These Israeli-issued ID cards are used by the Israeli military and government as a means of controlling the population and restricting their movement. In order to move across borders (for those who can actually leave the country) and checkpoints, the Palestinians must present their ID cards; thus confiscation of a Palestinian’s ID at a border or checkpoint is an easy way to detain someone. Different types of IDs exist which restrict or allow certain kind of movement; some residents are restricted to specific geographic areas whereas others may travel throughout the West Bank. On the other hand, almost all West Bank Palestinians are restricted from leaving their country (Palestine) and traveling to Israel (the occupier of Palestine). It is good to remember that many Palestinians are refugees that once owned land in what is now Israel.

Three months after the occupation of the West Bank and other areas by Israel began in 1967, a complete census was taken, and anyone who was in the Occupied Country of Palestine at that time was counted and given an ID and thus considered a resident of Palestine/Israel. If a Palestinian was living or visiting outside of the country for any reason – as many were – they were considered a non-resident.

Since 1967, Israel has controlled the population registry of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt). Every birth, death, and marriage must be registered through the Israeli system. Even in the Gaza Strip, which the Israeli government has ceased to have formal relations with since Hamas took control of the area, this must be accomplished, so a special system had to be established for this reason alone, meaning that even now there is some relationship between the two parties. Such a registry is legal for an occupying country to hold; however, with residency applied as broadly as possible, it cannot use arbitrary rules in such a registry. This, however, is not being done, as non-ID-holding family members of current ID holders have requested the Israeli government issue them IDs so they might live with their family members as citizens in this country (a large problem in recent years), but over 200,000 Palestinians still are waiting for their paperwork to go through. There has been some progress in recent years to alleviate the backup, but the rate of which the Israeli government has decided to release IDs is no where close to the rate which needs to happen to truly deal with the backlog. Some of those requesting IDs were even legally able to vote in the last Palestinian elections, thus accepted by the Palestinian Authority as residents even though they are not accepted by the Israeli government.

Israeli-issued Palestinian IDs are also used to enforce collective punishment on families. If a Palestinian has violated an Israeli issued visa or permit, a family member might be held or refused passage through a checkpoint or border crossing until the violation has been rectified

Border police "inspect" ID cards as passengers wait helplessly.

After about 15 minutes of waiting on the bus, the MPT team members decided to disembark and talk to some people outside of the bus. Martha approached a border policeman and asked him what was taking so long. He merely said they were, “checking IDs. It is routine procedure.” Eric began a conversation with two students on their way to university. One was a computer engineering student and the other studied TV and film. They seemed unconcerned and commented that this was a regular occurrence and the bus should be on its way in a few minutes. However, instead of arriving at his 8 o’clock physics class on time, as would be true without the checkpoint, the engineering student was instead waiting for his ID to be returned. Martha later commented that this bus was likely targeted as a way to deter students from continuing their education. Finally, at 8:05 – 35 minutes after the bus had pulled into the line – IDs were returned and the bus was on its way.

The MPT team used the same bus for their return trip and had a similar experience at the same checkpoint. The bus hit the checkpoint at 4:35 and unable to leave until IDS were returned at 5:20. MPTers sat in the front of the bus where no one was asked to show their passport or ID. However, the IDs of riders farther back were confiscated for inspection. This lack of consistency, even on the same bus, is just another example that illustrates how the roadblocks and checkpoints exist more as a hindrance to the movement of residents of (and visitors to) the West Bank rather than for security, especially since team members have been told that people can avoid checkpoints by taking circuitous routes that may add minutes or hours to their travel. Does it appear that Israel truly is security conscious or more interested in orchestrating more transfers of people outside of Palestine?

When the team went again through the same checkpoint Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon, the transportation vans in which they were riding were not stopped for any type of passport or ID inspection. It appears the only thing this is “routine procedure” here is that the Occupation continues to cause inconveniences for all who try to maintain some kind of normal life, and unfortunately, for all involved, there is really no way to avoid the consequences of living in under Occupation.

A Palestinian returns confiscated IDs to bus passengers.

Tuba's Dangerous School Route

The morning of May 29th, MPT team members made a two-hour hike over rugged hills to Bedouins camp of Tuba, a place east of At Tuwani in the south of Palestine, not far from the Dead Sea and the Negev Desert.

A Bedouin cave home on a craggy desert hill ledge

The Israeli government is trying to force all Bedouins off their lands and livelihoods and into nearby towns. MPT (working with Hafez - the local Palestinian organizer, Christian Peacemaker Teams [CPT] and Operation Dove - an Italian peace group) was present in Tuba to monitor the Israeli military escorting the Bedouin children on their walk to and from the elementary school, a dangerous route which takes them through the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’on . [CPT has done monitoring here for more than three years.]

CPT recommended MPT walk the longer distance from At Tuwani to Tuba, because last week there were two attacks by the settlers on Palestinians in the area. In the first attack 6 Israeli settlers attacked 3 Palestinian shepherds watering their flock. After the shepherds fled with their sheep and goats, the settlers used large stones to do damage to the cistern. In the second attack, 4 Israeli settlers again stoned 3 Palestinian shepherds who fled with their sheep and goats. This continual harassment by the settlers makes the Bedouins constantly worried and vigilant.

Midday May 29th, MPTers monitored the twenty children coming home through the Israeli settler area. The army jeep took them through the most dangerous section, but did not continue the entire distance near the large settler chicken coops.

The school trail begins at the At Tuwani village school, continues to the distance hilltop by the grove of trees [top left], moves left around the chicken coops, then gradually leds to the right

[lower right corner]. An Israeli army jeep leads the children through the top area above

the coops protecting them from unpredictable Israeli settlers.

Children coming home down the trail.

MPTers visited two families on their way to a third family, where they spent the night in their cave-home. The first family offered them tea and rich sheep milk. The second family hosted them with tea, pickles, bread, and delicious fried eggs. MPTers communicated very simply using Arabic dictionaries and the little Arabic Martha has studied. Walt helped the young boy with his English lesson. The family asked about Nicole, an MPTer who had visited there last week. They were delighted when MPT reported that Nicole said her best time in Palestine was with them. The 21 year-old daughter used the team’s phone to call her brother in Yatta. The family learned he had been picked up by the Israeli military when the car he was in passed an Israeli jeep. The family did not know the reason for the detention. [The next day MPTers met the father on a donkey on his way to Yatta.]

The father, concerned for his son, goes to Yatta. [Walt to left]

MPTers spent a quiet evening with Omar, his wife, and their beautiful children. The boys took the team to the cistern that had been damaged by the settlers.

A Bedouin lad explains the cistern damage to Walt and Eric.

Settlers damaged the cistern with large rocks.

They also learned the high cost of animal feed before Walt and Eric watched the milking of the sheep and goats. The boys, Eric, and Walt finished the evening with a game of volleyball.

The next morning, MPT monitored the children en route to school.

Donkey school transport

The girls bring up the rear. Settler homes at the top.

After school patrol, the 3 MPTers again took the long route back to At Tuwani. Seeing a shepherd in white, who appeared from a distance to possibly be a settler, MPT made an anxious call to CPT, who advised them that a friendly greeting usually indicated a Palestinian. After this advice and visual confirmation upon moving close, the team walked over to greet the amicable shepherd. The shepherd told them that his mother has been shot in the leg by an Israeli settler six years earlier.

About 20 minutes later on the route, Eric spotted an Israeli military jeep on the ridge above them. Three soldiers got out and called for the MPTers to come up the mountain, and then two of them slowly proceeded down to meet them. The interchange was friendly.

Israeli soldiers on Palestinian land check out MPTers

MPTers told them that they had been to Tuba to monitor the children being escorted to school by the Israeli soldiers and were on their way back to At Tuwani. The soldiers recommended the shorter route, but the MPTers stated they preferred the longer. The Israeli soldiers watched the MPTers from the top of the mountain for the next twenty minutes or until they were out of their sight.

The lives of the Bedouin children are far from easy. They have electric lights run by a gas generator a couple hours a week, but can see the electric lights shining every night in the illegal Israeli settlement across the way.

Lights from the settlement burn brightly.

They have dirt floors and no running water, yet walk daily past modern Israeli settler homes, yet an occupying nation must provide for the occupied people according to international law.

Martha and Eric near the tent at the entrance of the cave.

Their parents haul supplies by donkey from markets about 8 miles away, over very rough mountainous terrain. Both children and parents are constantly anxious that they will be viciously attacked by Israeli settlers. Having armed soldiers daily escort the young students because of fear of settler attacks must be traumatic for the children. What is the future for the Palestinian and Israeli children? Peace with justice is the right of all children, and this continues to be the work of MPT in the West Bank.

Israeli Army Invades Orphanage in Hebron

April 30, 2008 In earlier blog entries
(see http://mptinpalestine.blogspot.com/2008/04/israeli-treatment-of-orphans.html and http://mptinpalestine.blogspot.com/2008/04/children-and-conflict-in-hebron.html), the Michigan Peace Team described the conditions surrounding the girl’s orphanage and school in Hebron. The orphanage is threatened with closure, and the Israelis had set a date of April 28 to take possession of the contents of the Islamic Charitable Society’s sewing workshop, located in the basement of one of the girls’ orphanages. The Israeli Government was planning the invasion of a Palestinian girl’s orphanage even though:

1. All evidence points to a legitimate orphanage and school that meets the Palestine Authority
curriculum criteria.
2. The school adheres to public accounting criteria, which documents revenue and expenditures.
3. These records are open for public review, and the Israeli government and Palestinian
Authority check any foreign money going through banks.
4. The Israeli Army has not documented justification in the Israeli court system for the
take-over.
5. There are 110 girls residing in the orphanage and 645 girls attending the school.

Former President Carter, on his Peace Mission to the Middle East last week commented on the several schools and orphanages as follows:

“The Islamic Charitable Society has been serving the needs of the poor of Hebron since 1962, and should be allowed to continue their good work. I ask people of good will to join me on behalf of the orphans and students. Together, we ask the Israeli military to rescind the closure orders against the orphanages and schools so that 240 children will not lose the place they’ve come to know as home and 1,700 students will not be thrown out of school.”

The Israeli actions have the appearance of an occupying nation (Israel) suppressing an occupied people (Palestine). Therefore Tthe MPT joined with fifteen other internationals to occupy the orphanage and school through the night on April 27 and 28 when the Israeli deadline arrived. There were people from Belgium, Canada, England, Germany, Scotland, and the USA. The MPT had prior commitments in the South Hebron Hills and was planning to rejoin the group on Friday May 2. However, this will now not be necessary, as Christian Peacemakers Teams reported April 30, 2008:

“At 1:00 am …. April 30th, the Israeli Military raided the Hebron Girls' Orphanage near the intersection of Salaam and Al Adel (Peace and Justice) Streets. Acting on orders issued by Major General Shemni, soldiers looted the workshop of all its sewing and processing machines, office equipment, rolls of cloth, finished clothing and supplies. The Israeli invasion of an unprotested and peaceful orphanage was documented, with still photos and video. Approximately 40 Israeli soldiers emptied the workshop contents into 2 - 40ft. trucks. The estimated value of the physical material taken is $45,000 US. The cost in terms of the fear and terror instilled in the hearts of the little girls living above the workshop is much higher.”

The Christian Peacemaker Teams with their coalition of several other groups and individuals was there and captured with photos and videos the Israeli invasion as it occurred. It was a truly disturbing sight for humanity, and perhaps that is why the Israeli army in the dead of night executed it while Palestinianse and Israelis were asleep. However, the girls in the orphanage were forced to witness the Israeli invasion

( Following Photographs Provided by CPT)

Israeli SoldiersRemoving Equipment and Supplies from Girls Orphanage

Israeli Soldiers Gathered Around Fabric Cutting Table

Israeli Soldiers Taking Fabric from Girls Orphanage

Israeli Soldiers Loading Israeli Truck with Fabric, Supplies,
Office Equipment and Sewing Machines Taken From
Girls Orphanage

More Fabric Being Taken by Israeli Soldier from Orphanage

Should people begin to question whether the Israeli government and its soldiers have demonstrated a continued commitment to the execution of war crimes against the Palestinian people? These pictures were taken at 2:00 am as the soldiers broke-in to a girls orphanage and stole the contents of the girls sewing room. There were no weapons present except those carried by the Israeli military. By conducting this invasion in the dark of the night, these Israeli soldiers and the Israeli government seem to demonstrate a lack of courage and justice. If this were a legitimate action, why did it have to occur at night with no one around except orphans? One might also question the moral values of these soldiers and their government in bringing violence to those least capable of defending themselves, i.e. an orphanage of young girls.

Below are some pictures of the residents of the orphanage taken the day preceding the nighttime raid by the Israeli soldiers.

(Following Photographs Provided by MPT)


Hebron Orphans Pleading for Peace

Some of the Orphans Affected by the Israeli Invasion of the Hebron Orphanage

Girls at Orphanage-School Invaded by Israeli Soldiers

When the Israeli soldiers raided the bakery associated with the Islamic Charitable Society two weeks earlier, they torched the bakery upon leaving, using the fuel stored in the bakery for its ovens. Fortunately, these Israeli soldiers at the orphanage exercised some restraint by not doing the same to the orphanage. However, the trauma imposed on these girls does not relieve these Israeli soldiers of their responsibility for such unconscionable spineless acts against innocent children.

One would have to wonder how Israelis could bring peace to a troubled land when people like Major General Shemni and the Israeli government continue on this path of stealing land, buildings, and supplies from the Palestinian people. In this invasion of the sewing workshop and taking of it contents, Israel has benefited significantly at a high cost to the Palestinian people. If Israel were truly committed to peace with justice, would it not be important for the Israeli government to begin giving back to the Palestinian people the land, homes, businesses, and freedom of travel it has taken from them along with economic assistance for years of suppression?

Some of the Residents of the Orphanage and People That

Had Offered Support to the Orphans

Remote Desert Life in the "Wild West"

Above right (colored plastic jugs): birdhouses created from old water containers.

Team members Martha and Nicole spent Monday and Tuesday (April 21-22, 2008) in a remote desert area in the South Hebron Hills called Tuba. This area has been called the Wild West of Palestine because settlers move in and set up illegal homesteads, which they can use as a base in order to take control of even more land. They often live outside Israeli law as vigilantes equipped with weapons, and Palestinians fear them. The way these illegal Israeli settlers push indigenous Palestinian Bedouins off their land could be compared to the confiscation of land from Native Americans that occurred in the United States. In the absence of aggressive Israeli intervention to control the illegal settlers, there quite often is the appearance of Israeli government support for the settlers.

The team met with local leaders and international activists, hiked through beautiful, but unforgiving, desert terrain to spend the night in the hills with two local Bedouin families, and helped monitor the safety of approximately 20 local children on their dangerous daily walk to school. The children are victims of land incursions by illegal Jewish settlers who have migrated here from Israel and other countries and who claim that this land is their land by divine right. The Bedouins have been under great pressure not only from the Israeli settlers for the possession of their traditional grazing land but also from the Israeli government to become urbanized.

The spring has brought water and green pastures for the sheep and goats, which are the source of income for the Bedouin families.

The nearest village to the Tuba hills is Al-Tawani, where Christian Peacemaker Teams has a long-term international presence. (For a good overview of the situation in the village of Al-Tawani and the Tuba area, you can find a July 2007 MPT report at http://www.michiganpeaceteam.org/LTT_July17_2007.htm.)

We were warmly welcomed by the family of Omar (the large Bedouin family that lives in a traditional cave dwelling), as well as their tent-dwelling neighbors. It seemed like everyone welcomed the chance to host guests, even just for tea, though resources are scarce here. It was a happy reunion at Beit Omar, especially for Martha, having not seen them for more than three months.

Four “kids” at Beit Omar (the home of Omar) in Tuba.

Spring brought new baby sheep, goats, puppies, chickens, and doves—and a renewed supply of milk and cheese. Along with their own homegrown eggs, buttermilk, butter, yogurt, cottage cheeses, and vegetables grown elsewhere and purchased by the families, we noticed more food and a richer diet in spring than during past winter visits. The young Bedouin women were excited to teach Nicole how to milk sheep and goats!

Nicole – maybe put the picture with the green valleys here.???

For more about life in Tuba and past team experiences staying in the cave with Omar’s family view a past MPT Palestine Team Report (August 6th, 2007).

Omar’s children shared videos they had taken of Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement nearby who were harassing them as they herded their animals. The video cameras provided by B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, have helped produce documentaries that have very effectively educated the Israeli public on the abuses of the settlers. These documentaries may have helped to decrease some of the settler violence. You can view videos taken by Palestinians all over the country on B’tselem’s website (www.btselem.org), or on our own video bar on the right hand side of our blog >>>>.

In a tent outside the cave where they live, older sister helping 8 of her brothers and sisters get ready for school

One of the main “jobs” for MPT and other activists in this area is “school patrol.” Because of the high level of danger from settlers, and the historically high incidence of harassment and even serious bodily injury, peace activists daily monitor the only “law enforcement” around, i.e. Israeli military. Activists make sure the military arrives to escort the children and that all goes well as the children make their half hour daily walk to school. [The Israeli governmental organization for the protection of children mandated the military protection.] Peace activists take turns so that there is a monitor at each point of the school trip, morning and afternoon.

From our vantage point during school partol: about twenty local children walk across the rugged desert to meet the military jeep that has been mandated to escorting them to school each day—a very necessary protection from outlaw settlers.

Martha scans the scene with binoculars; later, we do encounter a band of settlers with intimidating sheep dogs.

In addition to watching the school run, binoculars were helpful for both finding our way across a strange landscape and for watching for settlers. Last year our team donated a pair of binoculars to Omar’s family so they could keep watch for bands of “raiders” or settlers who get drunk on the high holidays and set out for remote Bedouin camps to cause serious damage and injuries. Examples of damage include poisened wells, damaged generators, rat poison scattered where the sheep graze, and threats of injury to the Bedouins/

On our walk back from Tuba to the village of At Tawani, we did encounter a few settlers grazing goats and sheep. It was a tense moment as we tried to walk past at a distance without incident. The settlers yelled at us and their dogs came to check out the situation. Thank goodness the dogs didn’t seem particularly aggressive that day—maybe it was the heat! It seems that settlers view anyone passing in proximity as due “provocation” to violence.

At the end of March, five settlers using pepper spray attached two Palestinians in this area. The Israeli police were called who then arrested one of the Palestinians, detaining him for a week saying he had attached a settler security man. The Palestinian went to the Israeli court where he was fined nearly $900 to be released.

After spending the night with the Bedouins, doing school partol in the morning, hiking back to the village, and encountering several settlers on the way (fortuitously, this was filmed from the higher ridge by CPT), we spent the rest of this visit in the South talking to Hafez. Hafez is the community organizer for the region, living in the village of At-Tawani. On the morning we were there, locals were just starting to rebuild a house demolished four years earlier. It’s a risky business—they’re building on a plot a few yards away so as not to build the new house in the same “condemned” spot as the old—because the military could come and demolish the new building any day… with or without a court order.

Palestinians are required to obtain a permit from the Israelis before constructing houses, but most are not approved, while Israeli settlements on Palestinian land continue to be approved without restraint. In this way, the Israeli military claims to “legally” demolish Palestinian homes. It appears to be an Israeli strategy to assure continued pressure on the Palestinian population.

For more about the village of Al-Tawani, and resistance there (as well as a brief description of another past overnight with Omar’s family in Tuba), follow this link:

http://www.michiganpeaceteam.org/LTT_July21_2007.htm