Challenges to Life in the Jordan River Valley

Jordan River Valley

Our first team excursion was a trip to the Jordan River Valley. Forming the eastern border of the Occupied Palestine Territories (OPT), the valley is the lowest land area on earth at 380 meters below sea level and comprising almost 30% of the West Bank, from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. Because of this depression, a natural greenhouse is formed that makes the Valley a wonderful agricultural area, in a desert. It might be compared to a smaller version of the Central Valley in California. The Jordan River Valley, with over 80 historical and cultural sites, rich mineral deposits near the Dead Sea and a pleasant climate, is second only to Jerusalem as a tourist destination.

Palestinians here find their view of reality much different from either the tourist or the Israeli settlers. Those living here experience an awful sense of isolation, cut off from their relatives, their land, adequate services such as water or electricity, personal safety, a sustainable economy to provide for basic needs, and a basic sense of human dignity.

Their situation of extreme isolation has far more than a psychological impact. Systematic isolation was reinforced when the Oslo Accord of 1993 divided the Jordan River Valley into three areas. Zone A is under Palestinian Civil and Security control but is only 3.5% of the total Valley and has only two Palestinian villages. Zone B was intended to be a joint effort of management by both Israel and Palestine, but in reality is Israeli controlled. It has five Palestinian villages and accounts for another 2% in area. Zone C is under total control of the Israelis and the illegal Israeli settlements. That is another 50% of the Valley. The remainder of the land, more than 40%, is closed to the very Palestinians living in the valley. This remaining land is used for military bases, nature reserves, and border areas.

The most visible source of isolation for the people is the apartheid wall that the Israel government is winding, in no defensible path, through the West Bank. This illegal wall separates Palestinians from Palestinians and Palestinians from Israelis. In 2003, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced additional “Eastern Segregation” wall within the OPT to further isolate the people. In 2004 the International Court of Justice found the structures illegal. This did not deter the Israeli Government. Instead, on June 12, 2006 Israel announced a status change to the land of the Jordan River Valley, further isolating the area from the West Bank. It was also dropped from final status negotiations and military procedures escalated. It is an obvious land grab of a beautiful and production part of the country.

Approaching the valley, one is confronted by large watch towers, military guards armed and dressed in green fatigues and a formidable checkpoint. As we were questioned and our passports scrutinized there was an aura of a prison. The regular curfews imposed without explanation, impeding movement, is like a prison lockdown. We were entering a huge, open-aired prison. The Palestinian people are living in the isolation we reserve for criminals.

Illegal Israeli fences crisscross the land

Warning sign of illegal electrified fence

Trenches and fences with razor wire, some electrified, crisscross the landscape, separating people from their land, therefore their livelihood. Thousands of dunums [dunum = ¼ acre] of pasture land are closed. So people whose families have been grazing their animals for at least 2000 years are prevented their normal access.

We picked up our guide at a second checkpoint. Our guide translated the story of two agitated Bedouin men who had just crossed the checkpoint.

Our guide conversing with Bedouins

September 8, 2008, Israeli soldiers confiscated two large water tanks which these Bedouins used for drinking and watering the animals. The army gave them papers documenting the confiscation. They were assessed 11,000 shekels (about $3,200 in the U.S) for the return of the tanks. They didn’t have the money to redeem the tanks so the fine continues to increase. We photographed the papers and had the guide authenticate them.

Documentation of the water tank theft

These tanks are their only source of water, since their wells had been confiscated previously. They have been without these water tanks for 15 days and were growing desperate.

The Bedouins were told there was sufficient funding from OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, to supply water tanks to several Bedouin encampments, but the Bedouins of the area wanted this large amount of money spent for a pipeline to be built bringing water into arid areas. Replacing water tanks would solve the immediate problem, but a long term solution is needed.

Woman whose home was demolished.

We met the young woman who was an activist in her area. She stood near the pile of sun-dried bricks she made from straw and mud. Although Israeli soldiers had demolished her home and out buildings, she was determined to rebuild. She would not leave her ancestral land. We stood in the wreckage of her possessions and were struck that she had lost much but retained her patience, spirit, hope, and commitment to the land.

Labor intensive mud bricks.

According to OCHA in area C of the Jordan River Valley, in 2007 alone Israel authorities “demolished 90 dwellings and 101 other buildings, the majority of which were for lack of building permits.” (Food and Agriculture Organization, January 23, 2008)

Foundation of demolished home.

The Palestinians around the village of Fasayel built a five room school out of the type of sun-dried bricks we had seen. The first effort was destroyed by a strong wind. They persisted and built a second time. It was destroyed by a heavy rain. The third time they were able to include some concrete and the building stands to educate 70 children from grades 1 through 5.

Third try - new school.

The school has no plumbing, electricity, or running water. The children drink from a large tank in the yard.

Thirsty child drinking from outdoor tank.

While visiting the area, Tony Blair was presented with the problem of the two failed attempts and the possible demolition of the third school. Being under complete Israeli control, it could be demolished at any time because of its position in zone C Blair was so impressed with the dedication of the local people that he negotiated with the Israeli government to allow the school to function for the children. It took pressure from outside the country to secure a basic right for these children.

Happy students in the new classroom

The joy of recess

From the school, we traveled to meet the mayor of Bedhat , the pictured small village straddling areas B and C. No one is exactly sure of the borders because the Palestinians do not have access to the maps. His family had been expelled from Tel Aviv in 1948 and settled in the Jordan River Valley. He was disgusted with the waste he witnessed from the work of the non-governmental organizations, NGO’s, in his area. One group had $100,000 and four years of work that produced only “research, studies, lavish parties” and nothing tangible for the people. He was expecting an announcement the next day that the girls’ school that had been planned for the area would not be funded after all by the Japanese government. Both he and our Palestinian accompanier were harshly critical of NGOs. His most definitive and resolute comment was that his family had been expelled from their home once and they would never go through that again – never.

Leaving Bedhat, we passed a large, modern packing plant built of white concrete blocks and with electricity to provide refrigeration. We could not stop and take photos because security people would prevent us. This was for the use of the illegal settlers that have been placed in the Valley. The three small settlements built in 1968 have grown to 36 settlements today. According to MA’AN Development Center, any Israeli willing to settle in the valley is given a free house, a 75% discount on electricity, utility, communication and transportation. They are provided with free education, health care, and irrigation water. The settlers are offered 70 dunums of land and a $20,000 long-term loan along with a multiplicity of other benefits. More information on these advantages can be found at www.Btselem.org/English/Publications/summaries/200205_Land_Grab.asp

Illegal Israel greenhouses dot this land

We viewed these rows of greenhouses used by the illegal settlers, while across the road the Palestinians were struggling to manage crops in rocky soil with little access to irrigation.

From arid to verdant – unsustainable water use.

We visited with a Palestinian date farmer at his packing plant - a caravan of corrugated iron, set up on concrete blocks. This makes it possible for him to move it, rather than have it demolished by the army. There is no electricity, inadequate water and, of course, no refrigeration possible.

Palestinian packing plant.

He was a proud and capable man whose family had once owned a large farm with much water. Today he is reduced to farming a small parcel of date trees with his one or two remaining wells. When asked about his access to irrigation, he proudly told of his wells and how the crops were irrigated. He was concerned that the settlers used their sewage to irrigate crops and he knew from his experience that this was not a proper method. He felt this could pose a health hazard.

Because trade restrictions have been imposed so farmers cannot leave the Valley to sell their produce from normal outlets, people who once traded with other Arab countries in the region and could access ports on the Mediterranean are confined to local villages in the Jordan River Valley. While the United States demands free trade for its products, it also supports a government that denies that right to the Palestinians. There are six permanent checkpoints and hundreds of “flying checkpoints” that appear without warning, stopping traffic and slowing the movement of any produce.

Palestine produce truck detained at Israeli checkpoint.

The dates that our host would harvest, and the products of other Palestinian farmers in the valley, end up being marketed to Israelis because of their inability to freely reach markets. These same factors make the Palestinians reliant on Israel for seeds, fertilizer, tools and other essentials to sustain their land.

Both the United States and the United Nations consider these settlements in the West Bank as illegal. In the Guardian, on July 6, 2008, Paul Gallagher reported on Agrexco, a large Israeli exporter that regularly buys food grown on confiscated Palestinian land and then labels it a product of Israel. (www.guardian.co.uk) The British have been aware of this injustice and are boycotting these goods taken from stolen lands. The livelihood and well being of people is diminished by a deception in labeling. Brand names such as Carmel, Jaffa, and Coral are part of Agrexco, but in the United States it is difficult to determine which are legitimate Israeli products and which are produced on confiscated land. Since the FDA does not provide this information a boycott of all Israeli products must be considered. Making occupation profitable to the occupiers will prolong the injustice.

Bedouin tent and arbor.

Electric power lines, but power unavailable to Palestinians

The last visit was with a Bedouin family living in tents under electric lines and over water pipes, but without access to electricity or water. An OCHA report in January of 2008 explains the effects of the drought in the area on the herders who depend on rainwater for domestic drinking and water for flocks. They also count on rainwater for the growth of vegetation on grazing land and crops for their own use and animal fodder. [OCHA, FAO report January 23, 2008 on Drought]

Bedouin animals are also endangered.

The Israeli authorities have forbidden Palestinians from using the Jordan River. They have destroyed or isolated 162 irrigation projects east of Road 90, the main road running along the valley, in the last forty years. Israel controls the positions of the wells, how deep they can dig, and how much water can be pumped. Untreated settlement water often seeps into Palestinian artesian wells and springs. The Palestinians are not allowed to construct sewage systems. The drought combined with these other restrictions, and others, imposed by Israeli authorities make it almost impossible for the Bedouin families to preserve their age-old way of life. (FAO January 23, 208)

It seems ironic that we have lists of endangered animals and yet there is no effort made to save an endangered people. We defend anyone’s choice of lifestyle in the United States and ignore the simple, chosen lifestyle of these people. Dignity, access to water, electricity, ability to sustain life by herding animals, freedom to move around the land that is theirs - these are not exorbitant requests.

The Jordan River Valley has two contradictory planning schemes. The Israeli settlers, motivated by profit, have an economic agenda. The Palestinians are trying to preserve a way of life and continue using their own land, to farm, herd, and try to live a reasonable life. These divisions have caused desertification and soil erosion. The indigenous Palestinian people have no sovereignty over their land and natural resources. They have been denied the right to manage the land over a contiguous area and cannot maintain the natural ecosystem without these abilities. A disproportionate amount of the natural resources and arable land has been allotted to the Israeli settlements that are illegally present. Some would say that the illegality should prohibit them from any of the resources.

While the settlers swim in pools, and live in tile or brick roofed homes built without harmony to the land, the Palestinians live in homes with flat roofs to collect rainwater and achieve a more organic extension of the land. The fragile environment in the Jordan Valley has been the first casualty. Barren areas have replaced once fertile land. The Jordan River is more polluted and brackish than ever. The Dead Sea has sunk so low that it is now two separate seas and still getting lower according to a study by the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem, 2207. The carrying capacity of the land is unable to support the reality we saw in the Jordan River Valley.

Bedouin boy with the family flock at sunset.

This could be an area of great agricultural production. This could be a vital tourist destination with historical and archaeological interest. This could be a model of eco-tourism that would draw more interest than Costa Rica. The minerals and salts of the Dead Sea could provide luxury spa destinations. None of this is viable within the present structure. The Palestinians and the Israelis are loosing and the earth itself is loosing.

New Team in Training for Fall 2008!

We're currently training to go on MPTs fall team in 2008! We're at a great retreat location (see photo), where we're getting to know one another, team building, and learning skills to use on the ground. We're looking forward to keeping in touch with all of you at home while we're in Palestine/Israel through this blog. We'll share stories about our trip and experiences, things we learn, and photos. Check back often to check in with us and learn more about what we're doing. We'll send out reminds to those we know to check this blog when there's new posts-- you can also go to the organization's main website www.michiganpeaceteam.com and follow the links to sign up for our news listserve.

Harvesting Almonds

On July 12, 2008 MPT and IWPS accompanied a farmer and his family to harvest almonds on their land. The farmer had asked for international accompaniment because the previous day illegal Israeli settlers had come with dogs and forced his family to give up harvesting for the day.

The farmer’s land is located above Huwwara checkpoint, one of the largest checkpoints in Palestine. It is deep within Palestinian territory, separating Nablus from surrounding communities that depend on it for services, goods and employment. The farmer’s fields provide a clear view of the checkpoint.


Higher up and overlooking the farmer’s land is the illegal Israeli settlement from which settlers come to harass him and his family.

The farmer advised MPT and IWPS to look for a youth on a donkey when they arrived at Huwwara. Sure enough, coming toward them from a far edge of a checkpoint parking lot they saw a donkey and rider who met and led them up to the almond trees.

The family arrived within minutes with necessary supplies and everyone got to work.

The boys of the family climbed up into the trees to knock the almonds down with sticks. Everyone else picked up the almonds that fell to the ground as well as what they could reach on the lower branches.


The morning passed pleasantly and peacefully. The settlers did not come to the farmer’s land that day, perhaps because it was Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, or perhaps because there would be outside witnesses to their illegal actions. Whatever the reason, the family appreciated the company of internationals and was glad to harvest a section of land without interference.

Work stopped at noon while everyone shared lunch in the shade of a tree.


After lunch, the farmer sent his sons home on the donkeys, carrying sacks full of the almonds harvested in the morning. The boys returned later with a thermos of hot tea in the ever present Palestinian tradition of hospitality.


After enjoying tea together, the group continued working for another hour or so, until the heat made further work impractical.


Still, the donkeys had one more task before it was time for them to rest. The boys tied fallen tree branches together for them to drag home for firewood.


As the internationals from MPT and IWPS walked back to Huwwara checkpoint, they talked about what hard work farming is everywhere. They recognized, however, that most farmers do not work shadowed by a fear of violence everyday as do farmers throughout Palestine.

While our day had been peaceful, we were soon back at Huwwara, standing in line like cattle to have our IDs and our belongings checked by Israeli soldiers before being allowed to pass. For us such treatment is an occasional annoying inconvenience. For Palestinians it is all too often a daily source of frustration, humiliation and long delays.

Jayyus

On July 11, 2008 MPT went with IWPS to the village of Jayyus near Qalqilya to join local Palestinian villagers and government officials, other international activists and Israelis in a peaceful demonstration against the Apartheid Wall. Two days earlier, July 9, had been the fourth anniversary of a ruling by the International Court of Justice that the Apartheid Wall is illegal under international law and must be torn down.

Jayyus was one of the first villages to be affected by the construction of the Apartheid Wall. Over 78% of its land (9,800 dunams) as well as 2,000 olive trees were confiscated by Israel in 2002 for construction of the wall. Now in order to access their land behind the wall farmers must apply for permits, which are difficult to obtain, and pass through gates controlled by the Israeli army.

Following a 2006 ruling by the Israeli high court, Israeli army officials have drawn up new routes for the wall. The new plans would still mean a loss of 6,000 dunams of land and do not include access gates to the land that would remain behind the wall.

The Jayyus community has until July 28, 2008 to respond to the this new proposal, but the message the people sent to Israel as they stood before one of the gates on July 11 was loud and clear. “Remove all sections of the Apartheid Wall.”

MPT noted that in addition to men and youth, Palestinian women participated prominently in this demonstration. It was an honor to stand in solidarity with the women as well as the men.

Jayyus is calling for international support in removing the wall from its land and from all of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In total disregard to the four-year-old ruling by the International Court of Justice, Israel has yet to remove any part of the Apartheid Wall.

Another Trip to the Caves of Tuba

On July 8, 2008 MPT traveled to Tuba in the south Hebron hills for another overnight stay with families who live in the caves there. Even before arriving they came upon a change that has taken place since their visit two weeks earlier. The Israeli army has placed a series of large earth mound roadblocks across the road that leads to At Tuwani and Tuba. The MPT taxi was forced to turn around at the roadblock and MPTers continued their journey on foot.

MPT’s Christian Peacemaker Team friends in At Tuwani explained that the Israeli army had begun putting the roadblocks up on the same day that they had delivered an order to demolish a cistern local Palestinians had recently built. The cistern had been built without a permit because Israel would not issue a permit and the people needed water.

Now the cistern is gone and with the roadblocks it is not possible to bring water in by trucks. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has become involved because Israel’s actions are clearly creating a water crisis for local Palestinians.

As MPT walked with CPTers to meet the shepherds of Tuba on their grazing land, they passed the entrance to the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’on.


The greenery in the photo below indicates that unlike the Palestinian communities, the Israeli settlement of Ma’on is not suffering from a shortage of water.



Palestinians first asked for an international presence in this area in 2004 because the settlers of Ma’on had established a pattern of harassing and brutalizing them. Of particular concern was the settler practice of beating up Palestinian children as they walked past the illegal settlement on their way to school.

An Israeli court has actually ordered the Israeli army to provide a protective escort to the Palestinian children as they go to and from school each day. This is the only place in the Occupied Territories where an army escort has been ordered to protect Palestinians from the brutality of Israeli settlers.

The Israeli army does not always live up to its court-ordered responsibilities. Sometimes the army arrives late, and some days they do not show up at all. CPTers are thus on constant watch to monitor the children’s safety as they walk to and from school.

MPTers also walked past a fenced in grove of olive trees, an unusual sight in that the fence is not the high razor wire type used by Israelis and Palestinians do not usually fence their trees. CPTers explained that in 2006 Israelis had chopped all these trees in half, killing many of them. (The stories of wanton Israeli destruction are unending.)

The trees had later been fenced in by the Palestinian family that owns them to protect them from further attack and to try to resurrect them. Two years later the trees are coming back to life.



A phone call came from one of the Tuba families explaining that the shepherds had brought the sheep in from grazing early because they had caught sight of some threatening settlers in the distance. Soon after the phone call MPTers spotted two donkeys coming down the hill from Tuba to meet them. It was a royal welcome!


After passing the early afternoon in a Tuba cave drinking tea, conducting a lesson in English, and watching children play cards, MPTers went out with the sheep for late afternoon grazing.



This time the sharp eyes of the shepherds spotted a settler on horseback on top of a distant hill, but the settler did not draw close. Can you see the settler?


The rest of the day passed peacefully as MPT watched the sheep and goats move nimbly over the hilly, rocky terrain. Listening to the sounds of their movement and their munching gives new meaning to the term “rustling”, which is exactly the sound the animals make in a quiet that is otherwise broken only by the occasional sound of a shepherd’s call - or by the annoying roar of an Israeli fighter jet streaking overhead.


MPTers learned on this visit that the names of two young pups learning their roles as sheepherders are Rex and Bobby. They are the cutest little team at age ten months, and their work obviously tires them out at this stage of their careers!


Back in Tuba for the night, the sheep and goats were fed grain, milked, and reunited with their babies.


A common symbol in this part of the world is a blue glass eye once thought to provide protection from evil. MPT noticed a necklace with this blue glass eye around the throat of one of the sheep. Let us hope it and powers far greater work for these animals and the families who own them, and for all who are so vulnerable to the whims and violence of Israeli soldiers and settlers.

Resistance in the Village of Sarra

"A large fire broke out in the forest.
All the animals began to run away, including the lion.
However, the smallest bird stayed and began spitting water at the fire.
The lion came back and asked the bird,
“What are you doing? You are too small. That will do nothing.”
The bird responded, “It is my duty to do something.”

- Member of the City Council at the debriefing following the nonviolent demonstration
(translated into English)

On Saturday, June 28, 2008, MPT travelled with IWPS (International Women’s Peace Service) north to the village of Sarra for a roadblock demonstration. The roadblock is a mound of earth placed across the main road of Sarra by Israeli soldiers. It cuts the village off from other nearby towns. Villagers now have to travel through Nablus and back, making what used to be a fifteen-minute trip two hours. One resident told internationals that this way they are living in a jail.

Climbing over the roadblock

This was the second week of what the villagers hope will become a weekly demonstration. Last week, 150 people, mostly youth and about fifteen adults, had marched to the roadblock accompanied by five internationals. The soldiers told the demonstrators that as long as they stayed off the main road, they could remain standing on top of the roadblock.

This week, the protest was larger and the local villagers were joined by about twenty internationals. They went back with shovels this week. They also had prepared some of the village boys to perform the Dabka, the traditional Palestinian dance.

MPT processed with the Palestinians through the streets from the Mosque to the roadblock. The march had the feeling of a festival. The young people were filled with energy and passion for change and a commitment to nonviolence. MPT felt strength and hope from this community

Children lead the march

Almost immediately after the group had reached the roadblock, Israeli soldiers began shooting sound bombs and tear gas. It was clear that this was only the second demonstration, as the young people panicked at the sight and sound of the weapons and they began to run, creating a dangerous scenario. More and more soldiers appeared. Soon there were six army vehicles.

Tear gas canisters are fired into the crowd

Running away in fear of the sound bombs and tear gas

Palestinians, joined by internationals, went down to negotiate with the soldiers. The soldiers agreed that the protesters could have ten minutes in front of the roadblock, and then they would begin to fire.

Palestinians, internationals, and the Israeli army in negotiation

The ten-minute reprieve allowed enough time for the boys to come down in front of the roadblock and perform the Dabka. The beautiful dance gave a new energy and confidence to the group and the Palestinians clapped along with pride for their heritage.

Boys from the village of Sarra perform the Dabka between the roadblock and the army

When the ten minutes was almost over, soldiers began to surround the group of dancers and other demonstrators, climbing up onto the Palestinians’ farmland, and getting into firing position. Those demonstrating left the earth mound and backed up a fair distance.

At ten minutes, the soldiers began to fire their second round of tear gas and sound bombs, even though there was no one left on the roadblock. Panic again surged through the young people and they all began to run, creating a dangerous stampede in tight areas. Some boys picked up rocks and began to throw them in the direction of the soldiers.

One boy dropped his mobile phone as he was running. He was hysterical at having lost it, but terrified to go back after it. He asked MPTers to get it for him, which we did. It was not so risky for us as internationals to move back toward the soldiers, but we still held our hands out to our sides to show that we posed no threat.

This protest was much more violent than the one the week before, but the Palestinians are hopeful. They hope that next week there will be more international people than this week. By continuing to foster nonviolence in their youth, they hope that change can happen. MPT’s hope is that as the youth become more accustomed to nonviolent protests, their fear and their urge to retaliate will lessen. What terrible lessons they have to learn!

Palestinians stand up in face of violent occupation!