There’s no water, the houses have been destroyed, no pasture, no work
The neighbors show up for “curtesy visits”, and there’s no one to stop them
Right now, I should have been on the pick-up, loaded up and on my way to the villages, but I can’t do it, after what happened last night and over the past week. Honestly, I wanted to write to you about the good things that are happening, such as the organic vegetable project, which is continuing and which we’ve expanded to another 14 families with 2.5km of drip pipes and accompanying equipment, so that they can grow their own food and maybe even sell a little. Also, about the project to dismantle wood pallets and build decorative wood planters for the garden, which would provide a little income for the family from Susiya, a project which came off the shelf thanks to the war; as well as the successful tour we had Shavuot Eve, entitled “there’s someone to talk to, there’s something to listen to.”
But the dizzying pace at which things are happening is just too overwhelming, and I need to pull myself together and write. So here I am with a brief summary, helped out by Erela and Yair from the Villages Group who put together the details.
The testimony of Eid, the day after the demolitions
6 June, was a difficult and traumatic day for the residents of Um el-Kher and for all of us.
At 8:27 I. sent a WhatsApp message: Two bulldozers and a string of army vehicles are parked by Um el-Kher. And Erela answered him: As usual, demolitions. We just don’t know yet where. What pressure!
At 9:11 T. sent a voice message, in a shaky voice, that they’re demolishing the Community Center tent, which has had a demolition order hanging over it since 2008, but which hasn’t been carried out over the past 16 years.
At 9:48 he reported that they’re demolishing the village electricity control centre, and the solar panels, and the bulldozers are outside ‘Id’s door.
After that they demolished five more homes in I.’s compound. And all this terrible time we couldn’t get into Um el-Kher, as the army had closed it off from all directions.
At 14:30 the demolition squad left the village after its surprise attack. 30 people, women and children, babies and the old, left without shelter. It was a very hot day. No shade in this desert.
At 14:35 a tent was put up to offer a little shade.
At 17:05 settlers, armed and dressed in army fatigues, came in and confiscated the tent which had been put up in a rush to offer some shade, and arrested M., who tried to put up another small tent for the same purpose.
At the same time Um el-Kher was declared a “restricted army zone” to prevent any kind of support coming in.
At 18:10 the army announced that M. Had been released in Susiya, but for a long time nobody heard from him or knew what had happened to him. Only at 20:30 did we hear that he had returned home.
Demolition orders were issued for another 10 houses in the villages of Halat a-Daba’ and Mufgara. The orders enable the demolition within 96 hours, which means there is no legal way to stop them through the law courts. It is important to point out that in the past months, tens of illegal Jewish outposts have been set up across the West Bank, and tens of kilometers of illegal roads have been built, under the defensive auspices of the army, while the “civil administration” and the police look the other way.
30 June. Hill Lads vigilantes from the Shimon Attia farm came into Um el-Kher to taunt the residents. The following day they set up a protest tent next to the houses of Um el-Kher, under the watchful eye of the army. It took a long time till they were evacuated from there.
3rd July 2024. The Hill Lads cut the water pipe providing water to the village. They were photographed but were never charged.
On the same day 100 angry settlers stormed into the village of Halat A-Daba’ and began a pogrom, burning houses, attacking cars and people. It was difficult to bring in an ambulance to evacuate the wounded and a long time before the army intervened. The army arrested a local resident who was charged with setting fire to the houses.
There are a number of smaller and larger incidents, here and there, that I may have forgotten. My apologies, I am overwhelmed and can’t take it all in. The saddest part is that the army accepts the Jewish story and belittles the Palestinian side of events. The more moderate settlers, also, those that don’t want violence or extremism, go all mealy mouthed, “we have to hear the other side” and it’s not as simple as you make it out to be. No, simple it isn’t, I never said it was, but if we don’t stop this craziness, we won’t make it any simpler. Those behind the incidents are extremists, who in any normal state would be locked up, and they are ruining all of our lives. The problem is that there are too many moderates sitting on the fence and shaking their heads from side to side..
I’m adding here a link for donations to Um el-Kher, and hope that we can stop these atrocities.
We need Israelis who are prepared to go out into the villages and spend the night there, in order to prevent the demolitions. Any volunteers?
I’m waiting for the day when I can write just about the ray of light with which I started this post and the bad things won’t fill our minds.
Eyal
Tr. Yonathan (Jon) Anson
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