Za'tara (Tapuah), Wed 16.10.13, Morning

8:30, Zatara/Tapuach Checkpoint

It’s a holiday, and according to numerous announcements the IDF has distanced its soldiers from the checkpoints.  Relief for the Palestinians? No way.  But they have certainly found alternate ways to make life miserable because about 10 meters from the checkpoint there was a police car that stopped all Palestinian vehicles for inspection. Two vehicles were delayed for a lengthy period before we came. The drivers, in white holiday attire, go from their cars to the patrol vehicle and back, frustrated. After 10 minutes one is released and the driver, nervous, sweating, flashing a traffic ticket, returned in a very un-festive mood to his family waiting in the car, and left. Naturally, Israeli vehicles go through the checkpoint without a glance from the guards.

9:00 Maele Ephraim:

Staffed, but no Palestinians are stopped.

Visit to MAKHUL, a village totally destroyed by the IDF

Saturday. We saw a sheep that had just given birth sitting in the sun. Exhausted and dehydrated after a month with no shade, with two young lambs suffering alongside her. One of them was lying in the corner and it looked as if wouldn’t survive the day, and the second futilely tried to nurse from his mother. The activists succeeded in finding a small shade covering and created a shady corner for the suffering family (today it turns out that they survived thanks to being fed baby formula). The sad sight depressed us, especially Yakov Manor, the untiring individual who has mounted an intensive recruiting campaign for plastic sheeting to attach to poles and create a shady area for the Makhul flock.

As a donation we received (at a discount) 20 black plastic sheets. We piled them onto Tzvia’s car. Because on our Shabbat visit some youths grabbed all the plastic sheets we had brought, this time we talked with B. who took the plastic sheets and distributed them among 10 families in the village, with special attention to the elderly.

When we arrived, we saw from afar that an army jeep was parked near B.'s awning, probably waiting for us (how did they know we were coming equipped? Who did they eavesdrop on, us or the villagers?)

We suspected they would confiscate the plastic sheets. Tzvia drove back and waited far from the villages for the soldiers to leave. The soldiers informed H., who had received a building authorization from the Civil Administration, that it was worthless and they would immediately dismantle the tent he has erected. Afterwards another Civil Administration jeep arrived, and they rejected the soldier’s demands to destroy the tent until H’s authorization could be clarified. Because the soldiers had no intention of leaving, we decided to leave and bring the covers to another village, so that at night the people of Makhul would come and fetch them. About  a half hour later after we left, the army also left and we returned and succeeded in bring the plastic sheeting to the village.

We also visited the Dragama family in Ein El Hilwa , at theMasciotcrossroads. We heard of the removal of seven families west of the Tayasir Checkpoint for two days, during “Hag HaKorban” festivities; the army decided it was the ideal time for military exercises. They also told us that the checkpoint was closed for an hour or two at a time because of those military exercises, on a holiday, when everyone is visiting. During our conversation a huge truck carrying a tank passed by the tent encampment.