Kariot, Jaloud

In the village of Jaloud, we learned about the harassment from the nearby settlements, Achiya and Esh HaKodesh.  We could see various settlements from the balcony of the building
In the south – Achiya and Adei Ad;

south east – Esh HaKodesh; south
west – Shilo and Shevet Rachel.

9:00  We left Rosh HaAyn with Nadim on road 5 toward Tapuach Checkpoint then took road 505. 
9:45  Zaatra checkpoint was quiet with very few soldiers visible.  We continued south past the village of Yatma, through the industrial section of Kablan and on to Kariot near the settlement “Eli” on the hill top.  

Talpit:  The municipality was closed.  We continued south toward Kariot.
Kariot:  We stopped at an official building with a sign which read, “State of Palestine.”  We spoke to a woman, M. who worked at the open medical clinic and then continued into the village. 
It was quiet in the village.  There were children in the streets since the school year had ended and they were on vacation. 
We met a student at the Open University in Nablus, who told us about an incident that occurred about 1 year ago.  She said that a settler used to come down with the IDF holding a piece of meat.  He cut it up in and told the Palestinian people standing there, that the settlers will do the same to them.  This year he never came back.
Jaloud:  We went to the municipal building and met with the mayor A.
We introdused ourselves
The mayor told us about several incidents with the settlers from “Achiya" that happened in the past few years:
They made it difficult for the people to get to their agricultural land in area “C”; they threw rocks and broke windows in the village while the  IDF was there.  Also in the past, at a high school in area “B” near the border of “C,” they threw rocks at the students in the school yard.  The teachers called for help; a nearby mosque broadcast what had happened; the IDF came to investigate and then left.  Before this rock-throwing incident the IDF had destroyed several caravans and this was in retaliation.  About 1-2 months later, a car was burned by the “Tag Mehir” group.  Other incidents occurred in the past.
“BTselem, Combatants for Peace and Rabbis for Human Rights” groups helped out in various ways.
Olive harvest:  Palestinians had 4 days a year and 2 days extension were given for the harvest.  This year they only received a 1 day extension.  Rabbis for Human Rights bring the permits to the people.
 The settlers wanted to open a club (moadon) by taking 300 dunams of land belonging to the village. It was designated as a “closed military zone.”  Israeli Arab lawyers were asked to intervene.  The villagers had 60 days to appeal.  It was difficult to arrange an acceptable appeal.  It is not clear what will happen since there is a court hearing to be held on July 14. 
 The mayor told us that since 2007-8 many dunams of land were confiscated.  The “Yesh Din” website documents this. 
The mayor also told us that the village has to pay in advance for electricity and water (via a sim card system of payment) since there are problems with payments to Israel.
On the way out, he showed us a large map which revealed how many dunams were confiscated from Jaloud and when each of the surrounding Jewish settlements were established since 1975.
It was a very informative meeting.  We were warmly received.
Oranit checkpoint: On the way back we stopped at the Oranit checkpoint, now closed.  It was quiet around there.  A road was open along the fence.  We saw one car with Palestinians traveling there.  We came back through Kfar Qassem.