Duma, Za'tara (Tapuah)
Whoever was naïve enough to assume that the horribly cruel terror act which occurred at the village of Duma, where settlers burned to death a family and their house, would, at least in the short stretch of time which elapsed since then, prevent the settlers from harassing the inhabitants of the village – was proven false. It's true that the settlers do not dare, for the time being, to enter the village, probably fearing they would be caught and investigated by the inhabitants, but they dare to cause harm from the outside by means of blocking the two entrances to the village. The soldiers, emissaries of the Israeli governance which enables the perpetrators of the horrendous crime to walk free, continue to plot against the inhabitants of the village. For the time being they are hesitant to enter the village in daylight, but they waylay the inhabitants and chance-visitors to the village at its entrance and on the road leading to it.
One can identify another system of causing hardships to the day to day life in the villages in the area, which is now gathering impetus – the blocking of the entrances to the villages, which forces the inhabitants to congregate in the villages or to move in tortuous agricultural roads.
9:15 Departure from the Rosh Ha'Ayin train station. The vehicle begins to move spasmodically.
10:00 We stop at the Ariel intersection. At a garage which is located some distance away the car will be repaired and thus we shall be able, although with a considerable delay, to continue our tour, although we shall be forced to limit the destinations of the shift. Near the intersection there is a big signpost – "the shooting range", which directs the settlers to a nearby hotel where one can buy arms and ammunition. The break enables us to meet impressive A., who was revealed as a trainer and advisor to groups of Palestinian women on feminine empowerment within the framework of "El Burj' – Ma'an" – The center for development whose seat is in Ramallah. He also mentions achivements: 12 women are now members of the directorate of the Palestinian Authority and there is also an increasing number of women at the head of the local councils. A., who is an inhabitant of East Jerusalem, has family at A-Sawiya, and he tells us about the problems the inhabitants of the village had with the settlers of Nehalim during the olive picking season.
11:00 Za'tara (Tapuah) Intersection. There are increased forces of soldiers and army vehicles. The roads are open. The traffic is conducted in an orderly fashion.
11:15 Duma. At the council house wee meet secretary Z. who shares with us the deeds of the settlers and the army: Some time ago the settlers from Esh Kodesh blocked the entrances to the village from both sides. The locals who had to get to Nablus were obliged to use a winding agricultural road. Z. tells us about a personal experience with soldier harassment: Two days ago he travelled with his three brothers and his elderly father from Duma to M'rar. Soldiers stopped the car and demanded that he get out of it. Z. believes that only due to the father's presence they didn't harass them. (indeed, they are obliged to the law of "thou shalt honor the elder's face"…). Z. was asked whether he had ever been in prison, and answered negatively. "If I would have admitted to having been there, they would have handcuffed me, loaded me on their vehicle and God knows when I would have seen my family again", he said. The family did not enter M'rar, as the entrance to the village was blocked.
How was the olive picking at Duma? Based on their experience all the inhabitants of the village set out on the same day, together, to pick their olives from their tree which are planted on the other side of the road, and thus they protected themselves. The soldiers arrive at the entrance to the village from time to time to discover stone-throwers, but since the fire they avoid entering the village (maybe fearing the rage of the villagers?)
Most of the area of Duma is defined as B zone, only a small area as C zone. When families expand, people begin building on Zone C areas, but get letters threatening destruction and are forced to stop the building. After all Duma in not a settlement, its population growth does not require expansion…
R., of the Palestinian Water Authority arrives at the council house. He is head of a team, responsible for 13 villages, whose task it is to ascertain that the pumping systems work in order, and to record the consumption according to the water meters. (Contrary to what goes on in other villages in the West Bank, water arrives at the Duma region not by way of Mekorot, but from a water supply system of the Palestinian Authority, located at Rejayeb, near Nablus).R. shares with us his personal experience versus the army:
Some time ago R. arrived in his car to the entrance to Duma. He found himself surrounded by six soldiers. One of them threw him down, handcuffed him and a compress immersed in a scalding material (a new torture) on his eyes. All this took place without him being interrogated, and without him having commited any offence. An officer who arrived on the spot released him and didn't even apologise. R., a courageous man, told him: "your soldiers behave like animals. This is not good for your country". The officer agreed.
We go to see the burned down house. The building has been whitewashed from the outside, and the heart rending murals have faded in part. And still the sight is very difficult, even for somebody who has already see it a few times. At the neighbouring house, where "only" the first floor was burned down entirely that night, we see the members of the family who had been saved. A young couple and their small son look at us from the terrace on the second floor, which wasn't damaged. They ask about Ahmad, the boy who is about the same age as their son, and who was the only survivor from his whole family, and who has been hospitalized since the fire at the Tel Ha-Shomer hospital. They were happy to hear from us that he is slowly recovering and that he receives good treatment. The parents are smiling and friendly, the boy makes noises and draws funny faces for us. Life continues on the second floor of the house, which survived the fire.
12:45 On the way back. At the Tapuah intersection there is an addition of army forces, compared with this morning. At the entrance to Aqraba there is a blockage of heaps of stones and sand. Last night a villager arrived in his car and because of the darkness didn't see the blockage, and collided with it. His car turned over and he was evacuated to hospital.
13:00 Back to Rosh Ha'Ayin.