Umm Qusa - the settler Yoav and other settlers damage property
Shift in Umm Qusa
We got to Meitar checkpoint driving slowly, from Meitar to the checkpoint, half an hour. On the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which ends the month of Ramadan, we went shopping in Dahariya.
Umm Qusa, a village we already visited a few months ago, is located between Umm Al Kheir and Umm Daraj. There was a demolition order for the small school in the village and we went to check what happened with it. The army had luckily not destroyed it. This time we also passed by and took pictures. The school is on the way. We mentioned before in our previous visit on the demolition of the foundations of Najeh Taimat's house by mistake. Yes, accidentally. The issue is being dealt with by a lawyer from Nazareth who represents Najeh in court. In about a month, the trial should resume.
On our way we saw red and blue pipes. They explain to us that these are water pipes to the village that come from the Carmel settlement and are funded by the Palestinian Authority. It is not surprising that there is almost no water that arrives as required. The solution is to purchase water from the family's tank in the village of Zweidin near Umm al Kheir and Carmel.
As in all the villages in the southern Hebron Mountain area, there is violence and harassment by the settlers. Here, as we reported, Yoav and his family who settled over a year ago in a British police station (one of 6 such in the area) took ownership of the place, which sits on a hill, fenced off the entire area and does not allow anyone to approach the place.
Since the war, on October 7, Yoav has been wearing an IDF uniform. You know the phenomenon. He drives by with his van, several times a day, right next to Najeh's place of residence. He is there to demonstrate his presence and to broadcast who is in control there. About a month ago, one of Taimat's relatives purchased electric poles for the families in Umm Qusa. Yoav and a number of other settlers brutally cut the poles down. In all this evil, Najeh shows us a small greenhouse he set up near his house with a variety of vegetables.
We brought games and a food package for the family. The children were happy and thanked us and it warms the heart.