Jordan Valley: Settlers rampage and destroy the residences in the shepherd communities
April 13 - Saturday, Al Farisiya
We all got there at 8:30 a.m. and set up teams to accompany shepherds at various sites. I (Miki) and Anya stayed for protective presence, while Adi and Eshel went on to accompany Nidal to Humsa-Maqaser; Dan and Amnon went to accompany Yusef at Khalat Makhoul; Gaya, Boaz and Lilly went out to the pasture with Ahmad from Farisiya.
Half an hour later Shepherd B. let us know that colonists Gilad Amosi and his pals were invading the land that belongs to Al Farisiya shepherds, west of the Jordan Valley road. The land is leased from a Palestinian residing in Tubas and it is the last bit of land left to their use! After the colonists chase them away and prevent them from grazing east of the road. This land has a bit of barley which has ripened, and much wild pasture, from which the Palestinian flock could survive until the soon-to-come arid season.
Anya and I hurried towards them and found them approaching the locality. We called the police and demanded it arrive to prevent any possible friction. The police refused to accept this “imaginary” scenario but finally condescended to open an ‘event file’. In the meantime, the colonists did graze in other Palestinian-owned land not grazed by Palestinians for fear of confrontation. The police did arrive an hour later, but refused to handle the case until they were presented with ownership papers. Unfortunately, the documents arrived from the Palestinian Authority only an hour later, while the colonists were already on their way home.
The lesson was learned. We asked the shepherds to always have these important papers on them. Not that this assures anything, but without documentation even minimal looking-into a situation is a dream.
At the rest of the pastures, grazing went on warmly and quietly, unhampered that day.
Suddenly, at 3 p.m rumors arrived of the murder by Palestinians of Achimeir, a 14-year-old shepherd from the colonist outpost Mal’achei Shalom. The colonists began to appear. Gilad, son of Didi, and another two, one of them armed, arrived really close to Al Farisiya and the locals panicked. They said that saw Gil’ad signaling the armed colonist to shoot them, but he must have refused. Perhaps because he saw us, and perhaps for other reasons. Thus - the Farisiya villagers, at least. Dan approached the colonists and asked what they were doing, and they walked away.
In the evening Neta came and joined me for a night shift, as we feared that attacks would proliferate and tried to mobilize auxiliaries. Peretz arrived at night too.
The locals went to sleep heavy-hearted, but somehow we felt the night would pass unhampered. We were immediately refuted. At 10:30 p.m. we were notified by the companies at Ein Al Hilwa that colonists are wild and torching things. Neta remained at Farisiya and Peretz and I decided to to drive there and see what happened.
We approached Ein Al Hilwa and were stopped by an army vehicle. Peretz told the truth, that we were summoned as human rights activists to see what was going on. At first the soldier let us pass, but within seconds he received orders to arrest us. “The colonists are allowed through, not you, this is army ruling”, he declaimed.
We saw a vehicle with young colonists going north from Ein Al Hilwa, and were impressed that they were headed for pogroms elsewhere.
We returned to Al Farisiya. At 11:15 p.m. and within 10 minutes, three colonists came by car, dancing and singing loudly. We prevented them from entering the village, and asked why they were so happy on such a sad day when their shepherd pal was murdered? They made fun of us, saying: This is how we settle Eretz Israel! We are happy and dancing because of this.
In all this chaos caused by the singing colonists, in fear the women and children had run off to the hills. When they left, the men and Neta Brought them back.
Neta and I decided to drive again to Ein Al Hilwa in spite of the army barrier, which was lifted anyway since the colonists left.
Ein Al Hilwa
We came to Fathi’s home and found a horrible scene. A tractor whose engine was destroyed, upside-down beds, a half-burnt curtain, broken containers, all the medication on the floor. A cell phone and gold were stolen, and everything the pogromists found was vandalized and destroyed for joy, apparently.
The family was traumatized. Fathi and son managed to tell us, extremely upset, about the 20 colonists who raided the family home, broke and destroyed and stole unhampered. Neither police nor army came to protect them. Their sister Fatima who lives alone nearby was sobbing. The colonists invaded her own 80 sheep and goats and the whole flock was now gone. Her entire livelihood and life were gone in a moment.
In the meantime, we heard that Yif’at came for the night shift at Farisiya and Neta and I decided to spent the night at Ein Al Hilwa. However, we had to take our things from Farisiya. It was already past midnight when we returned. Neta stayed to sleep in his car while I slept with the people. That same time, Gil’ad Amosi and his pals sneaked in and broke solar panels, and later at night torched a car.
A disappearing drone act - or Hetz missiles - took place above, which could have been fascinating under different circumstances…
Al Farisiya Sunday, April 14th
On Sunday morning we woke up and returned to Al Farisiya. Fatima went out to look for her flock, and according to Fathi, later on found most of the sheep except for five.
The colonists returned to Farisiya fields. We intended to call the police from the way but Yif’at who had been there claimed that the police would not come and do nothing with its usual claim that the colonists are inside state land, according to their maps.
When we got there we saw colonist Gil’ad Amosi and his friends nearly inside the village. Now the police were summoned but until it came, Gil’ad and friends left, walking slowly.
I left and drove back home. There were more problems, of course, and the volunteers on the ground did all they could.