Al-Farisiya Jordan Valley: For a change, quiet accompaniment and successful grazing
It was a springy and warm occupation day and without any disturbances from the settlers in all the places we accompanied. Sometimes there are days like that too, and I wish they would multiply until the messiah of peace comes and the false messiahs are eliminated.
8.30 accompanied N. in Humsah: Adi, Ariel K. and Eshel. The boy from Neriya's outpost grazed his cows at a distance and did not interfere this time. The Israeli companions, the Palestinian shepherd and the herd climbed up the hill and stayed there until 16.00. Despite the fasting of the month of Ramadan, the shepherds make sure to take advantage of all the hours of daylight and the abundant grass after the rains of January and February. The sheep do not fast. They munch lustily.
Dudi and Yuval escorted Y. and his sons in Khalat Makhul. There were neither settlers nor an army to be seen there either, and the pasture passed leisurely. At the end of it Y asked them to check the state of the barley in the plot across the road. The barley grows and grows, and when it matures it will be harvested and used as food for the sheep in the summer.
In Farsiya, Ariel, Ido and Tal accompanied A. and moved away from the village of Farsiya up to 5 kilometers towards the Tzuri outpost. Here, too, no one disturbed the peace, and they even sat down to drink tea in the middle - at 4:00 p.m. they returned.
Danny and I (Micky) remained in Farsiya itself to keep a protective presence. Despite the fast, we were treated to coffee and we even managed to see Grandma P bake huge pitas to be eaten during Ramadan. Then we decided to stay on the hill overlooking the settlement as well as the three brothers who were grazing near the settlement. One of them was beaten three days earlier by settlers from the Tzuri outpost which is an extension of the Givat Sal’it settlement. While we sat on the hill we enjoyed the pastoral view and at the same time stood guard against another attack that one never knows who would come and whom they would target. But even here the pasture was peaceful and the herds roamed the hills calmly nibbling the grass.
At 14.00 we went down to the village of Farsiya for an activity with the children. Danny, as usual, turned to repairing bicycles, while I suggested painting in gouache. It was a partial success, only the girls responded.
We had to leave, the night shift had already arrived.
I hoped that such peace will continue in the coming days. There is enough space and food for everyone. That hope is already gone. Today I saw in the reports that the army and the settlers expelled M from the pasture and falsely claimed that he was grazing in the settlers’ field. From the photos sent, it appears that the soldiers are the standby squad of the Hemdat settlement, who now replace the army. Under the auspices of the war, not only Gaza is destroyed, the West Bank is also being violently conquered with predatory and swift measures by the settlers, who determine the laws of the land themselves and receive full backing from their representatives in the Knesset and the government.
