Qabalan

Palestinians from Talfit, who own land adjacent to the Eli settlement, are unable to cultivate it.  Settlers shoot at them when they’re plowing, and chase them away.  Lately the villagers have tried to open a road but the army stopped the work, claiming it’s Area C and they hadn’t obtained a permit.  Naomi Ben-Tsur reported approximately two weeks ago that Talfit’s deputy mayor had complained about pollution of village lands by sewage from Eli.  We came to document the hazard.

Physicians for Human Rights held a clinic in Qabalan on May 14, for villages from the area.  Naomi Ben-Tsur arranged it by putting the mayor in touch with PHR.

10:00  Highway 55, Jama’in-Zeita junction

A flying checkpoint, jeep and soldiers.  Vehicles coming from the villages are detained. 

Za’atara junction

Mlitary vehicles and soldiers, but traffic flows, also toward Huwwara.

We continued east toward Talfit, via Yatma.  On the way we saw a new neighborhood in the illegal settlement of Rechalim.

10:15  Talfit municipality

We came for our appointment with A., the deputy mayor.  The plan was to observe the pollution caused by sewage from the Eli settlement.  Naomi had learned of it during her visit on April 27.  The municipal secretary-treasurer received us.  He said that A. had taken his son to the hospital.

The secretary complained that they’re unable to work the land between Talpit and Eli.  It’s Area C.  During plowing and harvest time settlers fire into the air and interfere with the work.  The workers are frightened and leave.  They receive permits to work the land they own only twice a year.  The land is neglected.  Recently landowners from the village began to lay a road to their lands.  About three weeks ago, on April 27, while they were working, soldiers arrived, handcuffed the landowners and stopped the work.  It hasn’t resumed since.

We received a photo of the incident from an acquaintance in the village:

The road on which work was stopped:

From the village we observed how the sewage flows from Eli.  You could see from a distance a green area indicating its location.  We could see with binoculars that weeds were growing there, irrigated by the sewage.  We were told the sewage polluted a well on village land, which can no longer be used for drinking.  We couldn’t approach the hazard to examine it because of its proximity to Eli and our concern of a confrontation with soldiers and/or settlers.  Eli’s buildings are clearly visible on the opposite ridge.

The area of the sewage, enlarged:

A. called Naomi Ben-Tsur with the following report:

Yesterday two armed settlers (apparently from Eli) came to the road the villagers are laying on their lands.  They planned to confiscate the equipment they were using, including a backhoe.  The guard tried to object and was beaten up. Fifteen villagers were alerted, fell upon the settlers, tied them up and brought them to the Palestinian police, who transferred them to the Israeli police.

The incident will serve as a warning and the settlers will refrain from approaching village land, at least in the near future. 

The villagers are very proud of themselves.

A. hopes the sewage problem will be taken care of soon.

12:00  Qabalan

We came to see whether PHR had come to the village to treat area residents.  During her visits to the area Naomi learned that the villagers lacked medical facilities and were not receiving appropriate treatment.  She connected PHR with the village clinic providing services to the area.  We learned her efforts were successful.  We were told that a group of specialists came that week to the clinic with medical equipment and even an x-ray machine.  Villagers were informed in advance of their arrival and many patients came to the clinic to receive high quality medical care.

It’s important to note that Naomi’s ongoing connection with villages in the area and her acquaintance with municipal personnel is what made this important visit of physicians to the Qabalan clinic possible.

Here’s the announcement on Qabalan’s Facebook page:  The Qabalan municipality, south of Nablus.  Physicians for Human Rights visit the village.  The mayor and the director of the medical center welcomed the physicians and reviewed the medical situation.

The photos appeared on the village’s Facebook page:

13:00  On the way back, at Za’tara Junction, we saw soldiers in the observation tower.

The roadblock was gone from the Jama’in-Zeita junction.  Traffic was not delayed.