It is mostly quiet in the street where I “patrol”. The street is usually deserted, apart from the soldiers at the checkpoints and the odd Palestinian. The shops are all closed down. Their doors are all green but rotten because they are not used or painted or looked after. Most of them have David’s stars painted on them, just like the Nazis used to paint swastikas on Jews’ shops. Now it is Palestinian shops that have a Jewish sign on their doors.
Hebron IV. Lies
My favourite spot to patrol from is the place where I first saw D. when I first arrived here. The spot is good because from here we see, at the same time, the coffin-checkpoint to our right, and the illegal Israeli settlement (or at least the settlers that would come out of it to violently harass Palestinians) to our left.
Hebron III. Drug dealing
When the children get out of school I leave this spot and go up the hill, next to the other settlement. Roughly half way between the two settlements that surround this Palestinian neighbourhood, there are two “outposts” for soldiers, one at each side of the street. In one of those outposts two soldiers detain a boy, for no apparent reason, and they ask him for his identity card and I see them like playing with it.
Hebron I. Anticipating the Sabbath
As part of the Sabbath prohibitions of all kind of work, strict Jews can not drive. For a whole day every week, the Palestinians run the risk of being the victims of armed Israelis that they could meet walking on this street.
Sickening
from the diary I am given to read in Hebron, that I found so sickening.
Today in Tel Rumeda, a focal point for Settler aggression to Palestinian citizens, Isreali Defence Forces were giving tours of the Security facilities to armed Settlers.
Yanoun IV. On my own
When the villagers decided to leave Yanoun after the terror campaign carried out by the local settlers, they were then “convinced” to come back to live here. They agreed, only on the condition that at least two or three internationals would be here at all times. The organisation called CCPT took on the commitment of keeping at least three people here at all times.
Yanoun III. Not enough of us
J. and I stay in Yanoun. He does not fancy school so I go on my own. The relationship between me and the teachers, all men, without a man that accompanies me is completely different. The teachers say hello briefly to me and avoid me as much a possible, so I go home for some lunch during the break.
Yanoun I
As M. drives us to the nearest town, he tells us about the latest incident that happened in the village where we are going. A settler injured a Palestinian farmer and he is luckily alive, recovering in hospital.
Jayyous II. Water rationing
I wake up when it is still dark and too early to receive any electricity,so there is no light in the room. The mother of the family has got up and dressed; she is praying in a whisper, standing up, next to her bed. When she finishes she opens the door and leaves. I also get up and put the blankets and the mattress in the corner where I think they came from.
Friendly settler with machine gun
Today we go to place that is much harder to reach. Besides, only four internationals remain with me in this village now, because there is some important demonstrations that needs to be supported somewhere else and they have all gone there. Of those four, two are finishing their stay in the country today and they are going back to their countries, and the rest need a rest. We are considering going back to Jerusalem, because in this flat we are asked not to have showers, because the water pipes are so bad. We have had soil stuck to our clothes and our clothes stuck to our skin for a few days now; it has been boiling hot every day and it seems like a good idea to go back to Jerusalem to have a good shower, a good rest and a good drink.
