Tour Part 2

Another illegal outpost of some interest is Nof Nesher, also called Lucifer Farm.  I want to make clear that Lucifer Farm is a name the settlers themselves use, not some nickname the Palestinians came up with.

Here is a sign near Lucifer Farm.

Lucifer Tower

The sign says Lucifer Tower in large print.  Above in smaller print it says ‘tradition/heritage/source  national water company’ (I am not sure which meaning is intended for the first word, possible all of them).

The Lucifer Farm is apparently home to only one family.  It was founded by Yaakov Talia, who, according to David Shulman’s book “Dark Hope”,  is a South African who converted to Judaism at the end of apartheid, and moved to Israel.  What does that say about the settlers in South Hebron?

Here is the settlement.

Nof Nesher/Lucifer Farm

At the top of the hill is the settlement, and I want to point out a couple things in the picture.  It may be difficult to see, but along the left side of the dirt road there is a low cement barrier, and in one part there are rocks serving the same purpose.  This barrier was constructed to prevent the Palestinian’s sheep from grazing, and it also limits their freedom of movement significantly.

Also, note the power lines and radio tower.  All of this was built for one family – living in an illegal settlement.  It seems like an illogical use of resources beyond even the issue of legality, which is clear.

More on the Tour to come…

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A Tour around South Hebron

On Saturday I was given a sort of tour around the South Hebron Hills.  I saw some new areas and learned more about the history there.  It was a tough day mentally – hearing upsetting stories, and seeing the difficulty of Palestinian life in this area first-hand.

I will break up the day into a few posts.  First, the road to Avigail.

One of the most affecting parts of the day involved driving on the paved road leading to the illegal outpost Avigail.  When I say ‘illegal outpost’, this means it is illegal under Israeli law, not just International law.

The terrain around the outpost is rocky and hilly.

Avigail in the distance

The road at the bottom leads all the way around to Avigail, which is a fair distance.  Here is what is amazing about this road.  It was originally built by local Palestinians to lead to their villages.  There are a few small villages in the area, I have been to one of them, Jinba.

Anyway, the Palestinians built this road with their own money.  According to haaretz the outpost was built in 2001, and The Washington Post reported in 2002 that Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the settlers there to be evacuated. I guess the IDF is still waiting for the right moment to make the settlers leave.

In the meantime, the road was paved with money from the Israeli government, and the Palestinians who had originally built the road are no longer allowed to drive on it.  You can see on the picture above that the terrain is rough.  There are now no roads leading to the Palestinian villages near Avigail.  As I mentioned before, I have been to Jinba, one of the small villages nearby.  The drive to get there – over rocks and hills – was like being on a roller-coaster.  For all practical purposes, these villages are inaccesible by car.

More to follow soon…

The Road

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Some Recent History

As documented in the Villages Group blog, at the end of October 2008, there were home demolitions carried out in Umm-Al-Kheir the home of some Bedouin families that live incredibly close to the settlement of Karmel.  I have been there myself, and have taken some pictures.

This is a view of the Karmel settlement from the edge of Umm-Al-Kheir.

I remember one of the first times I was there, I met an elder of the village.  He was upset because of the difficult economic situation there.  Apparently, the settlers used to hire them for work, but now they only bring in foreign workers, and don’t employ the Palestinians at all.

I think the ultimate reason the settlers do this is to drive the Palestinians away.  The Palestinians become isolated, and the settlers act as if the Palestinians do not exist, and have no normal interaction with them, such as in the context of work.  In such a situation, eventually the Palestinians will be driven to move to an area where they can get work, and are not living next to hostile neighbors.

Here is a picture of some housing units the settlers built close to Umm-Al-Kheir.

Karmel Housing Units

You may notice that on the left side of all of these houses, there are no windows.  There are no windows towards the Palestinians, only windows facing each other.  It gave me a strange feeling looking at these houses.  The view that they do not see is a beautiful one of desert and hills.

A final point I want to mention refers back to the home demolitions.  These photos are from before the demolitions took place.  I did not include some pictures because the buildings in them may no longer be standing.

There is a Palestinian named Eid who is from this village.  I have talked to him on a few occasions, and he had always impressed me with his atittude.  He said repeatedly that he wants peace, and that this desire for peace has been instilled in him from his family.  He has always been optimistic about the future, at the same time acknowledging that there are Israelis and Palestinians who don’t want peace.

Well, the last time I saw him was in November, and this was about a week after his family’s home was demolished.  I had heard what happened before I saw him, and was unsure in what state he would be.  When he came over to me to say hello, his demeanor and attitude were completely unchanged.  He talked the same way as he had every other time I saw him.  It was one of the most amazing demonstrations of a commitment to values.

For days after, I was impressed with his mental strength, and it encouraged me to not lose hope, because here was a man who actually faced real personal hardship, and his outlook was unchanged.

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