A settler "camping trip"

Three days ago, on August 6th, we received a call from a Palestinian family that lives near Shuhada Street. They had very unwelcome visitors.

The Abu Rajab family live in an apartment in Hebron, that is the site of a legal dispute. Israeli settlers claim that they bought the building for three million shekels (around 1 million dollars). The Palestinians who live there had no idea about such a transaction, they weren't the ones who made such a deal. Yet once the building is sold, they will in most likelihood be evicted.
An Israeli court is trying to decide right now whether in fact the sale itself took place.

The Israeli settlers decided they couldn't wait. Around 8:00 in the evening, according to Palestinian sources, a small group arrived and brought a table and some plastic chairs right in front of the building. By the time we arrived at 10:00 PM, there were six settlers there- men, women and children- and four Border Police officers as well as two police. Also present were many Palestinians-members of the family as well as human rights activists, and Palestinian kids and youth.

Some of us began talking to the Border Police, pointing out that the settlers were on private Palestinian property, and that this is an example of trespassing. It was pointed out to them that Palestinians are detained and arrested on a daily basis for not having their IDs, or when they are too close to Israeli areas. I asked the Border Police to do their job as law enforcement personnel, and ask the settlers to leave. The BP and police ordered us again and again to move back and stand behind a yellow line. The hypocrisy of the fact that they were threatening us for being a few centimetres past a yellow line yet allowing settlers to trespass on a family's property, seemed lost on them.

More and more settlers began arriving, men and women and children. There were some young adults and youth, who glared at us and called us "antisemites" and "nazis". One told me to "go to Syria"... I guess that Assad's and ISIS' crimes somehow justify Israeli ones, according to the warped logic of some. One of the settlers told me that my life is "pathetic" and that I come to Hebron "to bother the children". I thought a wisecrack about how as a substitute teacher I make the lives of children miserable already for 10 months a year, would be uncalled for. The same settler, a teenager, began walking around with a bright flashlight, and shining it in people's faces. There were many Palestinian teenagers around also who were furious at the settlers, but kept their cool. When the settler with the flashlight shone it into the eyes of the Palestinian boy, he got angry and tried swatting at the camera. The settler boy almost took a swing at him and a fight nearly started. With the permission of some of the elders, we helped to hold back some of the Palestinian youth and convince them to not let themselves be drawn into a fight that would get them arrested, if not worse, by the Border Police and police.

The settlers played a guitar, and their youth danced around in a circle, loudly singing. The women sat at a table and beaded. It was surreal. They were trying to turn their intimidation of this family into a "fun and friendly" event, probably for the media. Some brought snacks, and munched on cookies and juice, before getting into their sleeping bags while others, armed, observed.

The owner of the house, an elderly man, began to recite the Quran with the Palestinian youth, to keep their attention off the settlers and to not respond to the provocations. Amazingly enough, this annoyed the settlers, and they demanded the police that they stop. A compromise was reached, and both sides became quiet.

The police and Border Police at some points left for a few minutes, although they were within eyesight of what was happening, before returning. Throughout, with the exception of one police officer who took photos of the settlers with his phone, they did absolutely nothing.

Some of us stayed at the scene from when we arrived to around 9:00 in the morning. I was one of them, and that meant that by the time I went to bed, I had already been up for some 26 hours. We were together with plenty of CPT and Palestinian activists, and as it got later, we started making lame jokes that would not have been funny under any other circumstance, but were laughing at them like they were the most hilarious thing in the world. Sleep deprivation can manifest itself in many interesting ways.

Around afternoon the next day, the settlers decided they were tired. They packed up their sleeping bags and plastic tables and chairs and food and baby strollers and whatever else they brought, and went back home.

Their sick little "camping trip" was over.

After they left, the Palestinian youth tore down a banner they hung over the building.


PICTURES AND VIDEO WILL BE POSTED LATER THIS WEEK