The Bedouin Villages of Masafer Yatta in Hebron, West Bank: Wednesday, October 5, 2022, the Excellence Center/ Engage in Palestine organised a day trip to the Bedouin villages of Masafer Yatta located in the South Hebron Hills. In the stifling morning sun, we arrived at Umm al-Khair where we were greeted by four local men and the usual, hospitable cups of Arabic coffee. They told us about their life under occupation: seven hours of access to water per week, the constant demolitions of their homes, the Jewish Settlers invading their homes in the middle of the night, destroying their cars, belongings and, brandishing their guns. Nearby, resided the Settlers’ chicken farm, which avails of round the clock light, electricity, solar panels and a constant flow of water. 

Judicial Rights

When we asked the locals about their judicial rights, they told us how they had access to legal aid, however once their cases reached the Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ), nothing ever became of them, until the next demolition or land confiscation, and still no results or any type of closure ever materialised.

Upon arrival, I noticed the large art piece on the new community centre wall, commemorating the death of Hajj Suleiman al-Hathaleen, the 75 year old Palestinian peaceful protester, who lead this community, and blocked many attempts to confiscate land or demolish houses. The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), deliberately and violently killed him in January of this year. They ran him over with their tow truck, directly in front of the community centre and children’s playground where we were standing. 

The Surrounding Environment

As I looked around and absorbed the surrounding environment of makeshift houses, the community centre, the children’s play area and the desert scenery, I noticed for the first time,  directly behind me, across the road and perched on the hills, were suburban houses, with their suburban cars in their driveways, merely two hundred metres from where I was sitting – the Jewish Settlers’ neighbourhood.

This is the reality of life for the people of Masafer Yatta. They, the local and rightful landowners live in what resembles a basic refugee camp, rationing water and electricity in a third world environment, awaiting the Israeli authorities to come and demolish another structure, or a structure that has just been restored – as was the case of the community centre, which had been demolished and rebuilt no less than five times. While across the road,  the Jewish Settlers live in an eerily, idyllic suburbia.

The South Hebron Hills

Our next stop was further into the South Hebron Hills, where we met another family, whose house, which was remotely overlooking beautiful, peaceful and empty lands, had just been demolished. The father, and the head of the family, decided to “think outside the box”: if he and his family couldn’t live peacefully on their land, they would live in, and underneath the land, and so he built a cave. As we descended into the cave we marvelled at its beauty. It was refreshingly cool and completely white inside, the seats were decorated with ornate designs, and he had wired the room himself so it had a light on the ceiling that could be turned on with the flick of a switch.

Meet The Bedouin Families

At our third and final stop, we met the last of the Bedouin families in Hebron, West Bank. They recounted how the Jewish Settlers would often ride out to their remote location on horses, flaunting their guns, or the Israeli soldiers would prey on them by flying their drones over their lands, invading the privacy of their homes.

Overall, it was an incredibly insightful and interesting day trip, to see how resilient these Palestinian Bedouin people live. Their very existence is a constant struggle against the oppressive IOF, continuously repressing their livelihoods, and literally forcing them, the indigenous people, to live underground, in their own land and out of sight. 

The case of Masafer Yatta in Hebron, West Bank clearly depicts how the Israeli government continues to breach international law. These forced evictions resulting from the demolitions are a gross violation of human rights including the right to adequate housing, water, sanitation, health, education, and privacy; and should be legally held accountable.

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