The number of people in Hebron seems to very. I think that it should be 600000 not 800000. There are 200000 in the city and 400000 in the villages. It is the largest in the West Bank except for Jerusalem.
On Sunday, I went with Hamed to villages in the South Hebron hills. We went to two places, where there are kindergartens. As in Australia, children who have been to kindergarten, settle in to school much better than those who have not. This is particularly important in Palestine. As land is continually stolen from the Palestinians, education and training become crucial for the people to survive. We went to two Bedouin villages.
There is a very nice kindergarten at Khashem Al Daraj. The teachers are of high calibre and the kindergarten seems well equipped. As with the other kindergartens, there are attractive paintings on the outside walls. The kindergarten is right next to an Israeli Army firing range but I don’t think that there is any danger. The village has put together a master plan that Israel accepts to date. They are allowed to build on their own land but not to expand. Of course, Israeli settlements are allowed to expand, usually onto Palestinian privately owned land. The road to Khashem Al Daraj is extremely poor. This, I am told is due to heavy army vehicles, includind tanks. damaging it.
Umm Al Khair has a nice kindergarten too. The children were not there on Sunday but I was able to look inside. Umm Al Khair is a very poor and sad village. Some families had good lawyers who appealed to the Israeli court and these families were allowed to keep their land. The Bedouin are nomadic people, who have had to adapt in a hurry since 1948. They bought land and have title deeds. Other families were let down by their lawyer who left the appeal too late. There is a settlement, built on land to which the Bedouin have title. It comes right up to their homes and is expanding.
The Bedouin are very hospitable, generous people. We had tea and coffee with two families. One of the young men speaks English. They are obviously no match for Israel’s unbounded greed for land. Their houses have been destroyed by the Israeli Army and they have been living in tents. A structure has been built for each family- just walls, ceiling and floor. This will be warmer in winter than tents. It snows in Hebron! However the Bedouin expect that the Israeli Army will wait until it is really cold and then destroy these structures. On Saturday, these families were stopped by Israeli soldiers from accessing their grazing land ( to which they have a title deed) with their goats. They think that this is likely to be repeated. These people have nowhere else to go. It is too much to expect them to move to a city. As we came away, Hamed was distressed. He said “There is no hope for them. I can do nothing”. Israel’s cruelty is unbelievable. But it must be believed because it is happening.
On Monday my friend Hagit, from Machsom Watch, came to Hebron. We were able to have a good talk. I also showed a young man, Andy, through the old city, where so many shops are closed through military order. Many people come in groups to the centre where I live. I am able to tell them what life is like for the Palestinians. Breaking the Silence tours (ex Israel Army) have been able to come again. They were stopped for a while by Israeli soldiers.
The shortage of water is a burden. We have two tanks which are filled every two or three weeks. We can always buy drinking water but imagine the toilet after several days!! If you can!! It is not pleasant! Every Israeli settler is allocated four times as much water as a Palestinian, even though this is half the UN mimimum requirement and the underground water belongs to Palestine not Israel.
We have nice fires (in a half drum) outside most evenings. The young Palestinian men come. They belong to Youth against Settlements. The last week Suha has come. She is now 19 and at the university studying English. her young brother Ahmad is usually ther too. They are two of the children with whom I walked. They’re in the photographs.
I have photos of the kindergartens and will put them together with a report for Jennifer and the Leichhardt council when I get home.
I leave here, Jerusalem, tomorrow and will be home on Sunday.
love Mary/Mum/Gran