Yanun Boy on donkey, Upper Yanun Village
International and Israeli Activists
In the northern West Bank, just south of Nablus, there are a pair of villages - Upper and Lower Yanun. Yanun became known six years ago when the entire village was driven out by settlers who had expanded in the surrounding hilltops and then attacked villagers. These were the first Palestinian villages to have been completely driven out since 1948.
In response, the UN and some liberal church groups encouraged villagers to return and offered protection. For the past several years there have been three or four volunteers from the Ecumenical Church network who live in the village to be a witness in case of assault or attack.
I went up to Yanun and spent the night there because the regular volunteers were away and they needed another volunteer.
Getting there was an adventure. The main road in the West Bank does not have signs indicating directions to the Palestinian villages. Ror the most part, road signs just point to the Jewish settlements! Directions to Yanun were vague ... volunteers had always gone there by taxi from the Nablus checkpoint. I ended up taking a rented car straight up the valley.
During the drive I received a cell phone call and was told I was on a road the settlers have claimed should not be used! Fortunately I had a rented car with yellow license plates (Israelis, settlers and others with authorization to enter Israel).
The valley is beautiful with olive and fruit orchards, hay fields, hills and the Jordan Valley to the east. Villagers live a traditional way of life - boys shepherding, families tending to the olive and fruit orchards.
Settlers have taken over the surrounding hilltops and installed industrial level chicken coops. There are now soldiers, lookout towers, night lights, security fences, etc.. It is rather eerie given the serenity and tranquility of the valley and lifestyle of the lower valley where boys ride donkeys and elderly women sit on the ground and shell walnuts.
I spent the night in Yanun with an Israeli refusenik - former soldier who refused to be part of the Occupation. We had good conversations and it was interesting to learn his viewpoints. As part of our duties we walked to Lower Yanun, maintained a visible presence and generally just were 'about'. Not a hard job in such a beautiful place.
Next day the regular team returned. It is an interesting group: Norwegian woman, Swiss guy, South African woman. They are all volunteers from organizations part of the World Council of Churches. WCC played an important role opposing South African apartheid and now is in the forefront trying to bring peace with justice in Israel-Palestine.
The volunteers have all been to Palestine previously. The slow pace at Yanun is a bit too slow for some of them. But its just a three month commitment and an internet cafe is just a ten mile donkey ride away!
The situation in Yanun exemplifies what is going on throughout the West Bank: Israeli settlers move in, take over hilltop, establish 'security' perimeter which gradually expands and takes more and more of the land needed for village shepherding and orchards. The settlers are armed with machine guns and self-righteousness. After initial assaults the conflict becomes one of slow grinding down.
The population of Yanun is about one half what it was.
In the northern West Bank, just south of Nablus, there are a pair of villages - Upper and Lower Yanun. Yanun became known six years ago when the entire village was driven out by settlers who had expanded in the surrounding hilltops and then attacked villagers. These were the first Palestinian villages to have been completely driven out since 1948.
In response, the UN and some liberal church groups encouraged villagers to return and offered protection. For the past several years there have been three or four volunteers from the Ecumenical Church network who live in the village to be a witness in case of assault or attack.
I went up to Yanun and spent the night there because the regular volunteers were away and they needed another volunteer.
Getting there was an adventure. The main road in the West Bank does not have signs indicating directions to the Palestinian villages. Ror the most part, road signs just point to the Jewish settlements! Directions to Yanun were vague ... volunteers had always gone there by taxi from the Nablus checkpoint. I ended up taking a rented car straight up the valley.
During the drive I received a cell phone call and was told I was on a road the settlers have claimed should not be used! Fortunately I had a rented car with yellow license plates (Israelis, settlers and others with authorization to enter Israel).
The valley is beautiful with olive and fruit orchards, hay fields, hills and the Jordan Valley to the east. Villagers live a traditional way of life - boys shepherding, families tending to the olive and fruit orchards.
Settlers have taken over the surrounding hilltops and installed industrial level chicken coops. There are now soldiers, lookout towers, night lights, security fences, etc.. It is rather eerie given the serenity and tranquility of the valley and lifestyle of the lower valley where boys ride donkeys and elderly women sit on the ground and shell walnuts.
I spent the night in Yanun with an Israeli refusenik - former soldier who refused to be part of the Occupation. We had good conversations and it was interesting to learn his viewpoints. As part of our duties we walked to Lower Yanun, maintained a visible presence and generally just were 'about'. Not a hard job in such a beautiful place.
Next day the regular team returned. It is an interesting group: Norwegian woman, Swiss guy, South African woman. They are all volunteers from organizations part of the World Council of Churches. WCC played an important role opposing South African apartheid and now is in the forefront trying to bring peace with justice in Israel-Palestine.
The volunteers have all been to Palestine previously. The slow pace at Yanun is a bit too slow for some of them. But its just a three month commitment and an internet cafe is just a ten mile donkey ride away!
The situation in Yanun exemplifies what is going on throughout the West Bank: Israeli settlers move in, take over hilltop, establish 'security' perimeter which gradually expands and takes more and more of the land needed for village shepherding and orchards. The settlers are armed with machine guns and self-righteousness. After initial assaults the conflict becomes one of slow grinding down.
The population of Yanun is about one half what it was.
1 comment:
It's good to hear about your continued adventures. Sounds interesting.
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