arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)
The Naqba revisited
by Nancy Hawker Tuesday, Nov. 05, 2002 at 12:53 PM
Yanun, a small village southeast of Nablus, looks like many other small Mediterranean villages
Yanun, a small village southeast of Nablus, looks like many other small Mediterranean villages: Its stone houses crouched among the olive groves are sun-beaten, picturesque and economically depressed. Young men have been leaving the village for years, working in big towns or in foreign countries like Jordan or Israel and sending money back to the women, elderly, and the children who can no longer subside on the traditional agriculture and rearing of livestock.
However, contrary to its Italian or Tunisian equivalent, Yanun suffers from an additional scourge: repeated attacks perpetrated by Israeli settlers. For over four years, settlers have been provoking and terrorising the inhabitants of Yanun.
Examples of such attacks have been reported by the AIC Settlement Watch project.
Here are some excerpts:
September 9, 2001--Armed settlers from Itamar attacked Palestinian farmers Zuhdi Zbeh, Yusef Zbeh and Amin Ara while they were working in their fields near Yanun, in an area called Bab Rujum. Abdul Latif Yusef, the chairman of the local council, confirmed that 13 olive trees had been uprooted. [AIC Report XXIX]
November 4, 2001--Thirty settlers, some armed, attacked houses in Yanun. Abdul Latif Yusef, the head of the local council, was seriously beaten and his eye damaged. From his bed in hospital, he let the AIC know that this was not the first act of violence committed by settlers in Yanun. [AIC Report XXXII]
December 26, 2001 -- Settlers from Itamar started to level land belonging to the Yanun village southeast of Nablus. Abdel Latif Yusef, chairman of the local council, affirmed that these settlers are increasing their efforts to dispossess the inhabitants of Yanun. "Tens of settlers, some armed, arrived with tractors with the express purpose of damaging our agricultural land. This has happened many times before." 50 dunams of land planted with olive trees in an area called Bab ilWaqf were rendered unusable. The land belongs to brothers Yusef, Zuhdi and Fahmi Zbeh and to the Atha Nimr family. The current situation de facto curtails any possible development of the village, which is situated just over one kilometer from the settlement. [AIC Report XXXV]
Events came to a head on 17 April 2002, when settlers burnt down the electric generator donated by the UN Development Programme. The generator provided electricity to the village and to a pump that filled water reservoirs situated above the village and connected to the households with pipes. Since the end of April, the villagers have been without electricity or running water. The violence continued as settlers mounted on horses often rode into the village in the middle of the night, shot in the air and kicked doors. Families started to leave at an increased rate to live in the neighbouring town of Aqrabe, situated five km away. Of the 150 inhabitants only half remained, until 16 October 2002, when the local well – their only source of water – was polluted. Life was made impossible, and most of the village was abandoned two days later. Two elderly men, Faiq and Ralub Bani Jaber, and their families, did not leave as they have no relatives to stay with in Aqrabe. "I have no other house," said Ralub, "This is my place." (source: AIC) This simple and obvious statement is in direct contradiction to the aims of the settlers, who are intent on driving the Palestinians off their land. Sheer existence is already a radical stance on the part of Yanun villagers.
The Itamar settlement (Tel Hayyim)
Founded in 1984, this settlement is run by messianic Jews who justify their presence in religious terms. The conception and ideology of this settlement is similar to that of the nearby Elon Moreh (east of Nablus, 1120 inhabitants), Brakha (south of Nablus, 700), and Yizhar (south of Nablus, 260). The population of Itamar numbers ca 400 people. This group of settlements is among the most violent in the West Bank. They have been expanding exponentially, establishing caravan outposts strategically on adjoining hills. Israelis from Itamar established one such outpost above Yanun four years ago. Today, it numbers about 40 men (according to the villagers). Notwithstanding the economic harm caused by the seizure of land, the militant settlers implement a violent campaign to ethnically cleanse the area of Palestinians, to whom they refer as "locals".
The settlers have been radicalised in their actions by attacks on settlements. On 20 June 2002, Palestinian activists killed five settlers from Itamar, including a woman, Rachel Shabo, and three children. Typically taking the law into their own hands, the settlers vented their anger on the vulnerable villagers of Yanun. The fact that the attack was not linked to Yanun in any way did not put them off since, in the Itamar logic, the inhabitants of Yanun should not be there in the first place and besides, they "undoubtedly" support attacks on settlements at least in principle.
The excesses of the settlers are tolerated by the army, if not actively supported. The army is stationed in the territories primarily to safeguard Israeli interests, including the security of the settlements. Protecting the Palestinians against the settlers was never an objective. Complaints could be filed at the closest police station (at the Civil Administration base in Hawarah) for incidents occurring in Area C – Yanun's case – but these were never followed up and the last file for Yanun in record dates February 1998. The villagers despaired of ever seeing justice.
Centre of attention
This despair, coupled with real fear for their lives, drove the villagers to abandon their homes. They hoped that in a month or two, when things calm down, they would be able to return to Yanun. Suddenly the unexpected happened: after so many years of disregard for Yanun's tribulations, everybody rushed to help. First came the Israeli peace activists from Taayush, then the French civilian mission, then international solidarity groups and finally the media, both Israeli and foreign, BBC, CBC and Belgian TV. Yanun became a scoop. This article itself is a product of this media frenzy.
Gadi Algazi of Taayush, together with Palestinian peace activists from the Askar refugee camp, Sef Keshek and Hussein Khalili, went to visit the families in Aqraba on Tuesday 22 Oct, four days after they had left Yanun. It was explained to the families that in two months things would not be calmer, but indeed much worse. The settlers will happily take over Yanun lands and Yanun will be lost, creating precedence for much worse to follow. In short, a repetition of the Nakba (the 1948 expulsion of Palestinians from what became the State of Israel). "What will you say to your children? You do not want them to live a life of refugees." This was a powerful message and, combined with the sense of security the solidarity presence provided,
Wednesday saw nine families returning to Yanun, bringing the count up to sixteen. Lessons were given at the local school (two classes, thirteen pupils), and in general the atmosphere was optimistic.
How long this atmosphere will last is difficult to say. The haunting question remains: what will happen when the Israeli and international "protection troop" leaves? And leave they will. The villagers will stay, on the frontline of the battle against the settlement project.