Today we visited a Bedouin Village of Um Al Kheir, located in the Hebron Hills of the
Occupied West Bank. These people are a Bedouin tribe that once was nomadic. After
the 1967 war they were forced to end their nomadic life and settle in a village. The
grandfather of our host purchased the land where the build the current village of Um Al
Kheir.
Today they are surrounded for settlers, some living in beautiful homes, other in trailer
home that will become permanent homes. According to the materials we received from
Sabeel.
On June 26, 2024, Israeli forces demolished 11 homes, leading families without shelter in the heat of summer. The demolitions were just the beginning of what became one of the most violent weeks in the history of the small agricultural community. They have since faced a sharp escalation in settler violence, with sub sequent attacks seeing settlers shoot live ammunition in the village and destroy the water system during a severe heat wave.
The houses in the distance are settler homes; the wheelbarrow sits on the Bedouin village. The village presenter made this statement and question:
I am a semite, the settlers are semites. I don’t understand. Why do they attack us? Why can’t we live in piece? There is no human connection between us.
During the reconstruction this summer, the IDF came into the village and confiscated the building materials they had purchased.
With all this despair, they continue on, hoping for a better time. The basket in this picture was purchased from women of Um Al Kheir – a “basket of hope.” May we fill it with money and hope!
Comments