Heroes of the South Hebron Hills
No one will call the shepherds
from Tuba and Magher Al Abeed heroes. You wont see these Palestinian
men in red kafiyas and mud-stained boots on the evening news. But while
Israeli politicians turn a blind eye to the activities of extremist
Israeli settlers, these farmers from the South Hebron Hills are
successfully nonviolently resisting settlement expansion.
"I
haven't been to this valley in three years," Issa* told me as we stood
over looking Havot Ma'on settlement outpost. Over the past month, Issa
and other shepherds have brought their sheep to pieces of Palestinian
land they have not been able to graze since the establishment of the
illegal Israeli settlement outpost. By doing so, they are showing the
Israeli army and Israeli settlers that they plan to continue grazing on
their land. Using this strategy, Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills
have successfully regained access to land previously stolen by Israeli
settlement. Right now, the shepherds of Tuba and Magher Al Abeed are at
the forefront this dynamic nonviolent movement.
"The people of
Tuba and Magher Al Abeed are strong. The army has to bring three jeeps
for you!" my teammates and I joke. "Yes, yes, we're strong," the
shepherds laugh. Since they began this campaign the shepherds have
proven their strength over and over. The Israeli army has brought out
jeeps and ask the shepherds for their IDs. Soldiers have kicked the
sheep and threatened to arrest the shepherds. Soldiers have pulled off
their pants and "mooned" us. Settlers have approached the shepherds
carrying clubs. They have fired on the shepherds and their flocks and
thrown stones at them. Just to graze their sheep on land they have
farmed for generations, Issa and the other shepherds risk arrest and
violent attack.
But day after day the shepherds keep coming
back to their land and showing their determination. When angry soldiers
ordered two young shepherds to leave, the boys responded by sitting
down. When a group of settlers came out of the settlement and threw
stones at the shepherds and the volunteers accompanying them, the
shepherds simply stood their ground. Soon, their lack of fear drove the
settlers away.
Everyday the shepherds of Tuba and Magher Al
Abeed prove that their nonviolent resistance is stronger the might of
the Israeli army or the hatred of extremist Israeli settlers. They are
the heroes of the South Hebron Hills.
*Not his real name.
--
inpalestine.blogspot.com