An Uneasy Weekend in the Jericho Valley

He is a teenager on the threshold of his Bar Mitzvah, a morning when his peers wear their school bench. It is a winter morning in the Jericho Valley on the outskirts of the Palestinian village of Ras al-Ein. The valley's soil, which is dry for most of the year, has grown a greenish carpet thanks to the few days of rain that hit the area. It is a day when shepherds go out with their flocks to graze. The boy has converted the classroom, the pen or computer with a shepherd's stick and a cell phone.

The herd he leads with an adult boy did not go out to graze but to abuse and intimidate the Palestinian residents. The boys left the illegal outpost that had settled a few months ago, not far from the village's houses. They both lead the herd to the local residents' homes. The Palestinian shepherds have been dispossessed of the grazing areas they used to visit in previous years. Now their herds are grazing in the village area, while the settlers' herd is approaching the Palestinian herd.

This is the moment when the "Mistaclim" activists come to separate the herds. Experience shows that excessive closeness invites trouble. The youths call their senders, and security chief of the Mevo`ot Jericho is also expected to report quickly as usual. The "Mistaclim" activists call the hotline run by the regional council and the police.

In the meantime, the boy does not let go. He holds the cell phone to the face of an activist with a sinister smile on his face. "Don't come near me," she says, and he doesn't respond. Later, the security forces arrived. They got a complaint that the "Mistaclim"activists are harassing the herd and its settler shepherds. In some cases, the complaint is backed up by the settlers' claim that sheep or goats were stolen from them. More than once, without investigation the police detain the activists. There is no recall of a case in which a settler was detained.

This is the case every day, including on Shabbat Kodesh. Not only in Ras al-Ein, but also in the neighboring Palestinian village of Ma`arajat. The settlers' herds are invading private land belonging to Palestinians. The sheep and goats do not look for pasture between the houses, they are directed towards the piles of sheep food that the Palestinians have purchased for the needs of their herds, whose grazing is limited.

Last Saturday, the army sent four female soldiers, some of them masked. The head of security of Mevo`ot Jericho, Gabriel Kalish, also showed up dressed in a Border Police uniform, and he had a friendly conversation with the female soldiers. Then one of them turned to Amir, a veteran activist: "This is Area C," she rules in response to a complaint that the settlers have invaded private land. "Area C is Palestinian territory, learn what the Oslo Accords say," Amir replies. He asks her to get the herd out of the village's compound, but in vain.

"Area C is not ours," he explains again, "it is Palestinian territory that is under Israel's security and civil responsibility, and the role of the army, the ruling power, according to the Geneva Conventions, is to take care of the security, economy, welfare and health of the residents, and the residents here are Palestinian residents," Amir explains to the sergeant. And when she is not convinced, he moves from the general to the individual, perhaps this is how she will understand: "These are the Palestinians' yards, it's private land. If I enter your yard in Israel, you will expel me or call the police."

But it is not a head of security like Gabriel who will allow a human rights activist to give a lesson in morality and international law to women soldiers, who have doubtfully heard of the Green Border Line. "These are soldiers who protect us, the people of Israel, well done to them", he declares. Amir has not yet finished: "Area C does not give anyone the right to enter another person's house or to attack or deter. It has to do with morality and not at all with Area C. I know that in your brigade  you are not taught this, but Area C is not just arbitrary. The prime minister of the territory is the Commander-in-Chief of central command. It's not Israeli territory in any case".

One of the female soldiers found a logical solution: "Move to the other side of the road," she says to the settler shepherd, "there is no pasture here anyway." But he did not come to Ma`arajat for grazing purposes, but as part of a plan conceived in the high windows of the settlement movement – to expel the Palestinians from Area C and later from Area B. Amir does not let go and notes that it is permissible to refuse an illegal order that allows for "ethnic cleansing," and then one of the female soldiers wakes up, "Don't be rude," she tells a man who is three times her age.

Incidents like this or similar are a daily occurrence in the Jericho Valley. They won't make headlines because no Jewish blood has been spilled. Since October 7, nearly 20 communities of Palestinian shepherds have been expelled from their homes. It turns out that the method works, but here in Ras al-Ein and Ma`arajat, there is a presence of "Looking the Occupation in the Eye" activists, which makes a difference. The goal is to be present there and document the acts of harassment with the intention of deterring the criminals. A 24/7 presence is required, but we don't always succeed in recruiting enough volunteers. Come and join.