Meet Aisha. This is the woman I was staying with in Tuwani. Morning and evening, she tends her small herd of goats. Every day, she has to sit facing the illegal settlement that has taken over her family's land.
The settlement is walled in. It's hard to make out on my photo, but there're razor wire and walls all around it.
Like a medieval fortress, it holds a strategic position on the top of a hill, dominating the land below. The flag of supremacy floats on the battlements. The warriors who inhabit these bastilles no longer carry swords, but rifles; not helmets, but camouflage masks to avoid identification. On their outings, they attack livestock, trees and children.
My hostess’s husband’s arms were broken in a settler attack on this exact spot last year, The false testimony of his aggressors would have guaranteed him a long prison sentence, but for the video of the beating, made by an international activist. Her son was arrested here last week (July 2023). Fanatic residents of the outpost drive past, threatening and gesticulating, every day.
Steadfast and determined, Aisha faces her oppressors; day in, day out. She picks herbs and fruit, herds her animals, raises children, feeds her family homebaked bread and hand-made cheese and yoghurt, under constant threat, and all around her the permanent reminder of unceasing assaults.
A small glimmer of hope: there don't seem to be many takers for the residences in this bunker in Ma'on, The stronghold sits almost empty. And this despite the range of financial incentives offered by the Zionist government.
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