Today I rose early to meet a neighbor shepherding family and walk with their herd. As soon as we entered the valley, illegal settlers arrived in a military-like vehicle and stood on the hillside looking down at us. They took pictures of us with a big camera and I took picture of them with my phone. It was a strange power play.
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The whole day was broken up by periods of calm and periods of stress when other illegal settlers drove close to us and lingered before driving away.
The eldest boy played Fairuz on my phone while his father sang along. A war plane flew overhead and the sound of Zionists shooting their guns for practice echoed against the rocks. When one settler jeep approaches later in the afternoon, the boy rode his donkey towards them. I wanted to call for him to come back but part of ISM training is to follow the lead of what Palestinians choose to do and support them. These children know more about risk, resistance, and resilience than I ever will.
