Early this morning I awoke to a call from a family who lives just up the road in a house bordering the Ma’on settlement. Four settler soldiers in old mismatched military uniforms were parked in a settlement security truck outside and had been watching the family for a while, and they were getting worried. Although they were not on active duty and did not have any identifying badges, it is becoming more common for civilian Israelis to borrow military vehicles to terrorize Palestinians. I and another volunteer rushed over and began filming. We watched them while they watched us. 15 slow minutes passed before they all got out of the truck, machine guns in hand. No matter how many hundreds of times I’ve faced heavily armed Zionists, I never lose awareness of how vulnerable I am in that situation. The only weapon I have is my camera, maybe my words, too, and now I know that even when Americans are killed, there are no repercussions.
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The settler militia knew we would not leave as long as they were there. We were sure they were waiting for the police to come to detain and interrogate us. Another settler drove by on an ATV and shouted what I assume to be insults at us in Hebrew before driving off. The soldiers laughed at us while the children from nearby houses gathered around, not seeming particularly concerned. One young boy held a cat in his arms and the soldiers called to it, trying to get it to come to them. The cat was too big for the boy to hold for long and when he put it down, it walked up to the soldiers, oblivious to the nature of their presence, and only wanting head scratches. More protective of his cat than concerned with his own safety, the boy walked up to the soldiers to get the cat back. I held my breath as he retrieved it.
Children in this area are commonly harassed and attacked on their way to school. Last year a settler from Ma’on tried to run over four children with a tractor. Two months ago, a 15 year-old was abducted and tortured by settlers from the same neighborhood. The head of the Masafer Yatta villages council said they have documented at least 20 attacks against children every month, and that settlers here are among the most violent in the West Bank. There is no end to the cruelty in their hearts.
But this time the settler soldiers did nothing besides continuing to watch and try to intimidate us with their presence. They stayed for another hour before finally driving away. A son from the family I know brought us tea and, then coffee, while we visited, all of us waiting to see if they would come back. This is how every day is spent, I guess. Waiting, watching, praying.
