AT-TUWANI REFLECTION: Breaking bread with friends
November 21st, 2008
in:
CPTnet
21 November 2008
AT-TUWANI REFLECTION: Breaking bread with friends
By Janet Benvie
[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.]
“I am sorry Janet, I will not be able to offer you tea and bread,” Khalil told me. “The settlers killed my donkey and took everything in the bag.”
We were sitting on Khoruba Hill, where we often sit with Khalil, a young Palestinian shepherd. Most days we accompany him as he makes his way over the hills with his flock and his donkey. The route from his home to Khoruba passes within sight of the Israeli settler outpost of Havat Ma’on. Each day he leads his sheep on paths where his father and grandfather walked, on land coveted by the settlers. As he leads his sheep, he watches for Israeli settlers or soldiers who regularly chase him off the land.
By mid morning, Khalil and his flock usually reach Khoruba. He will have left home around 6:00 am; so, by 11:00 am he is ready for lunch. The sheep, tired from their journey over the hills, mill around in small groups, many of them lie down in the warmth of the winter’s midday sun. Khalil gathers sticks for a fire and urges us to sit down, “Tfaddal” (‘welcome’ in Arabic) he says, indicating a place for us to sit. He makes a pot of traditional sweet Palestinian tea, and insists we share in his lunch of home made bread, olives, and potato slices.
On 15 November, we were not, as is usual, drinking tea and watching the sheep graze quietly. That day, masked Israeli settlers chased Khalil and his flock, hurling rocks and yelling threats. Khalil was able to run to a place of safety with his flock, but watched helplessly as the settlers led his donkey away. The donkey was later found dead (stabbed in the chest) at the bottom of Khoruba Valley.
Khalil means 'friend' in Arabic. One feels a sense of communion sitting on the hillside sharing tea and breaking bread together with friends. In the midst of the brutal, senseless violence of the settlers our friend's thoughts turned to us: “I am sorry Janet, I will not be able to offer you tea and bread.”
For photos of the incident see http://cpt.org/gallery/Settlers-Kill-Donkey
21 November 2008
AT-TUWANI REFLECTION: Breaking bread with friends
By Janet Benvie
[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.]
“I am sorry Janet, I will not be able to offer you tea and bread,” Khalil told me. “The settlers killed my donkey and took everything in the bag.”
We were sitting on Khoruba Hill, where we often sit with Khalil, a young Palestinian shepherd. Most days we accompany him as he makes his way over the hills with his flock and his donkey. The route from his home to Khoruba passes within sight of the Israeli settler outpost of Havat Ma’on. Each day he leads his sheep on paths where his father and grandfather walked, on land coveted by the settlers. As he leads his sheep, he watches for Israeli settlers or soldiers who regularly chase him off the land.
By mid morning, Khalil and his flock usually reach Khoruba. He will have left home around 6:00 am; so, by 11:00 am he is ready for lunch. The sheep, tired from their journey over the hills, mill around in small groups, many of them lie down in the warmth of the winter’s midday sun. Khalil gathers sticks for a fire and urges us to sit down, “Tfaddal” (‘welcome’ in Arabic) he says, indicating a place for us to sit. He makes a pot of traditional sweet Palestinian tea, and insists we share in his lunch of home made bread, olives, and potato slices.
On 15 November, we were not, as is usual, drinking tea and watching the sheep graze quietly. That day, masked Israeli settlers chased Khalil and his flock, hurling rocks and yelling threats. Khalil was able to run to a place of safety with his flock, but watched helplessly as the settlers led his donkey away. The donkey was later found dead (stabbed in the chest) at the bottom of Khoruba Valley.
Khalil means 'friend' in Arabic. One feels a sense of communion sitting on the hillside sharing tea and breaking bread together with friends. In the midst of the brutal, senseless violence of the settlers our friend's thoughts turned to us: “I am sorry Janet, I will not be able to offer you tea and bread.”
For photos of the incident see http://cpt.org/gallery/Settlers-Kill-Donkey
