Saying "no" to Israeli soldiers

Khalid''s 650-year-old house

Frankly, I was scared this morning when I had my first confrontation with Israeli soldiers. My Italian colleague Giovanni and I were completing a 48-hour assignment providing a protective presence against settler violence at a 14th century stone structure in Khan Al-Luban, south of Nablus. A police station during the Ottoman Empire. it is owned by Khalid Daraghmah.

At 9:30 this morning, three armed soldiers approached the house. As Khalid had told us, we bolted the massive bronzed doors that had been donated by a European Union agency and NGO after settlers had battered down the old ones.

I resisted the temptation to photograph the soldiers through the 10 x 10 inch peephole with a grille, and didn't ask them if they had a search warrant, because in the unlikely event that they did, it would have  been in Hebrew, which I can't read.  I just said, "hello." A soldier asked "who are you?" Then the dialogue went like this:
"An American."
"Show me your passport."
"No. We are only required to show it to police." [That's what ISM taught us.]
"We are police."
"No you're not. You have green army uniforms."
"Open the door. We want to look around."
"No. The owner told us not to let anybody in."
"Call the owner. Tell him to come right away."
[I did. He said he was in Ramallah, 40 minutes away, and to keep the doors locked. Giovanni alerted ISM to the soldiers' presence.]
"Let us in."
"No."
"If the owner does not come in one minute, we will bomb the door open!"
[I called Khalid back, told him of the threat, and put the phone by the peephole so he could talk to the soldier directly. The soldier said he could not speak Arabic, so they communicated with difficulty.]
"If you don't open this door in one minute and come out, we will blow it up."

Bedroom where I sought refuge

I could not be sure that was an idle threat, so I took it seriously. I took refuge in the inner room, used as a dorm for volunteers, waiting for a possible blast, wondering if they would use tear gas as well. Giovanni,  braver than I, remained by the peephole and told me the soldiers were talking by phone to their superior. I breathed a sigh of relief when he said they had left. The confrontation had lasted only 15 minutes, but it was so tense it seemed much longer. A few minutes later our replacement volunteers arrived, and I returned to Nablus. Giovanni decided to stay for a few more hours.

One of the five vehicles that brought soldiers to the property Monday

We suspected that the unwelcome attempted military intrusion was a followup of a visit by 15 soldiers who had come on Monday to hold a 25-minute briefing on the roof of the building, which is accessible from the road. They did not approach the door or ask our permission to come on the property. We remained locked inside.

Khalid shows us destruction of the water system

Two other soldiers had come to the property on Sunday to meet with Khalid after he reported that seven settlers had destroyed the connection for his water line at the spring at a nearby structure. I asked the soldiers if they spoke English, but they said "no," probably not wanting to talk to me even if they did. I would have liked to ask them why they don't protect Khalid.

We did not see the vandals. In fact, we didn't see any Israeli settlers while we were there, except for those tooling up the road in cars or buses to the Ma'ale Levona settlement on top of the mountain. But we learned that they have attacked his house three times since August, stealing or breaking everything in sight, and severely beating one of his sons. Another son spent time in jail for swinging a hoe at a settler who was attacking Khalid's wife. Khalid had to cap off the two adjacent wells  because settlers were swimming naked in them. The settlers would apparently like to drive him off the property, because it is right on the paved road to the settlement and has a spring.

Aside from the incidents, we had a quiet and peaceful stay, with lots of time to chat, read, meditate, and wonder what fascinating stories the 650-year-old walls could tell. There was electricity (two lights), but no running water, and a Turkish toilet (which fortunately I did not have to use). Khalid hopes to finish the place to house two of his sons when they marry. We were in a sense camping out, just eating vegetables, fruit, bread, hummus, and cheese that we brought from Nablus.

Khalid removing teakettle from his smoky stove

Sunday afternoon Khalid invited us to a 10 x 10 foot outbuilding for cantaloupe,  walnuts, and tea with a lemon we saw him pick from a nearby tree. The experience reminded us of the tear gas of last Friday, because we were nearly overcome by smoke from the poorly vented fire in an oil drum. Fortunately an electric fan cleared the air fairly well in a few minutes. With my limited Arabic and his limited English it was a challenge to converse, but it was perfectly clear that he feels strongly that settlers should not steal his property and that he has no love lost for Bush, Obama, and U.S. support for Israel. Khalid gave us a thermos of tea for the evening.

We were able to reciprocate his hospitality Monday evening when he came by with his wife. We  served them tea that we had just made in a small can stove.  He then  built a fire in a larger can just outside the door, which threatened to overcome us with smoke again. He moved it further away, and when it stopped smoking he brought the bed of embers inside the house to leave us with a warm space for dinner.

What an unforgettable two days in Khan Al-Luban! This afternoon I traveled by collective taxi to the ISM dorm in Al-Khalil (Hebron in Hebrew and English), where I will spend the next two days.