Today we were taken to visit the Zoba community in the Jordan Valley, a family who have suffered immeasurably since the start of the occupation. The community is located on the top of a small hill, at the West entrance of the Jordan Valley, 3 kilometres west of the Al-Jiftlik community and a mere 400 metres from Al-Hamra checkpoint. It is also very close to the old Jordan River Bridge which connected the occupied West Bank with the kingdom of Jordan. This bridge was closed by the Israelis in the early 1990’s, further isolating the people of the West Bank.

On our journey to the village our guide told us a little about what we were to expect. The family has owned and lived on the land for several generations. Before the occupation they all lived in a house made of stone and clay, living on the crops they grew, taking their water directly from the valley 200 metres below. Their income depended on their animals, of which they had hundreds, able to graze abundantly on the mountains and drink from the river.

Since the occupation, however, their lives and landscape have come to be defined by the two agricultural settlements established to the South and North of their land – Al-Hamra and Bekahaut respectively - and the large military training base which lies to the East. More recently, Al-Hamra checkpoint was established a mere 400 metres to the West in 2000 in the initial days of the 2nd Intifada. The area upon which they live has been declared a closed military zone by the IOF despite there being a large number of people who call the land their home.

We arrived at the community by scrambling up a rocky hill from the main road that leads away from Al-Hamra checkpoint to the plateau at the top which Zoba community call their home. The checkpoint is a stone’s throw away and you can clearly see the settlements and the military base occupying the hill-tops surrounding the village. The destruction of the occupation is visible everywhere amongst the rubble of bulldozed homes.

We met with Hail Mahmoud Sharot, a small but lively 66 year old Bedouin man who is head of the community founded by his grandparents. He welcomed us to his home with strong Arabic coffee and began to explain his situation.

He currently owns 15 dunums of land in zoba, and a further 120 dunums in the area which lie behind Al-Hamra checkpoint which he now cannot access. Soldiers train on the mountains around the military base to the East and use the area as a firing range making the land around their home particularly dangerous. He says that often the rounds from the firing will reach as far as the hill they live upon. Five years ago, an 18 year old boy from Jenin who was passing by came and drank some water from their water tank, which is on the side of the hill in the direction of the military base. As he walked away, he was killed by a round fired at the firing range. Hail tells us that ever since, he cannot drink water without thinking about him.

Al-Hamra checkpoint has also caused the family significant problems. As there are no healthcare facilities nearby, members of the Zoba family must travel either to Tubas or to Al-Jiftlik and the checkpoint is often closed rendering travel to the hospital in Tubas impossible. We were told that there have been many times when women in labour have not been allowed to pass through the checkpoint as it used to close at 10pm for the night. The women were forced to give birth waiting for the checkpoint to be opened.

42 people live in the community now –all part of the same family. Before the occupation there were as many as 350 from several different extended families but many have found the current conditions too harsh and have moved on. Even some of Hail’s sons have left the community to live in nearby Tamoun although two have returned now the renovation work has reshaped the infrastructure of the community.

We spoke to one of Hail’s sons who told us that none of his six children were able to go to school as they could not afford the fees. One of his sons died two years ago from heart disease as he was unable to reach a doctor in time. Another of his children suffers from the same disease and they are afraid for his life as well.

Hail explained to us that his sons have repeatedly asked for permission from the Israeli authorities to work inside 1948 Israel to earn money for their families but have been denied time and time again. It is very difficult for residents of the West Bank to get work permits for Israel.

A few years ago, Hail and two of his sons were arrested by the occupation authorities on suspicion of owning a gun. The soldiers raided their home and took them away. He served seven months in an Israeli prison whilst his sons were both held for three years. They were also forced to pay 4000 and 10,000 shekel fines for their supposed crime. He explained that it is essential for livestock farmers such as themselves to own a gun to protect their sheep from the wild wolves that live amongst the same mountains as themselves. Whilst they served prison sentences for the possession of a gun, on the hill-tops around them are the heavily armed settlers who are allowed to carry firearms by Israeli law. This is yet another example of the apartheid system in place whereby different laws apply to different people depending on your legal ethnicity.

In 2006, their 8 family homes were demolished by Israeli bulldozers. They were subsequently rebuilt, and then demolished again, along with everything else on their land including trees, chicken coops, toilets, and their well. They now have to pay 200 shekels for each tank of water from Mekarot, an Israeli water company which now controls all the water resources in the area. Each water tank is only holds enough water to last them four days. Before the occupation they had an almost unlimited supply of water to use that they took from the Jordan River.

As though controlling such vital aspects of their survival were not enough, the army have claimed many lives from the community as well. Hail told us of a time nine years ago when the army bulldozed his sheep in front of him, killing 15 of them. There was no apology or compensation from them for this. Two years later, an IDF vehicle crashed into their family car, killing two of Hail’s daughters, one of his nephews, and the driver. He explained that there has been no recognition of this since.

“They killed 15 of my sheep, killed 2 of my daughters and my nephew and no one talks about it. It’s like drinking coffee.”

Now, the soldiers continue to harass his people, often coming to the community to take photographs of them and pressure them to leave. When asked why he thought that his family were being targeted by soldiers in this way he explained that in the past, their proximity to Al-Hamra checkpoint meant that his family could offer food and shelter to those who were waiting for a long time. His wife would take food to the children waiting at the checkpoint. He feels that this particularly angered the soldiers and has made them more vicious towards his family.

One year ago, the family were offered $2 million to leave the land and sign a document promising to never return but refused. It is clear that this piece of land is of great importance to the Israeli occupation and so for the family to choose to stay is an act of great resistance. The occupation authorities seek to ethnically cleanse the Jordan Valley of the indigenous Palestinians and permanently annex the valley for Israel. It seems that when blackmail and violence do not work they are willing to use the carrot instead of the stick.

With the help of the Jordan Valley Solidarity Project, Ma’an development agency and the Norwegian government, renovations of their houses were finished a month ago. JVS offered the community 40 days of water and paid work for everyone in the community renovating their own homes and clearing a road to the community. There are now 3 mud brick houses sitting on top of the hill. Hail told us that before the JVS project offered to help he had been planning to leave but has been convinced that the struggle to hold onto their land is worthwhile. He is confident that demolition orders for the houses will arrive eventually but insists that when the houses are demolished they will simply rebuild them again.

By Amanda and Leon