Sheep and spotlights

Left photo: The watchtower of the illegal settlement outpost monitors the daily activity of nothing in Yanoun.

The loudest noises heard in Yanoun are the sheep and goat herds baaing along in the fields. The tiny village, split into Lower and Upper Yanoun, consists of about 16 families and is set on a little hill overlooking a quiet valley dotted with olive and flowering almond trees. Few cars come and go, the nearest small city is about a one-hour walk away, and most people spend their days herding sheep and goats. However, the average villager in Yanoun lives anything but a peaceful life.

Bright spotlights and a watchtower overlook the little village from the hilltop outposts (extensions) of the settlement of Itamar which surround the village. Itamar, an Israeli colony in the West Bank established in 1984, was initiated by followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane. Kahane’s Kach party was banned in Israel in 1998 because of “inciting racism.” They believe peace will occur only if Arab people are transferred out of the occupied territories. For more info on their movement and Itamar, check out their website at www.schechem.org/itamar.

Armed settlers regularly terrorize the villagers. There are accounts of numerous attacks on people, including stoning, beating, and shooting. Sheep were injured and killed, homes damaged, water and electricity infrastructure were destroyed, and a 90 year old shepard was beat with his own cane and lost an eye. Where can Yanoun villagers register complaints and seek security? Nowhere. Yanoun is in Area C of the West Bank which, according the Oslo Accords, places the village under complete Israeli control of security affairs. The Israeli military doesn’t do much in the way of policing Israeli settlers and protecting Palestinians… most of the time, they act to protect the interests of settlers. Right-wing Israeli settlers worked hard to make the Gaza Disengagement a sad media story featuring evacuated families suffering from the evil ways of the Israeli government… however in reality, there exists a close, supportive relationship between right-wing Israeli movements and mainstream governmental policy in Israel, as the continual support for West Bank settlements demonstrates.

In October of 2002, the last of the families of Yanoun packed their things and left for the nearby city of Aqraba because of the terror they faced from settlers on a regular basis in the past years. The next day, Ta’ayush, an Israeli peace group, organized internationals and Israelis to accompany the villagers back to their homes. Since then at the request of the villagers, there has been a continual international presence in Yanoun – to document events and hopefully deter violent settlers from entering.