Our driver took Leif and I as far as the main road leaving us to walk 20 minutes or so down rough terrain. The cave is about half-way down the valley. The shepherd was there with two of his sons. For supper, we had chicken and rice. It was in one dish and we all got a spoon, sat in a circle and ate from the same dish. It sure saves on dishes. We also had some flat bread and tea. On TV, (yes, there is a TV in the cave), there was a Bollywood film with voice dubbed in Arabic. Later the news. Lights out at 7:15 pm. So it was a long night. At one or so, the dog started barking and the sheep were making a strange noise, so I got up and went outside to see if there was someone around. But it was very dark and I did not see anything. Then the shepherd also came out and said that the sheep making the noise were the mothers.

By 6:30, we started the long hike back uphill to the main road. We phoned the drivers about 10 minutes into our walk so he could come and meet us. However, he was not there and we kept walking. We walked for an hour and were almost at the village of Susiya when he came.

Some of the delegation pictured in Um la Kher.

Amotasem al-Hathaleen proudly shows off his daughter

We were expecting a Scottish delegation from the Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal Church and URC Church Scotland around 9-9:30 or so. We had to arrange a place to meet their bus. I had given the contact person our driver’s phone number. We met them in At Tawani and from there they followed us to Um la Kher. Eid, a resident, told them about some of the history of the village, the story about the tabon and demolitions. The delegation seemed to appreciate the visit and tea.

Sarah answering questions about the issues faced in the region.

Then we went back to At Tawani where we met with Sarah from Operation Dove. She told them about the issues in the area. I think it went well and the delegation expressed their appreciation and desire to return with others.

Leif and I then participated in a meeting with Operation Dove (OD), International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and the Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT). These groups meet once a month or so to coordinate the work. ISM was down on the number of people that could be in the area. One of the guys was shot in the chest two days previous by the Israeli army. He is in serious condition but is expected to recover. A few centimeters different and it may have been fatal.