Near the Taibe Junction, off the Alon Road, occupied Palestine, in the afternoon.

A few days ago, on June 7, the occupation forces confiscated all of Hadj Mahmud's tents, sheep pens, solar panels - on the charge that the location of their current encampment was new, a change from where they used to be. (see video of the confiscation:) Facebook

Their sheep are now left with no protection from the sun and the family does not sleep at night, watching out for thieves, catching the animals that wander off. Torat Tzedek is collecting donations to buy materials for new enclosures and other urgent needs - https://secured.israelgives.org/.../RebuildingCamptofHajM...

The Bedouin's seasonal encampment at this time of the year would have been near their cultivated fields, about a kilometer south of the Rimonim settlement. Yes, those same cultivated fields that we, Arik Ascherman of Torat Tzedek and other activists, have been zealously protecting from agricultural theft by settler flocks from the nearby illegal outpost of Neria Ben Pazi. The Bedouin have been afraid to return there and have been forced to move to their current location, where now their possessions have been confiscated, according to the charge that their location is 'new'. We observe the remains of their encampment near their agricultural fields, destroyed some months ago, most likely by settlers.

The Bedouin do not even dare to graze their flocks in the lands they have cultivated for this purpose, even with our protection. And so activists have been organizing ourselves to reap the harvest, and bring it to the Bedouin, while keeping the outpost settler flocks off the cultivated lands.

Spotting the herds on cultivated land, as we do this afternoon, we first call the police to do their duty and enforce the decision by the civil authority, that these are indeed private Palestinian lands. Sometimes the police come, sometimes they don't. Does it depend on the political attitudes of the specific officer who happens to be on call? If they don't come, Arik himself chases the cows and sheep off the cultivated lands, wearing in his protective gear of helmet and padded jacket against attacks by violent setters, of which he has been subject numerous times.

Through the herding of sheep and cattle, the hilltop outposts have adopted the strategy of taking over large tracts of land, reaching much, much farther out than any settlement building could. Indeed, they have succeeded in frightening the Bedouin off their cultivated lands, and possibly might also be behind the confiscation of Hadj Mahmud's possessions.

This is why the struggle to keep the settler flocks off the cultivated lands - as well as other lands belonging to Palestinians - is crucial. It is a matter of protecting more and more land from being taken over by the outpost settlers, the hilltop youth, who essentially do the dirty job for the Israeli authorities, who can wash their hands clean and blame the 'bad seeds,' when they are questioned by the international community.

Have the settlers succeeded this time? How many of us would have raised our hands in utter despair seeing our material possessions driven away.

But Hadj Mahmud and his family do not give up, it is another example of sumud, the Palestinian determination to hold on, standing ground. They have no other choice.