Was the Humiliation of this old Man Necessary

Was this Humiliation of an Old Man really necessary……..?
Muhammed Jamil Tomeh is a farmer from the village of Qaffin in the northern West Bank  in the Occupied Palestinian Territories . His nut brown lined face and his stiff walk tells of a life of hard work. He is 75 years old . His tractor is a well cared for Massey Ferguson 135  made in Canada in 1965 . His land is in the Seam Zone cordoned off by the Separation Barrier 8 kms. from the green line, the historic border between Israel and the West Bank.

Muhammed Jamil Tomeh a farmer from the village of Qaffin

He grows olives, and vegetables and legumes to feed his extended family. For most of the year he only has access to his land 3 times a week when he is ID’d and searched as he passes through a barrier checkpoint called  Akkaba Agricultural Gate. He buys used clothing in the second hand market in Jennin . He buys tough work clothes with lots of pockets.
On Thursday Feb 20 we monitored the Akkaba Agricultural Gate .
We arrived at 5.35 am , still charcoal dark before the dawn . A few farmers with donkey carts and tractors were waiting. The  mayor of Akkaba who is also a farmer waited with a large flock of sheep. Some EA’s call them the ugliest sheep on the west bank – they have blunted faces as if they ran headlong into a wall !, but actually I think they are cute.

The gate did not open at the appointed time of 5.45, but this is not unusual.

the Mayor’s blunt faced sheep

 

The farmers line up and two soldiers call them forward  across the paved road in the center of the barrier while two other soldiers stand with sub machine guns ready and aimed.
When it came to Muhammed Jamil’s turn the young soldiers told him he was not allowed to enter and go to his land. They gave him no reason. They told him his “visitors” permit had been cancelled and to get a new one, he must go to the DCO office  ( DCO stands for District Coordination Office  – The Israeli civil administration, which is actually run the the military, –  established by the Israel-Palestinian Oslo Agreement) and apply for a new one. He was furious and frustrated.
He told us that on the previous Thursday as he was returning through the checkpoint the soldiers asked him why he was wearing “army” clothes . Muhammed explained he buys second hand clothes in the market in Jennin , and that he buys work pants and jackets with lots of pockets and of tough material suitable for farming; they were not army clothes. The soldiers, one of whom was female, then ordered him to remove his trousers. He protested but with a machine gun pointed at his head , he had little choice. The soldiers confiscated his trousers and he had to drive his tractor home through the village in his long underwear.

Angry , frustrated and humiliated – and now denied the right to farm his land – life is hard under Occupation

He said he was angry and frustrated. What he didn’t know is that the soldiers had also cancelled his permit which is why he was denied entry the morning we were there. We could see the pain and anger in his face as he railed against the Occupation , the soldiers, the the hardship and the unfair punishment.
The Mayor and his sheep were also denied entry , even though he goes to his land 3 times a week and has done for years. No reason was given – the soldiers told him to go to the DCO and find out for himself.

So was this really necessary … ?  what purpose did it serve .. ? The young  soldiers (mostly aged 18 to 23 ) at the checkpoints have absolute power , and they often use it to act out their  meanness and aggressions. In addition in their training it’s drummed into them that they must suppress any and every independent act or  behavior by the “Arabs” . They are told “if you give them an inch they will take a mile”
As Muhammed Jamil climbed stiffly on to his tractor again he said “what we can do – only the God can help us”. It may be weeks until he can get a new permit – weeks when he can not cultivate his land or tend his crops. As he told me his story , only his fury held back the tear from his eyes and I wondered if my presence was any help and why I felt sad and useless at his humiliation, at the oppression and the abuse of power.

The flock of sheep which were also denied access to their grazing land at Akkaba Agricultural Gate checkpoint.

MAE