 The
Nassar home on a hilltop southwest of Bethlehem. The Nassar family has
owned this property since 1924, and has deeds proving their continuous
ownership. Nonetheless, they have been battling for 13 years in
court to keep the settlements around them from confiscating their land.
|
After planting olive trees and almond trees, our work party were given
a tour of the Nassar property. Tony Nassar, the youngest of three
brothers, is explaining that the depression filled with water (at our
feet) was used by his grandfather for tramping on grapes to make
wine. |
 Tony
Nassar and his daughter, Lumla. The Nassar family is Christian, and
Tony teaches religious education in the Lutheran school in
Bethlehem. With help from Swiss and German organizations, Tony has
organized a "Tent of Nations" program that brings young people
from different cultural backgrounds to this property to camp and work on
the land. This international effort has also helped raise funds to
pay the $70,000 in legal fees required by the Israeli lawyer, who is
pursuing this case in the courts.
|
 Tony's
brother George, with Lumla, as David Lindberg, an Ecumenical Accompaniment
volunteer looks across the valley at the new Israeli settlements being
built on what was Palestinian land.
|
Wildflowers in the fields on the Nassar land. |
 Israeli
settlements built in three stages, from right to left. Twice
settlers have come onto the Nassar property with bulldozers, but family
members and their lawyer managed to stop them from destroying the family
house. However, the settlers were able to destroy about 200 olive
trees.
|
 In
Bethlehem, the Israeli government is building a new checkpoint to replace
the old checkpoint. This new checkpoint will be the only way to
enter Bethlehem from the north. The Separation Barrier, which here
is a massive wall, will completely cut Bethlehem off from Jerusalem.
This view is from the south, in Bethlehem.
|
 The
Separation Barrier under construction. You can see clearly here the
incredible height of this concrete wall.
|
The Separation Wall from the Jerusalem side, in between the old
checkpoint and the new checkpoint. |
Israeli Har Homa settlement northeast of Bethlehem, just within the
Separation Barrier. Har Homa was built on land confiscated from
Palestinians. At the bottom of the photo a Palestinian on a donkey
is traveling to Bethlehem. |
