24/09/2026
*Let’s Talk About Palestine*– from yesterday’s meeting (next meeting with our women visitors,
30th September)
It really is horrible to hear what the Israelis are doing all over Palestine. Today’s ‘Let’s Talk About
Palestine’ included references to the continuing, intolerable situation of people in Gaza –
squashed into the area by the sea with Israel destroying remaining homes behind the ‘yellow
line’ and then repeatedly pushing the line forward and destroying more, continuing to shell and
besiege the people who have managed to survive this long through the genocide – and are many
of them living in tents and with good reason to fear the winter.
Our friends themselves though – those who came to today’s meeting – are from the West Bank,
where they can feel the pressure of Israelis rushing to change the situation. They think the
settlers are are trying to put more “facts on the ground” before the elections. Our friends
showed pictures of new settlers’ tents close to their villages – destroyed homes from army raids
– Palestinian homes being knocked down – because they are next to the Wall (which was built
next to the houses, not the other way round) - arrests – a recent example was a bridegroom, arrested on his wedding day. Israeli flags are being planted inside Palestinian areas – even in Ramallah, where recently Israeli settlers have brought their children to play in Palestinian playgrounds, protected by soldiers.
They told of settler attacks everywhere, olive trees being burned, of the Israeli army blocking
roads, shooting in the nights, people being collected into houses for interrogation, and people
being repeatedly told by the army “if you don’t like it, you can leave.” Apparently Ben Gvir, a
particularly extremist member of an extremist government, has told Palestinians who have land
in area C* that they will not be allowed to harvest their olives next month.
A couple of hours before our meeting, another Palestinian had been shot in his car.
Intolerable – and frightening. The audience wanted to know how Palestinians keep going. The
answers were – 'we have to' – 'we look at positive things that are happening' – 'we notice the
movement across the world and think we are going to see change: nothing is the same as it was' - 'we are encouraged by things like the CADFA children’s visits, which strengthen them and give us all
hope'
.
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