Tom Hayes from Brighton has spent the last two days in a Bedouin village in Palestine, aiming to prevent the destruction of their homes and animal sheds by the Israeli Army.

He arrived in Palestine three weeks ago as part of a delegation of seventeen local people organised by the Brighton Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group. They stayed with families in the Tubas region of the West Bank, which the Brighton Group have established grassroots twinning links with.

Whilst there, they visited several Bedouin villages in the Jordan Valley, and heard of the plight of the people of Al Hadidi. Only a week ago there were 200 people living in the village. They lived in shacks made of wood and fabric and had metal animal sheds for their sheep and other livestock. They have been moved four times by the Israeli Army since 1999 under threat. They live 3km from the nearest water supply, and have no electricity or sanitary facilities.
When Tom arrived on the evening of Saturday 21st April there were about 130 people left. He was told that the Israeli Army were threatening to come and demolish the entire village within the next four days. The following day five more families felt that they had no choice but to move all their belongings and animals in the scorching sun to a site ½ km away, even further away from their water supply. Three families have remained, all determined not be moved on again. To flee will mean them giving up on the farming livelihood that has sustained their families for generations. They are concerned that if they are forced to move they will be unable to access the land that they own. Their have no option but to stay and hold on to their only means of survival.
Tom is staying with Omar and his family of eleven, in the home that the Israeli Army are expected to destroy first when they come to the village. They never know if the destruction will take place within the next few minutes, hours or days. The villagers, desperate and terrified, have asked Tom and the other internationals staying in the village, to negotiate with the Army when they do arrive, and to peacefully resist the destruction of the village in whatever way they can.
Omar and his family have appealed against the proposed demolition of their home in the Israeli Supreme Court, but the judge ruled against them. They know that once they are removed from their homes, their land will be used for the expansion of the illegal Israeli settlement of Ro’i, near the Al Hamra checkpoint, in the Tubas Region of Palestine. Their plight to remain and survive continues.
Tom will be back in Brighton on 3rd May for an evening of presentations, photo exhibition and video footage showing the experiences of the Brighton delegation to Palestine, that will start at 6.30pm at the Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton.
For more information/interview contact:
Sarah Cobham (Brighton) 07984438655
Tom Hayes (Al Hadidi village) 00972 526012203 or 00972 545436385
Fathe (Tubas town) 00972 599352266 or 00972 522354477