The Bedouin community of Umm Al Khair is located in the West Bank's South Hebron Hills. Because Umm Al Khair falls into Area C, which is under Israeli control, residents face restricted water access, no public services, little freedom of movement, and severe building limitations. In general, the Israeli Civil Administration does not issue construction permits for Palestinians. Villages are unable to expand and Israeli forces frequently demolish existing structures. This photo essay tells the story of one Palestinian village that has been squeezed by Israeli policies.

 

 

The inhabitants of the community are from Al Hathaleen tribe who fled their original residence near the current city of Arad during the war in 1948. In the year 1980, Israeli occupation authorities established the settlement of Karmel on lands belonging to the community. Currently, a fence separates the Palestinian village and the Israeli settlement. Like most Palestinians in Area C, Umm al  Khair is not allowed to connect to the power grid. They use a combination of solar panels, firewood, and goat and sheep dung to fuel their stoves.

Herding is Umm al Khair's main source of income.

Children on their way to school, a couple kilometers' walk over stony hills and Israeli-controlled waterpipes.

Halfway to school the smaller children are dropped off at the newly built kindergarten. This once-derelict building was renovated and turned into a kindergarten by a number of human rights organizations, including the UNRWA.

The kindergarten classroom is a simple but friendly place.

Some 12 kids go to class in the little room, attended by two female teachers.

Lower Umm Al Khair seen from the road: A humble gathering of houses and tents beneath the suburb-like houses of the Karmel settlement.

A taboon oven seen from the outside. In the background the newest addition to Karmel. The contrast in the architecture is striking. This oven was recently rebuilt after a group of settlers destroyed the former one in an act of vandalism.

A typical tent for the people living in Area C, where the Israeli army does not allow Palestinians to contruct new houses. The pile next to it is a crucial resource: firewood.

Peeking through the fence that divides Umm al Khair from Karmel, one could easily confuse Karmel with any western suburb neighborhood, lush with shady trees and walking paths...

...but, a 180 turn reminds you of the harsh reality of Israeli occupation and illegal Israeli expansion in the West Bank.

Crop irrigation is difficult for residents of Umm Al Khair, as water has to be carried to the village over land.

A leaking Israeli-controlled waterpipe reveals the potential of the barren ground.

The villagers of lower Umm Al Khair make room for a new building; an old van brought in from Hebron.

A tractor pushing the new ”house” into place. The house being just a van, the villagers hope to avoid the building restrictions Israel imposes on Palestinian residents of Area C.

Kids play in the new "building."

An afterschool match of volleyball.

The sole spectator of the vollyeball game

The remains of a demolished house--a far too common sight in Palestinian 'Area C' villages like Umm Al Khair.