A visit to the Makhrour valley

Stories from Palestine

The Makhrour valley is situated between Beit Jala and Battir and the larger part of this valley has been designated as part of a world heritage site registered by UNESCO as 'Palestine, land of olives and vines'
The slopes of hills on either side of the Makhrour valley have terraces that date back to at least the Roman era. These agricultural terraces are farmed by Palestinian farmers from Beit Jala and Battir.
On a hot September morning I walked with my friend Dee down the valley to visit Shadi who started farming two years ago on the renovated land of his family. He is selling his produce at our Singer Cafe every Wednesday morning. This year the summer heat came very early in June and most of his crops burnt. I wanted to check on him and see what remained of his hard work.
After our visit we passed by the solidarity tent of the Kisiya family as they were just holding a press conference and preparing for a solidarity march with representatives of different faith communities. The family is struggling against a group of settlers and the Jewish National Fund trying to take over the land. The family was leasing this land from the original owner who left the country and passed away abroad. According to the local law the Kisiya family now has the right to remain on the land until a descendant of the owner would claim the land, but as far as they know, the owner did not have any offspring.
The settlers have not been able to prove they have bought the land. But the military issued a new military order preventing the Kisiya family from entering the Makhrour valley.
An international solidarity vigil is planned for 29 September. You can organize your own activity or join an event in your country.
Go to https://linktr.ee/savealmakhrour to connect and follow the efforts to save al Makhrour on Instagram. If you want to join the WhatsApp community you can contact them on the contact form.