Outside, Maladi Nassar lays the table with the rice with lentils, yogurt, olives, oil and thyme, unleavened bread, baked earlier over the fire. Her son, Daher pours out sage tea. The generator is running for a couple of hours so we have light. Daher says a prayer before we eat. “It used to be black out here at night," says Amal, Maladi’s daughter, bringing our attention to the yellow electric glow in the sky. Daher’s vineyard, near Bethlehem is over 900 meters above sea level and on a clear day you can see the Mediterranean Sea. When the clouds are low you feel like you are on an Island, far removed from any problems.
 | | Daher reads the Loughborough Echo! |
You can’t even see the settlements, some as big as cities that surround the land, strategically built on the hilltops. “The Israeli military want to build two roads over our land to link up the settlements,” Dahud, Dahers younger brother informs us. “We have been fighting them in the courts for 12 years to keep our land. We have the deeds from the Ottomans, the British, the Jordanians and the Israelis, stating this land belongs to us. Other families weren’t so lucky," says Dahud. He points towards the hills where the settlement are perched. "In the distance, by the earth roadblock that prevents the family driving to their land, there is a light directed at us. It’s a jeep, from the settlement, the soldiers are wondering why we have light” says Amal. “Let them come, I will give them tea, we are doing nothing wrong, we are only eating,” adds Maladi. Amal puts up a blanket to obscure their view while I turn off the light, the jeep soon drives off.
 | | Dahud with his tractor. |
I am here with three members of the York Palestinian Solidarity campaign, working on the land whilst defending it against marauding settlers - well we haven’t had any problems with the settlers yet and our hard work consists of hitting an almond tree with a big stick, then sitting in the sun to collect our spoils. “The Israeli army have agreed not to harass us until the court case has finished,” Dahud gratefully acknowledges. Settlers had previously shot their horse, bulldozed some of their land, smashed 70 of their olive trees and almost driven members of the family to an early grave with gunfire. Meanwhile, the mosque wails from the little Arab villages and the sound of building and expansion echo through the valleys… | 
