I Saw it in Palestine

It's Palm Sunday 2009 and we're celebrating Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Here's what happened in the Tuwani area today:

 

Three children from Juwiyya, ages 10, 11, and 14 were taken by the army and taken to the road next to Ma'on settlement.  There the three children were beaten by six masked settlers, including the Ma'on settlement security guard.  The settlers told the children that they owned the land.  The children thankfully are now safe at home.  Their crime?  Grazing their sheep, well within Juwiyya village. 

 

Two of my teammates were walking through the hills, on their way home from Tuba.  Masked settlers approached them and they were forced to run for their lives away from masked settlers.

 

A young man from Juwiyya was shot at by settlers earlier this morning.  He was also grazing this sheep on his land.

 

All day long, in various ways, Palestinians nonviolently resisted settler violence and land confiscation.  They grazed their sheep, gathered herbs, played and laughed, all while facing danger calmly and persistently. 

 

I yearn for justice's triumphant entry and dare to believe that it might come soon.  But it cannot come soon enough.