A Day Of Destruction in Khirbet Tana

Palestine Monitor

The Israeli army rolled into Khirbet Tana, a village east of Nablus with a population of about 300, in the morning hours on January 10, 2010. They then destroyed about thirty structures, including a school, homes, and shelter for farm animals. This destruction stems from a court ruling issued in February 2009 that cannot be appealed, stating that all structures in Khirbet Tana must be demolished, and the farmers removed from their land. The Palestine Monitor takes a look at the situation that Khirbet Tana faces, and how the villagers are trying to rebuild their lives.

All photographs were taken by Brady Ng.

The first sight seen by the photographer as he entered Khirbet Tana was the remains of a tin-roofed home.

Photo:Brady Ng

The demolished school.

Photo:Brady Ng

Surveying what’s left of the school.

Photo: Brady Ng

With the original school destroyed, villagers put up a tent to be used as a classroom. The desks, chairs, and blackboard were salvaged from the remains of the school.

Photo: Brady Ng

Student worksheets, torn up and strewn about.

Photo: Brady Ng

The mosque is one of the few buildings in Tana that was left untouched.

Photo: Brady Ng

Another destroyed shelter.

Photo: Brady Ng

The residents of Tana say that they face demolitions nearly every week. Some have become quite adept at collecting bits and pieces from destroyed homes and rebuilding their tents.

Photo: Brady Ng

A home that faces demolition, with a tent already put in place beside it. Whenever Israeli soldiers enter the village, the family that owns the house removes all of their belongings from it and places them in the tent, accepting the fact that they may lose their home, but can still survive as long as they retain their property.

Photo: Brady Ng

The new "homes" can be easliy spotted — they are the white tents.

Photo: Brady Ng

Some people in Tana choose to live in caves, with a little more protection against the elements.

Photo: Brady Ng

Tanans claim that this stone foundation is 3000 years old, laid there by their ancestors.

Photo: Brady Ng

With no electricity in the village, illumination at night is provided by gas or oil lamps.

Photo: Brady Ng

The well in Khirbet Tana, with water drawn from a spring up the hill in the background.

Photo: Brady Ng

The hose connects the well to the water spring, which is the village’s only source of water aside from rain.

Photo: Brady Ng

The well used to be uncovered. The villagers decided to build a cover over it three years ago because Jewish settlers came and swam in the well, a common tactic used by settlers to pollute water collected by Palestinians.

Photo: Brady Ng

Goats and sheep strolling over the demolished school.

Photo: palestine Monitor

Khirbet Tana’s farmers work for self-sufficiency. The vast majority of their crops are consumed by their families or farm animals. Very little is left to be sold to other villages or cities.

Photo: Brady Ng

With no trash collection service in Tana, heaps of refuse are left along the road.

Photo: Brady Ng

The road leading in and out of Tana is steep and unpaved, and villagers have trouble traveling to other villages for trade. When the photographer visited Tana on a rainy day, the dirt road became a stream of mud, and it took multiple attempts for his vehicle to climb each hill.

Photo: Brady Ng

The villagers of Khirbet Tana told the photographer that officials from the Palestinian Authority have visited them, but did nothing to improve their living conditions. To the minimum, Tana requires a good road, tractors (four were confiscated and are being kept at Ariel settlement; the photographer spotted one tractor in the whole village during his visit), a new school, and a popular committee or village leadership. Unlike the villages in, for example, the Hebron area, there is no permanent international presence in Khirbet Tana and the neighboring villages.