Day 5. Bethlehem.

Life in the West Bank is interesting. We are staying on a small holding that sits on a hilltop overlooking the small village of Nahalin about three miles outside of Bethlehem. Although the Palestinian family that owns the farm has official Land Registry documents dating back to the Ottoman Empire, Jewish Settlers are still keen to claim the land as their own. As a result life is made difficult; the road leading to the farm and the neighbouring village has been blocked off and the farm is not allowed electricity as this admits a state of permanence by the Israelis who are still pursuing a fifteen year court battle over the rights to the land.

As a result of this pressure, the Nasser family have opened up their farm to the international community so that volunteers can come and stay and work here, raising the profile of the place and making it more difficult for the land to be illegally taken.

So even though I had no political motivation for coming to Israel and wanted to use the time to find some soul space, it seems that staying where we are is very political.

The Nasser family have been so welcoming and we have already done a couple of good days work clearing snow and fixing the goat pen. The lifestyle here is very basic and there are no luxuries. Water for showers are heated by the sun, and there is electricity for only about two hours every night which is powered by a generator. There is internet however which is a luxury. It is good to keep in touch with the outside world and last night I listened to Five Live and was disappointed to hear Spurs concede a 94^th minute goal which denied them a victory over Man. Utd.

Life here is very much determined by the sun and by your stomach. You get up when it is light, eat when you are hungry, work while it is day, then stop, eat and go to bed when it gets dark.

There maybe more in a day or two. I don’t know if anyone is reading this blog, but if you are I hope it is vaguely interesting.

My fingers are now really cold as I am sitting outside writing this so I must go and find some gloves. Goodbye for now.