Israelis, at least one armed, enter Palestinian-held private property in Fasayil
Three Israelis carrying at least one gun entered Palestinian-held private property in Fasayil without previous authorization on 24th January ’17. They claimed to be archeologists in search of an ancient spring but held no permits or search warnings.
The Israelis were first spotted by Rashed Khudiri, cofounder of the Jordan Valley Solidarity (JVS) community organization currently installed in the property. Ten international volunteers and nine Palestinians from the NGO were doing voluntary work at the time.
Rashed and the volunteers accompanied the three men out of the property, where they were met by a group of around 30 Israelis.
Heated discussion ensued as the Israelis argued they carried no political motivations. In response, the volunteers pointed out that most Palestinians are not allowed to enter Jerusalem and reinforced that the trespassers were carrying no authorization papers.
After around 15 minutes of debate, the Israelis hopped on a touristic bus and left, waving goodbye.