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2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 AUGUST 2025 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The Hilltop Youth is the name given to young religious hardliners who attempt to set up illegal outposts through- out the West Bank. They of- ten use violence against Pal- estinians and their property. Although no formal organ- isation exists by that name, the 'group' was sanctioned by the EU, the UK and Australia last year. Writing in MaltaToday, Clayman recounts his experi- ence of having to stand with other volunteers between Palestinian farmland and a flock of sheep led by a young Jewish settler to graze on the food source of the Bedouin community. The presence of the volunteers, who also film the attempted incursion on their phones, helps mitigate the consequences. "Our young shepherd at- tempts to lead his sheep this way, and then that, and the volunteers stand between the herd and the houses. We do not touch the animals and certainly do not touch him. Occasionally, he comes up to us and stares at us from a dis- tance of 2cm, sometimes he slowly digs his elbow into our chests," Clayman writes. The standoff lasts a few hours before the shepherd leads the herd back up to the watch-tower which has been built a few-hundred metres above the village. Clayman adds: "I am observ- ing a land-grab and forcible expulsion of a local popula- tion, the means of which are cynical use of at-risk youth and farm animals." The Israeli settler move- ment has been slowly and forcibly grabbing Palestini- an territory in the occupied West Bank and in the process threatening the viability of a future Palestinian state. The land grabs and violence have intensified since October 2023, in the aftermath of the Hamas's attack on Israel and the Israeli military retaliation in Gaza. Israeli settlements on land that was militarily occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-day War are considered illegal under international law, al- though Israel disputes this. Hilltop Youth sanctioned by the EU last year I am observing a land-grab and forcible expulsion of a local population, the means of which are cynical use of at-risk youth and farm animals. Alexander Clayman Sheep wars Maltese doctor based in Jerusalem I am not really an activist. I am a psychiatry doctor who works mostly in public service; I treat pretty much any patient that shows up at the clinic or emer- gency room that I work at. As such, I have (since 2017, when I graduated MD) seen patients of all genders, races, religions, sexu- al orientations and beliefs. At the same time, people are unpredict- able and they often surprise me. A close friend of mine is an ac- tivist in Israel and Palestine and lately most of her work is focused on providing a voluntary 'protec- tive presence' service to Arabs threatened and hurt by the ac- tions of the Hilltop Youth settler movement in Judea\Samarea\ West Bank. Lately, she convinced me to join her in one of her mis- sions in a small Bedouin com- munity near the city of Jericho. A Bedouin village nearby was recently abandoned by its res- idents after repeated threats, attacks and arson by Jewish ex- tremist settlers—first its women and children left, the men stayed behind in order to protect the re- mains of their village, until it be- came a lost cause. The tactics of the settlers in this area are unsophisticated but effective: A teenage male (who probably ought to be in school) rides his donkey into town fol- lowed by a herd of sheep or goats. He leads the herd directly into the community, into the gardens, the farmland, and encourages them to graze on the communi- ty's main source of food. He may enter houses, stand two centime- tres away from the residents and stare menacingly into their eyes as he trespasses. If this sounds absurd, it is because it is. So, one fine Wednesday, I drove down near Jericho on my mo- torcycle, stopped at a local fruit shop to purchase some bananas and guavas, and made my way to the guest house of this com- munity. The guest house is half- tent, half-metal container, just like many of the dwellings in this community. The road is barely a road—it's dusty, it's warm. In- stead of border fences there is junk placed in a line around the 'front gardens'. These people lack abundant material wealth—they are poor. At the guest house, I met with the other volunteers of the night shift, and we went for a drive around the village to famil- iarise ourselves with the geogra- phy of the place before beginning the work. Two Bedouin men re- ceived us with handshakes and offered us a seat. Soon enough we received a call to say that there is a settler en- croaching on the property of a resident. We go. We arrive at a small ranch, a line of small rocks signalling 30m from the proper- ty itself. The owner signals to us acknowledgment that we have arrived, his children look curi- ously at the motorcycle that I have dismounted from. There are sheep, goats, donkeys, chickens and dogs. The Bedouin family's animals are penned in—the cur- rent situation doesn't permit free grazing. There is a thin, tanned, dishevelled teenager with long peyos, a woollen kippah, and an ambivalent expression on his face leading a flock of goats directly into the front garden of this fam- ily. Close by, the day shift volun- teers (two pensioners from Tel Aviv) stand between the young shepherd and the family's barn. We take over. Everybody is film- ing everything with their mo- bile phones. If someone is lucky enough to get hit on film, the po- lice might actually do something. For some reason, trespassing and harassment alone does not excite the police or the military in this area—certainly not if it's a Pal- estinian family reporting it. I am told by the other volunteers not to be provocative towards the set- tlers because the repercussions of any such provocation will be felt by the families of the communi- ty when they are not fortunate enough to have a certain calibre of witnesses surrounding them. Our young shepherd attempts to lead his sheep this way, and then that, and the volunteers stand between the herd and the houses. We do not touch the an- imals and certainly do not touch him. Occasionally, he comes up to us and stares at us from a dis- tance of 2cm, sometimes he slow- ly digs his elbow into our chests. This is not enough to warrant a report to the police. He leads his sheep to a different house, tries to enter it, we stand in his way, he stares menacingly at us, and after a few hours he leads the herd back up to the watch-tower which has been built a few-hundred metres above the village. At some point, I realised that it is 2025, and I am observing a land-grab and forcible expulsion of a local population, the means He leads his sheep to a different house, tries to enter it, we stand in his way, he stares menacingly at us File photo