The morning after Iran launched Tuesday's ballistic missile attack on Israel, Bedouin farmer Fares Samamreh woke at dawn in the occupied West Bank village of Shweika to tend to his sheep and chickens as usual.
A lamb had been born that morning and Fares's son, Jibril Samamreh, chased its mother around a pen, trying to pin her down to feed the newborn. As he did so, Israeli fighter jets roared overhead.
At first glance, few places in the Palestinian territories feel as removed as Shweika from the conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, the raids elsewhere in the West Bank and the wider tension engulfing the Middle East. But Fares and his sons have been on their own personal front line since October 7, which shattered their previously quiet rural existence, long before Iran started launching missiles at Israel.
Their story of massive loss over the past year reveals in sharp detail the lawless direction in which the West Bank is heading, and the powerlessness of Palestinians, the international community and even Israel’s highest courts to protect innocent people against emboldened extremist Israelis intent on seizing Palestinian land.
Fares and other shepherding families, numbering about 200 people, used to live in the village of Zanuta in the South Hebron Hills. Sandwiched between illegal Israeli settlements, including some of the most aggressive in the region, it consisted of a few stone buildings, livestock pens and a small school funded by European states.
Not long after the October 7 attacks, as the world’s eyes were focused on Gaza, settlers in the West Bank seized the opportunity to take swathes of Palestinian land. Bedouin villages like Zanuta, home to some of the area’s most vulnerable people, were the most obvious and easy targets.
Today Zanuta lies in ruins. The National visited briefly on Thursday, just enough time to see the haste in which the community fled, leaving kettles, mattresses and upturned fridges strewn on the ground. After no more than five minutes in the village, settlers approached. Knowing the reports of their violence over the past year, a quick exit was made.
Zanuta’s former residents have had a torturous year that subjected them to violence, financial ruin and short, dangerous stints during which some residents tried to return. There was even a surprising victory in Israel’s High Court of Justice, after legal efforts backed by human rights organisations and European states. The hope was short-lived. The Israeli state soon gave a reason why the community could not return and rebuild.
Now they are scattered throughout the West Bank, in places like Shweika. After serving tea and juice, Fares, a senior member of the community, who carried prayer beads throughout the meeting, told The National about where the residents of Zanuta find themselves. “We lost everything. We lost our homes, our wells, our land for herding and planting,” he said.
His Bedouin people are mostly originally from the Negev Desert, from where many were displaced after the 1948 Israeli-Arab War. They are semi-nomadic and earn a living mostly from agriculture. There are about 40,000 in the West Bank. The English word “Bedouin” comes from the Arabic “badawi”, a desert dweller.
“You have to bear this burden, you just have to bear it,” Fares said, sitting in a bare room lined with mats where men in the community meet. “We came here to Shweika and had to do it all again, from scratch. A new life. It was difficult. It began raining early. And as far as the sheep go, it was a big change for them. They are running over each other and some are even dying for lack of space – they are not meant to live this way."
“The problem is that in Zanuta we had land for planting and harvesting. Now there is nothing,” Mohammed Tal said, another senior member of the community who was visiting Shweika for the day. “Suddenly, we were forced to build new lives out of steel sheets and don't even ask me how much it cost,” he said, while chain-smoking.
Despite the pain of relocating to Shweika, Fares and his sons are still not free from physical danger. In May, Jibril was attacked by settlers. He said they took him at gunpoint, forced him to say things on camera, smashed his phone and then beat him. Pictures that The National saw showed Jibril’s bruised face and lacerations to his head.
“Our weapon is only a camera, while they have M-16s. The settler can hit you, but you can't respond and defend yourself. All you can do is film the crimes being committed against you,” Mohammed said, as Jibril put his phone back in his pocket.
Jibril’s attackers struck as a legal case mounted by the community gathered momentum in their favour, surprising many, and even getting some media attention. It culminated with the High Court of Justice in August telling Israel’s police, military and Civil Administration – a branch of the military that implements Israel’s civilian policy in the West Bank – to make arrangements for the community to return to Zanuta, as well as another village also emptied by settler violence, Um Darit.
The order was viewed as a major win by the human rights organisations and international backers. Israeli courts have long been viewed by activists as uninterested at best in upholding the law when it comes to the rights of Palestinians, although in 2017 the High Court spared Zanuta destruction after it blocked a demolition order.
Following the ruling over the summer, it soon emerged that victory on paper was still not enough to save the village. There were no stringent conditions on the state about what it had to provide residents whose lives had been so badly upturned. The community was also not allowed to rebuild the buildings that had been destroyed by settlers. About 40 members of the community went back to sleep in the open in August, but were defenceless against the same settlers who had attacked them at the beginning.
Then, just weeks after the High Court appeared to grant them a lifeline, the Civil Administration told residents that what little remained of their homes would be demolished if they did not accept a relocation plan that was drawn up by the state. It said there was an archaeological site at the village, which made legalising Zanuta impossible.
When asked about the point of the court, an institution at the heart of Israel’s democratic system, Mohammed said it was only there to “satisfy public sentiment, and especially that of other nations”.
“You had all these lawyers and volunteers, even representatives from other western countries in front of the court. They wanted us to return … The court played us and played the organisations that were helping us."
Mohammed says the only thing that can save them is if the “settler state” led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – whose coalition includes a large bloc of extremist settlers, including ministers whose positions directly relate to West Bank security – is replaced by a better administration.
“Were there to be another government, perhaps something would change, but not necessarily. I'm not saying that all Israelis are bad. There are good people,” Mohammed said. “But the state is in complete control of everything. And this democracy they speak of is meant only for specific people.”
As Fares and Mohammed concluded their story, Israeli jets still roared overhead. They were most likely on their way to bomb targets in Lebanon, one of the many fronts Israel is fighting on after October 7.
The path to victory seems unclear and long in most of those dangerous arenas. In the West Bank, at least for the settlers, victory must feel close to guaranteed.
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
SHAITTAN
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVikas%20Bahl%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAjay%20Devgn%2C%20R.%20Madhavan%2C%20Jyothika%2C%20Janaki%20Bodiwala%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Lowest Test scores
26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955
30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896
30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924
35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899
36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932
36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902
36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020
38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019
42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946
42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Zodi%20%26%20Tehu%3A%20Princes%20Of%20The%20Desert
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEric%20Barbier%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYoussef%20Hajdi%2C%20Nadia%20Benzakour%2C%20Yasser%20Drief%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
