Youth volunteers save springs in Qarawa Bani Hassan from settler take over
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Youth volunteers save springs in Qarawa Bani Hassan from settler take over

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This Friday the third time about forty youth volunteers from Farkha (Salfit district) and Ramallah joined people from Qarawa Bani Hassan in the rehabilitation of the village water wells. Settlers in the area have attempted to take over these wells and the rehabilitation of the area is to ensure that the people of Qarawa Bani Hassan will continue to be able to use the wells for drinking water and in order to relax in the area.

They started at 10 am clearing rocks and big stones from the cave in the mountain where the spring is located. The current work is aimed at clearing the entrance to the three ancient roman pools the spring forms in the cave and to make them fit for swimming in summer. One of the pools has been cleaned from the mud during the day’s work.

The stones cleared from the cave were used to build a stone wall, creating the illusion of two separate spaces in the area in front of the pools. These two spaces will be used as part of the park that the volunteers are planning to build there.

The settlers in the area continue to sabotage the work done and provoke the activists and endanger the cultural heritage of the ancient wells.

A few weeks ago the nearby settlers put concrete on the walls of one of the pools but this Friday the volunteers removed this concrete in an effort to protect these ancient ruins from destruction.
This time, a family of settlers came to the area around noon time but the mayor of the village asked them to leave. The retreat of the settlers after the people made it clear they were not welcome was not to last long. An hour later three settler families with their children came and sat among the volunteer, shouting in Hebrew and wearing t-shirts with ‘Kill the Arabs’ printed on them. They stayed for about 30 minutes there and when the provocation did not have any effect and did not stop the work, they left.

The work in Qarawa Bani Hassan will continue every Friday until a park is developed in the area where the locals and surrounding villagers can enjoy their time.

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