Yanoun is a small farming village south of Nablus located in Area C of the West Bank which is under full Israeli military control. The village is comprised of upper and lower Yanoun and is quietly nestled between rocky hills amongst olive groves and cacti. Israel maintains
full administrative and military control of Area C and thus decides to whom it awards building rights to. Yanoun has been prohibited from building any new structures by the Israeli government which concurrently helps establish and expand a nearby Israeli settler outpost. This restrictive building policy has contributed to the decline of Yanoun's population which currently stands at 70 people. In addition, the people of Yanoun have been victims of violent settler attacks over the years often under the watch of the Israeli army. These types of attacks are
commonplace in many Palestinian villages near settlements and Yanoun is no exception. Attacks range from harassment (settlers bathing their dogs in the village's drinking water well) to violent attacks involving arson, stone throwing or killing sheep by driving into them (click
here for a full report on settler violence in the West Bank). Such regular attacks have prompted the creation of the of the
EAPPI which serves to act as a deterrent for settler violence by maintaining a visible international presence in some of the villages all year. We were asked to stay at the EAPPI house in Yanoun for 24 hours to cover during a changeover of volunteers. Our tasks were to take 2 walks a day between upper and lower Yanoun and to alert the town's mayor immediately if any incidents occurred.
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| Settlement |
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| Spotlight from the settlement at night | | | |
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The settlement can be seen on the hill overlooking Yanoun and for the
most part was very quiet during the day. It seemed to
comprise only of a few trailers, a military watchtower and a water
tower. Israeli military personal passed through the village and a
construction vehicle operated on the settlement during the day. The
night we spent there was cool and peaceful, however a powerful and
blinding surveillance spotlight directed onto the village throughout the
night from the settlement was a constant reminder of the strange and
disturbing nature of the situation the village is faced with.
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| Yanoun children pose with their rabbit |
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| Road between Upper and Lower Yanoun |
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| Logistics board in EAPPI house with names of various villages |
Yanoun is a small farming village south of Nablus located in Area C of the West Bank which is under full Israeli military control. The village is comprised of upper and lower Yanoun and is quietly nestled between rocky hills amongst olive groves and cacti. Israel maintains full administrative and military control of Area C and thus decides to whom it awards building rights to. Yanoun has been prohibited from building any new structures by the Israeli government which concurrently helps establish and expand a nearby Israeli settler outpost. This restrictive building policy has contributed to the decline of Yanoun's population which currently stands at 70 people. In addition, the people of Yanoun have been victims of violent settler attacks over the years often under the watch of the Israeli army. These types of attacks are commonplace in many Palestinian villages near settlements and Yanoun is no exception. Attacks range from harassment (settlers bathing their dogs in the village's drinking water well) to violent attacks involving arson, stone throwing or killing sheep by driving into them (click here for a full report on settler violence in the West Bank). Such regular attacks have prompted the creation of the of the EAPPI which serves to act as a deterrent for settler violence by maintaining a visible international presence in some of the villages all year. We were asked to stay at the EAPPI house in Yanoun for 24 hours to cover during a changeover of volunteers. Our tasks were to take 2 walks a day between upper and lower Yanoun and to alert the town's mayor immediately if any incidents occurred. 
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