Arutz-7 Exclusive Photo Essay: Day Two in Homesh

by Ezra HaLevi

(IsraelNN.com)

Larger groups arrive in Homesh as buses from Tel Aviv, Haifa and Petah Tikva reach Shavei Shomron, the closest town
(Ezra HaLevi)

Yaakov Feldman stands silently on the empty ground his Homesh home once stood upon.
(Ezra HaLevi)

The IDF has set up a command center behind six layers of barbed wire
(Ezra HaLevi)

A female soldier argues with one of the activists, telling him he is breaking the law by being in Homesh. He responds that leaving Homesh was the unlawful act he is trying to rectify.
(Ezra HaLevi)

An IDF soldier rests behind the barbed wire separating the soldiers from the thousands of activists
(Natan Gesher)

People continue to arrive, by foot and even by donkey
(Josh Shamsi)

Stairs that were in use less than two years ago look like ancient ruins
(Josh Shamsi)

Young people inspect the rubble and destruction
(Ezra HaLevi)

A man talks with soldiers
(Ezra HaLevi)

"This will be my home" - written on a remaining wall in Homesh
(Ezra HaLevi)

The building begins
(Josh Shamsi)

Walls begin to grow taller
(Josh Shamsi)

People begin setting up camp
(Ezra HaLevi)

Some rest after the long trek on the front-lawns turned meadows
(Ezra HaLevi)

The building continues despite the IDF's ban on tools and building materials
(Josh Shamsi)

A sukkah (booth) is built out of branches and palm fronds
(Josh Shamsi)

"We have been waiting so long to build again," says one of the young people, a Homesh expellee
(Josh Shamsi)

Some returning families hang up their family name in front of where their home once stood and begin tidying up the yard
(Natan Gesher)

The one remaining structure is a water tower at the center of the mountain
(Josh Shamsi)

Journalists swarm the scene, brought up in an armored transport vehicle by the army
(Natan Gesher)

The builders take a break: "It is like in Egypt, where we had to build without the proper tools," one jokes
(Ezra HaLevi)

Tel Aviv in the distance
(Ezra HaLevi)

People gather near the water tower
(Ezra HaLevi)

Wood is gathered for campfires as the temperature declines
(Ezra HaLevi)

The many unwatered trees and bushes created ample firewood
(Ezra HaLevi)

After morning prayers, everyone gathers in the center of the community for an update on the situation
(Ezra HaLevi)

Overnight the water tower was outfitted with a pumping system, solving the lack of water due to the IDF blockade
(Ezra HaLevi)

Organizers ask that activists not use the buses the IDF supplied to try to empty the site. Activists continue to arrive.
(Ezra HaLevi)

The water tower is full
(Ezra HaLevi)

Shovels and other building materials were successfully smuggled in overnight
(Ezra HaLevi)

The IDF begins to block the roads, forcing activists to go through Arab villages and climb steep paths
(Natan Gesher)

Activists leaving Homesh spread rocks on the road to prevent security forces from chasing arriving activists
(Natan Gesher)

Tzfat's Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu encourages those present to continue on their path
(Ezra HaLevi)

Some activists managed to reach the site with 4x4 vehicles setting out from hilltop communities in Samaria and using dirt roads
(Ezra HaLevi)

A second generator, smuggled in overnight
(Ezra HaLevi)

Tents, poles and tools smuggled in overnight
(Ezra HaLevi)

Young people attending Torah classes by the half-dozen rabbis who arrived in Homesh by foot
(Ezra HaLevi)

'Homesh First' organizer Boaz HaEtzni
(Ezra HaLevi)

Tools lie about as more and more building projects begin around Homesh
(Ezra HaLevi)

Soldiers catch two activists trying to reach Homesh and force them to turn around
(Ezra HaLevi)

Young people make their way home after days of camping
(Ezra HaLevi)

Rocks spread out along the road to prevent reinforcements from arriving for the forced eviction
(Ezra HaLevi)

Activists continue to arrive via alternate routes
(Natan Gesher)

One of the many caves around the region
(Ezra HaLevi)

Roads leading further north to Sa-Nur
(Natan Gesher)

For use of photos, contact syndicate@IsraelNN.com

(For additional photos, including the journey to Homesh and the brit mila held there Tuesday afternoon, view the slideshow available on the sidebar)

Click here to view Arutz-7's photo feature of day one and here for another slideshow.

Click here for photos of the third day and forced removal of the activists and returning residents from Homesh.

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	7 Elul 5768, September 7, '08