CAVE DWELLERS

Khirbet Ghwein al-Fawqa is located on a hill overlooking the borders of Hebron in the West Bank, Palestine. It has a population of 120 Palestinians. It is clearly visible that the residents of this remote village live a very primitive difficult life in ancient caves and do not even have the most basic public services. They depend on raising sheep, livestock, growing cereals and some rainfed agriculture. Many of the Israeli Jewish settlements surround Khirbet Ghwein al-Fawqa. It is worth mentioning that a number of its original Palestinian inhabitants were displaced during the  Nakba War 1948.

While the residents of the encompassing Jewish settlements enjoy abundant amount of water, Ghwein’s inhabitants are deprived of water and even extracting it from wells. These Palestinian inhabitants live in an arid area, which is completely dependent on rainwater. Besides, the Israeli settlers keep provoking the Palestinian residents by expropriating their lands and by not allowing them to build houses. Moreover, they destroy their caves and seize on their sheep.

The whole situation is completely miserable out there. No peaceful life in sight.