Iain Connon, who lives in Edinburgh and is soon to retire from his post as research officer with the Church of Scotland’s Church and nation Committee, is going to work for three months in Israel/Palestine within communities that are suffering under Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. He will be part of the Ecumenical Accompaniment programme requested by churches in Jerusalem.

The communities include Jayous and Janoun, both of whom depend on agriculture to provide a substantial part of people’s incomes.

In the small town of Jayous, just north of Qalqiliya, a high razor wire topped barrier now separates many people from their grazing and cultivated land. Sheep are separated from their sources of water and grazing land. Many small greenhouse and vegetable plots cannot be given the intensive care that they require as the access is restricted. The October olive harvest, when Iain will be there, is a time of particular stress.

Janoun is a small village, south east of Nablus, of about 100 people and in the heart of the West bank.  Intimidation by armed Israeli settlers is a constant threat. The support of Ecumenical Accompaniers and others enable the people who live in the village to continue to make their living from the land.

Iain said, "The invitation from the local churches is an opportunity to help, albeit in a small way, to alleviate the day to day difficulties faced by Palestinians living in the West Bank and Jerusalem and to draw attention to the difficulties under which they have to live and to the civil rights abuse that they suffer."