Villagers greeted news that progress was being made with relief. But they had more urgent problems.

The village, which has a predominantly Christian population of around 1,300 people, is subject to a reign of terror. October is the olive harvesting season, but its residents risk settler assault if they go into their land to pluck the fruit.

As with all Palestinian villages, gates have been installed at the village entrance to enable the Israeli army to cut off access at a moment's notice.

Youssef Moussa, a 64-year-old Bedouin man, told us how a settler militia broke into his tent while his family was asleep two weeks ago.

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