The best thing I have never done

In October 2015 David Amos, a London Quaker, was attacked by a gang of Israeli settlers while volunteering in the West Bank with the Olive Harvest Trust, an organisation committed to nonviolence and to protecting Palestinian olive farmers.

He was struck on the head by a rock and received emergency treatment in Nablus. David reflects on his experience.

I sat in the olive grove and watched as eight or nine young men ran down the hill at us, clutching rocks the size of small grapefruits. They shouted at us: ‘Go, Go, Go.’ They threw the rocks at us and gathered more as they came. Then they stood off, some metres away, and threw more rocks at us; some found their mark without causing much damage. Then one of the young men ran forward and kicked me hard. He quickly ran back as I continued to sit. Another followed suit. The kicks reached my neck, my arms and shoulders. Fortunately, my rucksack protected my back.

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