For shepherds watching flocks in Holy Land, rural life is facing a modern threat – The National

For shepherds watching flocks in Holy Land, rural life is facing a modern threat – The National

On the windswept hills of the southern West Bank, shepherds have tended to their flocks for millennia.

They were there when the angels came, according to the nativity story, to announce the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

But for those whose sheep now graze the land, such as Fadel Hassan Hamamdi, their rural way of life is under threat.