Siege by Settlers

As we walked up the steep hill towards the home of the Shaker al-Tamimi family, an IOF jeep came streaking down the hill towards us from the military base at the top of the hill. The driver had a smirk on his face as he sped past, headed right towards a school bus parked on the side of the road with little kids hanging around outside. It pissed us off.

As we got to the top of the hill, A man in the family met us with a warm welcoming smile and a hearty handshake. He immediately pointed to the huge water tank on the adjacent hill and told us how all the water from that tank was being sent to the 3 settlements that literally surround his house. He can get water from it, but he has to pay for it and it comes in small pipes with little water pressure. He also has to pay for the electricity to pump the water up to his house. Israel is literally stealing the water from Palestinian land and selling a bit back to the Palestinians.

We went inside a large, beautiful wedding-like tent with cushioned couches where Mr. Tamimi’s daughter and grandson made us comfortable with drinks and snacks. Palestinian hospitality is rightly known for its care and generosity.

Then Mr. Tamimi launched into telling us stories of how he has been under siege from the settlers around him for the past number of years. He started by saying “Life is beautiful here except for the occupation and the settlers. Every day, the settlers interrupt and harass us.”

The occupation is taking pieces of his land every day. The settlers have poisoned his sheep, stolen his olives, and actually destroyed over 250 olive trees.

His land that spreads down the hill, and his large house, have come down to him through several generations of his family and are now frequently used for family gatherings. During one of these recent gatherings, a large group of settlers burst into their house and starting assaulting people. Some of them were dressed as soldiers. There were many injuries, windows were broken, and cars damaged. The settlers then stopped an ambulance from getting to the house.

Settlers have attacked his family in the fields and farm with stones, brandished guns, beaten them with sticks. They have driven jeeps right into the house, dumped bulldozers full of trash at their front door. Soldiers have tear gassed the inside of their home and fly drones overhead often.

The Tamimi family has made numerous complaints to the courts, spending over $40,000 in lawyer fees (for Israeli lawyers) and have actually gotten a ruling that their land was stolen. But the courts have provided no enforcement of their rulings and the theft continues, piece by piece. The Tamimis believe the courts are deliberately not providing a remedy, that they are in collusion with the expansion of settlements. Now the military prevents them from entering the stolen land. There is no one to protect them.

This is just one family’s story of how they are subjected to violence and theft on a daily basis. There are so many more like this across the occupied territories. 

Palestinians in the West Bank are under an intense siege by settlers.