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Sunday, February 16, 2020
Meet the Palestinian family living in an Israeli settlement - The Jerusalem Post
BBC's Middle East correspondent Tom Bateman ran a video segment titled "The Palestinian family with its own checkpoint," where he visited the home of a Palestinian family living in a sectioned-off area of the Israeli settlement of Givon Ha'Hadasha.According to the report, the family of Sa'adat Gharib built their house over forty years ago in an area just northwest of Jerusalem called Beit Ijza, on land they claimed has belonged to their family since the Ottoman period. Along the way, Israel claimed ownership of the land surrounding the Gharib family's home and created a West Bank settlement on the newly annexed land. For security purposes, the perimeter of the family's home was enclosed within a fence standing six meters high all around – leaving the family with only one dual entrance and exit as well as their own personal checkpoint, controlled by the Israeli government.Pointing to an orange gate, Gharib tells Bateman: "This is a special entrance for the occupation army. For any problems facing them, they come from this gate. They close off the entrance of the house, and we can't come in or out."They see this as protection for the settlers."When the security fence was initially built, the family claimed that the entrance-exit was consistently closed – forcing them to negotiate with security officials in order to leave their house, according to Haaretz.The family compares their housing situation to living in a prison. Gharib explains that this is because of the amount of control Israeli security forces have over his family home, mainly regarding the lone entrance-exit leading into the village of Beit Ijza – which could be closed off at any moment – as well as the closed-circuit cameras surrounding and watching his property 24/7."This is someone who occupies my land, puts me under siege and has taken my freedom," Gharib explained, adding that they have "confiscated my land and not left me air to breathe." To gain perspective: To enter the Israeli settlement surrounding the Gharib family home, which is right outside the fence, Bateman had to travel through Palestinian neighborhoods, winding roads and even protests – a drive which took roughly an hour and a half – in order "to get right [back to] pretty much where we started." While in Givon Ha'Hadasha, Bateman interviewed Ilanit Gohar, whose family built their house there 25 years ago.Regarding the potential annexation of the settlement according to US President Donald Trump's recently released peace plan, she said: "I think that this is a historic breakthrough. The annexation is fabulous not only for us, the residents of a settlement, but for all the people of Israel."Bateman challenged her, pointing out that "the rest of the world says 'well, you know building settlements is illegal.' What do you think when you hear that?""I don't think it's illegal," she replied. "I think trying to find a solution between the two peoples, Jews and Palestinians, is necessary. What I see is a breakthrough."Bateman then turned the conversation to focus on the security fence surrounding the Gharib family home, which can clearly be seen as Gohar and Bateman walk down a suburban road within the Israeli settlement."What do you think when you see a Palestinian home behind all this?" Bateman asks Gohar, to which she replied. "He chose this, he chose this type of living. Once it was ruled that these lands aren't his, and that they belong to the State of Israel, he can't stop people [from] settling on this land."We can't move him, [but] he won't move us."Within the implication of the new Trump peace deal, without any changes, these settlements would become recognized internationally as a formal part of Israel. Meaning that the walls surrounding the Gharib family home and others like it would essentially become new state borders.
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