Palestinian family in West Bank fear settler violence will rob them of home
The family of a Palestinian-American man remain holed up in his West Bank home for more than a week, after Israeli settlers laid siege to the house and the Israeli army then turned it into a closed military area.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
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army → fear → SUMMERS
UNICEF delivered food, water and medicine over the weekend to a Palestinian family who has been under siege in their home in the occupied West Bank.
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who → deliver → Bank
Extremist Israeli settlers attacked the home for days, and the Israeli military has now sealed off the area.
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military → attack → area
NPR's Frank Langfitt has the latest on this bizarre standoff, which has made headlines around the world because the home's owner is Palestinian American.
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owner → have → world
I'm looking out at the house.
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I → look → house
It's on a hillside surrounded by olive trees.
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It → surround → trees
Settlers have been trying to basically take it over for more than a week - throwing rocks, cutting off electricity and water.
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Settlers → try → electricity
I just saw two buses full of soldiers come up the road to the house.
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buses → see → house
And Qusai Abu Ridi, who lives inside - he can't get out.
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he → live → ?
The situation is catastrophic here in this household where I'm living with my neighbor and his family and his children.
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I → live → neighbor
Neither him nor I are able to conduct our normal works, so we are not working at all.
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we → conduct → works
Abu Ridi is speaking to me by phone and NPR producer Nuha Musleh.
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Ridi → speak → phone
He says the army has run the settlers off at times but failed to detain them.
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army → say → them
Abu Ridi says this is all political theater.
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this → say → ?
They claim that they are conducting a military campaign in order to evict the settlers.
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they → claim → settlers
Actually, they are choking us.
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they → choke → us
For four days, they have been here, and they have not worked on getting rid of the settlers.
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they → work → settlers
The Israeli military said it had sent a battalion to the area and that water was restored.
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water → say → area
The settlers insist that the land is theirs because God gave it to the Jews in the Bible.
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God → insist → Bible
Abu Ridi sees it differently.
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Ridi → see → it
They want to take my 3 million shekel house and live in it for free.
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They → want → it
Last week, Ophir Falk, foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a statement on the siege, quote, "Israel doesn't accept vigilantes in any form.
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Israel → issue → form
We're investing a lot of effort to curb such sporadic incidents."
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We → invest → incidents
I support annexation of the West Bank, and I know that they are causing a lot of damage to my cause.
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they → support → cause
He's a former member of the Israeli Parliament who lives in the West Bank.
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who → live → Bank
He wants to make it an official part of Israel, but he doesn't like the kinds of settlers who've been attacking Abu Ridi's home.
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who → want → home
Eldad says they're part of a larger group, grabbing land and spreading fear.
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they → say → fear
Those who expelled from schools.
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who → expel → schools
I think, even though they are mostly recognized as religious, I think they have no God.
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they → think → God
What do you mean by that?
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you → mean → that
I mean, nobody can tell them what to do.
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nobody → mean → what
They live in the hills among themselves.
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They → live → themselves
A lot of them do not recognize the authority of the state of Israel.
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lot → recognize → Israel
Eldad says the Israeli government doesn't crack down because some of the government's far-right supporters back these young people.
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some → say → people
Michael Milshtein runs the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University.
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Milshtein → run → University
He says the attack in Qusra and the lack of consequences for the settlers, fits with a broader government strategy to accumulate land claimed by Palestinians for a future state.
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attack → say → state
He says the government's goal is clear.
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goal → say → ?
HANI ODEH: (Through interpreter) They want us to go to Jordan.
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us → want → Jordan
They consider Jordan as the Palestinian homeland.
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They → consider → homeland
A couple of miles away, Mahmoud Toubasi tells me how settlers blockaded his two family homes for 23 days.
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settlers → tell → days
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
