The breaking news alert chimes on my comrade’s phone. He looks at the news article and shows it to Ghassan. “This is a good day,” Ghassan says. Ghassan is only 34, but speaks with wisdom far beyond his age, perhaps the result of his multiple stints as a political prisoner. Born and raised in Burin, he now works as a community activist, coordinates an agricultural co-op, works with all the youth in the community, and still has time to host international groups and journalists to show them the situation in Burin and the West Bank. “I could tell you, but maybe I will lie. I want you to see with your own eyes so you can understand the situation for yourself.” I hear him give this same pitch to several groups over the course of my time in Burin.
As we watch the children play and laugh at the annual Burin kite festival that Ghassan organizes, it’s hard to believe just a few hours ago, a fire broke out, likely started by settlers. The next day we would learn that at least 700 olive trees were burnt, before the army stopped the man who owned the orchard from counting.
In the middle of the festival, with the backdrop of the smoke and roaring flames, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has just ruled the Israeli occupation of Palestine illegal and ordered an evacuation of the West Bank. It feels a bit surreal.
The minutes before and after the ruling did not feel very different. But the kite festival went ahead uninterrupted. With three kites shot down last year by the encroaching settlers, this was certainly a welcome change. The next day in the village of Qusra, international activists were beaten with metal pipes. The day after, another fire breaks out in Burin. Here, the villagers know many of the nearby settlers by name.
In Burin, Ghassan speaks of Yacub from Brooklyn who is the self-proclaimed leader of the Yitzhar settlement. This settlement, first constructed in the early 1980’s, is considered illegal under international law. Despite this, the illegal settlers living next door have Israeli citizenship and the accompanying rights, while those in Burin are ruled by Palestinian policies. Yitzhar is infamous for developing key aspects of right-wing settler ideology and its intensely violent residents. In Burin, settlers frequently attack and regularly murder villagers. I see the stress in mothers’ eyes as they closely watch their children playing with me in the street. At any moment, settlers could arrive and start attacking the children.
In the village of Umm Al-Khair, it is Shimon who terrorizes the villagers. Shimon is a settler who lives in Carmel and has taken up clearing the nearby village as his personal calling. Since October, when the state began providing military grade weapons and powers to settlers, he has personally terrorized most families in the village. Even the sight of his car sets people on edge. For Eid Suleiman Hadaleen, the ruling gives hope in a very dark time. On June 26th, his family home of 18 years was demolished by the army. They gave him 30 minutes to remove his items from the home. Most of his belongings still remain under the rubble.
This ruling confirms what Eid and other Palestinians have been saying for decades. He believes the ICJ will further isolate Israel and make global relations untenable. The ruling is a good start, but he believes it must lead to government sanctions and divestment. “Why do you want your taxes going to this?” He asks and waves towards the rubble where his home once stood.
Talk of settler sanctions arises almost every day. A settler nearby drew international attention for being sanctioned by the US and had their bank accounts frozen. Israel, not wanting to harm relations with their strongest ally, froze his Israeli bank accounts as well. Now he conducts his finances through his brother, who lives in another settlement in the region.
“At least it makes it a little more difficult for them,” an Israeli/American activist says as he sips tea and talks to Eid in the community centre.
Yet sanctions on settlers in the West Bank remain low, with the US sanctioning a few dozen, Canada sanctioning seven, and Japan sanctioning four. Considering there are over 400,000 illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank, these few sanctions have little impact on the day to day lives of Palestinians. Many of the US sanctions occurred because American activists were injured by settlers along with Palestinians. When an international is injured, we have the ability to file a complaint with our consulate. A privilege not afforded to Palestinians who face daily violence from these same individuals.
Throughout the West Bank, dozens of villages have been evacuated and destroyed since October 7. Outside of Bethlehem, we drive past a recently evacuated Palestinian village. Settlers have begun prepping this same land for grape crops, likely to produce and sell wine. Outside of Susya in Masafer Yatta, a vineyard and winery sit near the original village site (they were relocated to accommodate both a settlement and archeological site).
These vineyards atop stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank produce wines sold on shelves in Canada and elsewhere across the world. Falsely labelled as produced in Israel, Canadian advocacy groups have gone to court and in 2022 won a legal battle declaring wines made in illegal West Bank settlements must be labelled as such in Canada. With the newest ICJ ruling, these campaigns have the potential to spread globally
For Nasser Nawajaa in Susya, whose family experiences daily harassment from nearby settlers, the ruling offers hope not only of sanctions for these settlers, but also divestment from Drimia Winery. Marketing itself as a “boutique winery” (as many settlement wineries do), this winery not only bottles and sells its wine, but also offers private tours and tastings for those seeking libations against a backdrop of apartheid and displacement.
Just a week after the ruling, Umm Al-Khair has planned a large wedding in the village, with over 1,000 attendees expected. Because they are located in Firing Zone 918, they had to obtain special permits and permission to construct a temporary wedding tent. Yet, just three days after the ruling, the Israeli military (IOF) came at night and began taking down the tent. They claimed the permits were issued by someone who did not have the appropriate authority. After some negotiation, the villagers were allowed to take down the tent themselves. The army assured us they would be back to “assess the situation” before driving off into the nearby settlement of Carmel.
Here in the West Bank, where life is marked by almost daily violence from the state and settlers, the ICJ ruling offers hope for a better future. It opens a possibility for an end to the nightmare of occupation. But the ruling also feels far away as life in the West Bank continues as usual. The court’s ruling does not stop the arsons in Burin or allow the wedding to continue unhindered in Umm Al-Khair. The ruling is an important start, but it must be acted upon by the international community. Those of us outside the region must use this ruling to pressure our governments to act. We must demand our Western democracies uphold international law and sanction Israel.
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