PALESTINETV — broadcast
20260806 190000 UTC
799 transcript segments
Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking
Data courtesy of The GDELT Project (https://www.gdeltproject.org/), from the Internet Archive TV News Archive.
Machine transcription. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a verbatim quotation record.

[00:00:01] As you can see, it is now destroyed.
[00:00:04] of Michigan from
[00:00:05] to win them and control
[00:00:07] I mean, this
[00:00:07] simple caravans, but over
[00:00:25] as an elected member
[00:00:26] new history being written in
[00:00:29] voter does not
[00:00:36] and the Palestinian issue, will this
[00:00:37] meetings that of the Democratic candidate, a supporter of the Palestinian cause, Abdullah
[00:00:40] Al-Sayyed, in the primary elections for the US Senate
[00:00:47] In the past, Party candidate for the for the state of Michigan was a remarkable event in the American
[00:00:49] students did not political scene. This event has implications
[00:00:51] that transcend the state's borders amid discussions within the party about
[00:00:54] the necessity of changing the American view towards the Palestinian
[00:00:58] Well, can this victory reflect cause and towards changing American policies
[00:01:01] with Palestinians in light of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. This
[00:01:05] victory caused a great stir in the American
[00:01:08] street amid ongoing discussions about the Palestinian
[00:01:12] is that the strong turnout in cause. I turn to
[00:01:16] level, on the psychological to win this state in in the my guest from the state of Iowa, Dr. John Dabit, member of the Central
[00:01:20] Committee of the American
[00:01:36] to achieve the desired victory remarkable in the American
[00:01:40] of this political context? The settlers were passing What makes this victory a historic victory,
[00:01:44] even, and not just remarkable,
[00:01:46] facts on the ground. is that for the
[00:01:50] has been built and confiscated in first time
[00:01:54] I went home. I went to I mean, confront the Republican Party a candidate of Arab origin has been elected
[00:01:56] Qadum and told them, "Either you tell me this or won to the US Senate in the primary
[00:01:59] elections. This candidate,
[00:02:02] Dr. Abdullah Al-Sayyed,
[00:02:05] will
[00:02:09] After the third day, the officer came in run in the midterm elections in November
[00:02:10] the car to against the Republican
[00:02:13] Party candidate. If he succeeds in these
[00:02:15] elections, he will become the first Arab
[00:02:18] and Muslim
[00:02:21] to, I mean, invest in this in the US Senate. Therefore, we say that these
[00:02:25] elections led to making history
[00:02:28] that we have not witnessed before in the United
[00:02:35] a change in the mood of the Democratic voter, or is
[00:02:39] it a special case for the state of Michigan?
[00:02:42] I do not think that there is a change in general in
[00:02:45] the mood of the American voter because
[00:02:48] all studies
[00:02:51] to control and statistics within the Democratic Party tell us that
[00:02:56] States, mostly the popular base of the Democratic Party, especially among the youth
[00:03:00] category, has become much more inclined
[00:03:03] to
[00:03:06] the Liaison Office, the Wall Authority, support
[00:03:08] 5 million dollars in the Palestinian cause and to support the Palestinian cause
[00:03:11] and the Palestinian people in their suffering from the genocide war
[00:03:15] that,
[00:03:17] Doctor, what is the impact of this I mean, is still happening daily and we see it on
[00:03:20] television and other media.
[00:03:23] And therefore,
[00:03:25] community and friends, this change and this transformation shift in the American also had several reasons
[00:03:29] for Dr. Abdullah Al-Sayyed's
[00:03:32] success in these
[00:03:35] gaps through this primary elections in the state
[00:03:39] the village and they have their papers of Michigan. And even obtain a majority the Zionist lobby
[00:03:42] AIPAC did not pay
[00:03:45] with these exorbitant sums
[00:03:49] that,
[00:03:51] aspect is that we must work I mean, were more than 60 million dollars, which they put in these
[00:03:54] primary elections specifically
[00:03:57] to bring him down, and they failed.
[00:04:03] Bank settlements, the settlements established on a vote on an item in And that is why
[00:04:08] how can this victory be interpreted Dr. Abdullah's response to them we, I mean, initiated an analysis of what happened and what brought about this result,
[00:04:11] and we found that there were factors that led
[00:04:14] to Dr. Abdullah's success. One of them is that Dr.
[00:04:20] during the last 103 members of Abdullah mobilized a large number of the popular
[00:04:22] the Zionist lobby in base in the state of Michigan. I mean, we know that
[00:04:25] AIPAC
[00:04:28] at the same time. And that's why, I mean, and the Central Committee. Will this spent 11 to 1 financially
[00:04:31] daily. Yes. If this against him.
[00:04:34] So this is a big change that we see So he shifted from the financial factor to the popular
[00:04:36] mobilization factor, meaning
[00:04:39] especially those of us who that he, I mean, had tens of thousands
[00:04:42] of people helping him run in these elections
[00:04:47] the most prominent features of this and succeed in them.
[00:04:48] also, I mean, in I mean, they made,
[00:04:50] in order to win according to our statistics, more than
[00:04:56] the bypass road, and the occupation We want to bring in a million phone calls with American voters in the state of Michigan. They visited more than 2,000
[00:05:00] thousand homes and spoke
[00:05:03] in the with them. I mean, they organized more than 500 events
[00:05:05] in various parts of the state of Michigan.
[00:05:09] But in the end, the major factor that
[00:05:13] mobilized all these efforts was
[00:05:16] his clear stance on what is happening in Palestine
[00:05:19] and in the Gaza Strip, and in the war of annihilation. Well,
[00:05:23] Doctor, in your opinion, can
[00:05:27] this victory be considered a message to the Democratic Party leadership
[00:05:31] regarding its policy towards Israel?
[00:05:35] Yes, certainly. I,
[00:05:38] of the Central Committee of the Party in the state of Iowa,
[00:05:41] have always
[00:05:45] issue. We always discussed in our
[00:05:50] the traditional leadership must change because the popular
[00:05:53] base of the party has changed and changed significantly.
[00:05:56] Therefore, we cannot have a
[00:06:00] base like this and a traditional
[00:06:02] leadership that is still living,
[00:06:06] I mean, 30 or 40 years ago with its old
[00:06:09] way of thinking. Therefore, we will see
[00:06:12] that Dr. Abdullah Al-Sayyed's success in these
[00:06:15] primary elections will bring
[00:06:19] about a noticeable change within the corridors
[00:06:22] of the Democratic Party in the United States, specifically
[00:06:27] discussions that will take place around the table in
[00:06:32] the central committees and with
[00:06:41] in other American states?
[00:06:43] Yes, certainly. Today, of course,
[00:06:47] was the big picture
[00:06:51] for this, I mean,
[00:06:53] election. But today, in the state
[00:06:57] of Michigan, I mean,
[00:07:00] two progressive Democratic candidates achieved
[00:07:03] great successes. I mean, for example, Congresswoman
[00:07:06] Rashida Tlaib was re-elected for
[00:07:10] District 12. A progressive
[00:07:14] Democratic candidate, progressive
[00:07:17] Will Larson
[00:07:19] was elected for District 7.
[00:07:23] I mean, also a progressive candidate
[00:07:25] was elected for District 13,
[00:07:28] Dan
[00:07:30] Kildee, who also ran in elections against
[00:07:34] a candidate, a congressman,
[00:07:37] for example, a strong supporter
[00:07:41] of AIPAC, and AIPAC supported him,
[00:07:44] I mean, gave him about 3 million dollars, and despite all this, he lost these elections.
[00:07:48] I mean, the results today were in favor
[00:07:51] of, of course, the Arab American
[00:07:54] community and the Palestinian
[00:07:57] community specifically. And that's why we are seeing these changes.
[00:08:00] There were also elections in other states, primaries,
[00:08:04] for example, the state of Washington. I mean,
[00:08:08] also two progressive members of the Democratic
[00:08:11] Party won significantly.
[00:08:13] We
[00:08:16] look forward to winning more and more in order to,
[00:08:19] I mean, bring in more progressive congressmen
[00:08:23] who stand with the Palestinian cause in the midterm elections in November.
[00:08:27] Well,
[00:08:30] victory on the midterm elections in the United States?
[00:08:33] Of course, these elections
[00:08:35] will be,
[00:08:39] I mean, very intense because
[00:08:42] immediately after Dr. Abdullah's
[00:08:45] victory, the Republican Party attacked him
[00:08:48] heavily, from President Trump to, I mean,
[00:08:52] the Republican candidate who will be the candidate
[00:08:56] who will run in the elections for the Republican
[00:08:58] Party against Dr. Abdullah, whose
[00:09:02] name is Mike Rogers. I mean, they immediately
[00:09:05] attacked him and described him as a communist
[00:09:09] and other descriptions
[00:09:12] they used, but
[00:09:17] was quick and, I mean,
[00:09:21] comprehensive and strong. And that's why we believe
[00:09:25] that these midterm elections will mark
[00:09:28] a different history in the history
[00:09:31] of elections in the United States. Yes. Well,
[00:09:34] will we see a division, Doctor? You are a member of the Democratic
[00:09:37] Party
[00:09:40] victory lead to a division within the Democratic Party regarding
[00:09:43] foreign policy, specifically towards the Middle East and the Palestinian
[00:09:46] issue? I don't think so, my friend.
[00:09:50] We are in the most dire
[00:09:52] need now to unite our ranks as a Democratic
[00:09:56] Party with all its orientations and all its
[00:10:00] wings the American Congress in the midterm
[00:10:04] elections. The main goal is to win
[00:10:07] Congress, and also because there is no significant
[00:10:11] difference between Democrats and Republicans currently
[00:10:15] House or the Parliament here.
[00:10:18] We only have five seats
[00:10:21] and in the Senate four seats.
[00:10:25] I mean, it's not easy to win them, but it's possible
[00:10:30] Congress in November, I mean, in the midterm
[00:10:33] elections. This is what the Democratic Party is striving for,
[00:10:36] and therefore, the Democratic
[00:10:39] Party will begin to unite its ranks
[00:10:43] across all its progressive, traditional,
[00:10:45] and moderate wings, among others, in order to achieve this goal,
[00:10:49] in order to, I mean, curb the extremist
[00:10:52] policies of Trump that he has pursued
[00:10:56] since becoming president of the United States. Regarding the war on Gaza
[00:11:01] victory push the Democratic Party to review its political
[00:11:04] discourse? Of course, certainly. I mean,
[00:11:08] for example, the Democratic
[00:11:10] presidency in
[00:11:13] 2024,
[00:11:16] Kamala Harris, who was the vice president then,
[00:11:20] issued
[00:11:22] a statement directly
[00:11:26] calling for support for Dr. Abdullah
[00:11:29] in order to win Michigan, because, as
[00:11:32] you know, the state of Michigan is a swing
[00:11:35] state, and it is necessary
[00:11:40] order to also control the American Congress in the midterm
[00:11:44] elections and then also work on the presidential
[00:11:47] elections two years later. I mean, the leaders of the Democratic
[00:11:50] Party have started
[00:11:52] issuing, I mean,
[00:11:56] statements, and they are demanding strongly
[00:11:58] that the party's base, the party's leadership,
[00:12:02] and the party's politicians unite behind
[00:12:06] these, I mean, elected
[00:12:09] officials of the party and members
[00:12:13] of the party in order to,
[00:12:16] in the midterm elections. Yes. How
[00:12:19] can this victory reflect on
[00:12:22] the influence of lobbying groups supporting Israel within the Democratic
[00:12:26] Party? I mean, they know that they
[00:12:30] lost significantly today, especially AIPAC
[00:12:33] and other Zionist lobbies. I mean,
[00:12:37] they
[00:12:39] have almost
[00:12:41] spent almost, so far, more than
[00:12:45] 100 million dollars on different candidates
[00:12:48] whom they wished to secure
[00:12:52] these seats for them, and they failed
[00:12:55] in some cases and succeeded in others. Usually, AIPAC
[00:12:59] and the Zionist lobby
[00:13:02] spend most
[00:13:05] of the financial support comes in the primary
[00:13:09] elections because the primary elections tell
[00:13:12] them who will support them within Congress. Usually,
[00:13:15] they spend a very small part in the general
[00:13:19] elections. For example, in 2024,
[00:13:22] AIPAC spent
[00:13:26] almost 120 million dollars in the primary
[00:13:29] elections and only
[00:13:33] the general elections. And therefore,
[00:13:36] we expect that the financial factor will not
[00:13:39] be of utmost importance in these
[00:13:43] elections, but rather the mobilization that was carried
[00:13:46] out by the current elected
[00:13:49] member, Dr. Abdullah,
[00:13:52] made a big difference in, I mean,
[00:13:56] closing these financial
[00:14:00] mobilization that he carried out and, I mean,
[00:14:03] led to his success in these primary elections.
[00:14:06] Well, Doctor, does that mean that candidates
[00:14:10] are now less hesitant to adopt more critical
[00:14:14] positions towards Israeli policy?
[00:14:17] Yes, within the Democratic Party, this is true,
[00:14:20] my friend. I mean, about two weeks ago,
[00:14:23] there was, I mean,
[00:14:27] the American Congress,
[00:14:30] and this item called for stopping financial
[00:14:34] and military aid to the Zionist entity.
[00:14:37] For the first time in the history of the United
[00:14:40] States,
[00:14:43] the Democratic Party in Congress
[00:14:47] voted in favor of this item,
[00:14:51] compared to 98 Democrats who voted
[00:14:54] to support, I mean, the other side.
[00:14:59] constantly. We have become in the United States,
[00:15:04] work daily on the political scene
[00:15:08] and communicate with party members and party leaders
[00:15:12] and talk about these matters. Therefore,
[00:15:15] change has occurred.
[00:15:19] at least 25 to 30 new progressive
[00:15:22] congressmen in these midterm
[00:15:25] elections that will be held in November, and God willing,
[00:15:29] it will be possible to achieve
[00:15:32] this. Well, to what extent has the war in Gaza and the Palestinian
[00:15:35] issue become a factor in the American
[00:15:39] elections? I mean, this question is of utmost
[00:15:43] importance, my friend. I mean, a fundamental
[00:15:46] reason. I mean, we
[00:15:50] analyzed what happened in these elections specifically
[00:15:53] since the morning, since it was officially announced
[00:15:56] that Dr. Abdullah had won.
[00:16:00] I mean, a main reason
[00:16:03] for Dr. Abdullah's success was
[00:16:06] a strong turnout from what
[00:16:10] we call urban centers and university
[00:16:13] areas. I mean, the student
[00:16:16] factor has become a crucial
[00:16:19] factor in participating in these American elections.
[00:16:26] care much about the political
[00:16:29] process. Today, university students
[00:16:32] and college students have become immersed
[00:16:35] in politics.
[00:16:38] And because in the future they will be the leaders of these
[00:16:41] parties, a main reason
[00:16:44] we found through our analysis of the data today
[00:16:50] the urban centers and university
[00:16:53] areas in various and key areas
[00:16:57] in the state of Michigan
[00:17:01] led to Dr. Abdullah's victory in these
[00:17:04] elections.
[00:17:07] For example, there was a large
[00:17:10] turnout from students at the most
[00:17:13] famous university in the state of Michigan in the city of Ann Arbor.
[00:17:16] I mean, when we saw the numbers, we were surprised
[00:17:19] when we saw these numbers
[00:17:23] and the participation of these students in
[00:17:25] these elections, and also in the city
[00:17:29] of Lansing, and also in the city of Grand
[00:17:33] Rapids.
[00:17:35] All of this, I mean, indicates the importance
[00:17:39] of the participation of the new generation in these
[00:17:42] elections in order to change the results of these
[00:17:45] elections and in order to change the political
[00:17:48] reality. We, I mean, must work very
[00:17:52] hard with this student group and the new
[00:17:55] generation in order
[00:17:58] work and in order to, I mean, achieve the
[00:18:02] change that we
[00:18:06] desire to see in the United States,
[00:18:09] especially in the policy of Congress in the United
[00:18:12] States. Yes. What is the extent of the influence of Arab
[00:18:15] and Muslim voters on the result of Abdullah
[00:18:18] Al-Sayyed's victory? Of course, it has a strong
[00:18:22] impact. To be honest,
[00:18:25] the largest Arab and Palestinian community, not
[00:18:29] Palestinian, but Palestinian and Arab in the United
[00:18:34] lives in the state of Michigan. I mean, the Arab
[00:18:37] voter, of course, had a significant impact on
[00:18:41] Dr. Abdullah's
[00:18:44] success, especially since the result was
[00:18:47] very, I mean, very close.
[00:18:51] I mean, the difference is not large. I mean, the difference
[00:18:54] is about 20,000 votes. I mean, if it weren't
[00:18:58] for the Arab and Palestinian
[00:19:03] it would have been difficult for Dr. Abdullah to succeed in these
[00:19:06] elections because we are talking
[00:19:09] about hundreds of thousands of Arab
[00:19:13] Americans who live in the state
[00:19:16] of Michigan and who participated significantly
[00:19:18] in these elections due to the importance of these
[00:19:22] elections, because we realize that
[00:19:25] these elections will lead the United States to a new
[00:19:29] history. And that's why, I mean,
[00:19:32] the support of the Arab citizen
[00:19:35] and motivating
[00:19:37] participation in the electoral process was of utmost
[00:19:40] importance. Yes. Well, Doctor,
[00:19:45] in Israel and by the lobby
[00:19:48] supporting Israel within the Democratic
[00:19:51] Party? Of course, I think,
[00:19:54] I mean, according to what we heard since the morning,
[00:19:59] the United States, even that
[00:20:02] lobby within the Democratic Party,
[00:20:05] they are, of course, unhappy with the results
[00:20:09] because they had a dream of the success
[00:20:13] of Haley Stevens, who was
[00:20:16] supported by the Zionist lobby with more than 60 million
[00:20:20] dollars. And that's why they are unhappy,
[00:20:22] and I think
[00:20:25] the Israeli entity, I think
[00:20:29] they are not happy because they know
[00:20:33] what Dr. Abdullah's success
[00:20:36] means and what the re-election
[00:20:40] of Rashida Tlaib to Congress
[00:20:44] means, and also the
[00:20:46] election, not re-election, but
[00:20:50] the election of two new members in the state
[00:20:54] progressive Democrats who are friends of the Palestinian
[00:20:57] cause and the Palestinian people,
[00:21:00] and the loss of Democratic members
[00:21:04] who were among the strongest defenders of AIPAC and
[00:21:07] the Zionist lobby. This change is of utmost
[00:21:11] importance. And that's why I said that what we witnessed today is
[00:21:16] the United States. But
[00:21:19] we must not sit back and say that
[00:21:22] we made history and that is enough. We must work
[00:21:26] more and more daily and every
[00:21:29] minute from now until the midterm
[00:21:32] elections in order to secure the success
[00:21:35] of those who won today in these
[00:21:38] primary elections
[00:21:41] in order to start the process of change in
[00:21:44] the American Congress.
[00:21:48] on the nature of the relationship between the US and Israel in the future,
[00:21:52] or will American institutions
[00:21:54] keep foreign policy on
[00:21:57] its course?
[00:22:00] My friend, this question is of utmost importance. I mean,
[00:22:03] the goal of electing
[00:22:06] more and more progressive Democratic
[00:22:09] members is to change this
[00:22:12] policy. I mean, as I said, out of
[00:22:16] 435 members of the American Congress,
[00:22:20] 103 Democrats
[00:22:22] voted for the first time
[00:22:26] to stop financial and military aid. This
[00:22:29] these policies that are biased
[00:22:32] towards the Zionist entity. However, if we
[00:22:35] bring in new congressmen
[00:22:38] in addition to the 103, then our position
[00:22:41] will become stronger, and of course, the political
[00:22:45] position of these people will become stronger
[00:22:48] because they will become a force to be reckoned with
[00:22:52] within Congress. Therefore,
[00:22:55] I mean, the work continues, and change
[00:22:58] is happening. It takes time, and also,
[00:23:02] I mean, these results came from
[00:23:06] continuous work for more than 30 years
[00:23:10] within the Democratic Party. I mean, I remember
[00:23:13] 30 years ago, if we were at any party conference
[00:23:17] and said the word Palestine, they would
[00:23:21] attack us. Now, I am responsible for writing, I mean, the political
[00:23:24] program of the Democratic Party in the state of Iowa,
[00:23:27] and we wrote a political program that is,
[00:23:30] I mean, exceptional regarding
[00:23:33] Palestine, and, I mean, with our heads held high in popular
[00:23:36] terms regarding Palestine. This came from
[00:23:40] political involvement in political work
[00:23:43] within the parties and taking our seats at the table
[00:23:47] for this change, and that's why
[00:23:50] it's happening, and God willing, after the midterm
[00:23:53] elections, the influence of groups
[00:23:56] that support the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian
[00:23:59] right will be stronger and stronger through
[00:24:03] the election of more members. But, Doctor, what
[00:24:07] needs to happen for us to say that there is a real
[00:24:12] position on the Palestinian issue?
[00:24:15] I mean, there are two aspects.
[00:24:18] The first is control or obtaining a majority
[00:24:22] in Congress. This is what we strive for.
[00:24:26] If Democrats
[00:24:30] and obtain, I mean, leadership of Congress in November,
[00:24:33] this will change the political
[00:24:37] equation. This is one aspect. The second
[00:24:41] from now to support
[00:24:45] a Democratic candidate for the American
[00:24:48] presidency who is a friend of the Palestinian
[00:24:52] people and the Palestinian cause. We must
[00:24:54] work from now with these people who
[00:24:58] are considering running in these elections,
[00:25:01] support them, stand with them, and work with them in order to
[00:25:04] change and increase the chances
[00:25:07] of their election to the American presidency. These
[00:25:10] two aspects are intertwined. I mean, we must
[00:25:13] work in both directions
[00:25:18] this work is happening
[00:25:21] victory, Doctor, as we discussed, is a new
[00:25:24] stage and a historic victory, what are the most prominent
[00:25:28] features of this stage, and what message
[00:25:31] does it send to American politicians alike?
[00:25:34] I mean,
[00:25:37] victory are that,
[00:25:40] I mean, the genocide that
[00:25:44] we are still witnessing daily
[00:25:47] has become a crucial factor in
[00:25:51] determining American policy in the United
[00:25:53] States. We said it from the
[00:25:56] beginning, I mean, you don't have
[00:26:00] to be Palestinian to be with
[00:26:02] Palestine. You must be a human being first.
[00:26:06] And that's why,
[00:26:09] humanitarian factor appears in some
[00:26:13] of these, I mean, candidates, especially
[00:26:16] progressive candidates.
[00:26:18] And that's why the Democratic Party's base
[00:26:22] supports and elects them,
[00:26:26] and they succeed in this because, I mean, because the American
[00:26:31] accept what they
[00:26:34] see on television of a daily
[00:26:38] war of annihilation against the Palestinian
[00:26:42] people. And that's why, I mean, this has also
[00:26:46] become a humanitarian issue that they are defending
[00:26:49] with this approach
[00:26:52] and this framework, and not just a political
[00:26:55] issue. And that's why support for
[00:26:59] those who are running in the elections, raising awareness and supporting
[00:27:03] the right of the Palestinian people,
[00:27:05] has increased. This is a very
[00:27:09] important message to the leaders of the Democratic
[00:27:12] Party, and I am very
[00:27:16] confident that we, as elected leaders of the Democratic Party
[00:27:19] in various states in the United States,
[00:27:22] will study these cases extensively
[00:27:25] and we will
[00:27:28] come up with things
[00:27:30] or data for the party at the United States level
[00:27:34] that it must follow in order
[00:27:39] success
[00:28:55] Total destruction. Not a single house. All three
[00:28:58] or four houses on top of each other. We don't even know where our house is. But
[00:29:02] we don't know. All three of our neighbors are on us, and we are on our neighbors. There is no house
[00:29:06] under me. It's not visible at all. Our house is gone, and we don't know where
[00:29:10] our house is, and we don't know. It's all just sand, all marble, my uncle.
[00:30:28] Our journey today is in the heart of the eastern region of Qalqilya governorate.
[00:30:33] To learn about the reality of settlement there, how it
[00:30:36] began, and where
[00:30:38] it has reached.
[00:30:44] The story does not begin from an alley in a settlement, but from a strategic
[00:30:48] hill overlooking the road connecting
[00:30:52] Qalqilya and Nablus in 1975.
[00:30:55] On the lands of the village of Kafr Qaddum,
[00:30:59] specifically at a military point known as Camp
[00:31:02] Qaddum, the first nuclei of what would later
[00:31:06] become the settlement of Kedumim were placed.
[00:31:10] This settlement is considered today
[00:31:13] the mother of settlements in
[00:31:23] the north of the West Bank. The sites on which the settlement
[00:31:26] project began in the Qalqilya governorate are
[00:31:29] places that were declared camps for the Jordanian army or
[00:31:32] declared lands, state lands, not
[00:31:35] private. After that, the settlement expansion began
[00:31:39] on all parts of Qalqilya governorate, especially
[00:31:42] the eastern part to separate the city from the governorate.
[00:31:51] After that, there was a settlement wall also between Qalqilya
[00:31:54] and Tulkarm, which was represented by the settlement
[00:31:58] of Qadamim, extending to the west
[00:32:01] to form a barrier with the settlement of Annab
[00:32:03] and Sal'id to the west on the lands of the
[00:32:06] governorate of Turk.
[00:32:17] When we first came, we were in caravans, a military camp
[00:32:20] for Arabs for the Jordanian army. They put caravans,
[00:32:24] the Jews came walking from a company. We
[00:32:27] used to live in that
[00:32:30] northern neighborhood.
[00:32:34] They came walking, they brought them caravans, they started putting caravans for them
[00:32:37] and they sat. Well,
[00:32:40] the eastern region, and we stood in the neighborhood and watched them
[00:32:44] walking.
[00:33:20] Behind these silent concrete blocks stands
[00:33:24] the name of Musa Zohar, the godfather and engineer who was not
[00:33:28] just a settler, but was the mastermind
[00:33:31] who, through maps and political contacts,
[00:33:35] designed how to plant strangers in the heart of Palestinian
[00:33:38] villages.
[00:33:40] This strategic hill near the village of Jin Safut
[00:33:44] was carefully chosen by Zohar to be his home
[00:33:48] on top of it, like a watchtower that reveals
[00:33:51] the finest details of the surrounding Palestinian villages,
[00:33:53] and from it he began to change the features of the region
[00:33:57] in favor of settlement.
[00:33:59] Zohar excelled in terrorizing the law, forging,
[00:34:03] defrauding, and exploiting every loophole
[00:34:06] the land, turning the area into concrete
[00:34:10] blocks that swallow thousands
[00:34:12] of dunams.
[00:34:26] Five years after Qadamim, specifically in 1980,
[00:34:29] the features of the Ma'aleh Efrayim settlement
[00:34:33] began to appear on the lands of the towns of Azzun, Jin
[00:34:37] Safut, and Kafr Laqif, to become
[00:34:40] today one of the largest settlements with its own industrial
[00:34:43] zones. It did not stop at gnawing at the land,
[00:34:47] but rather turned the neighboring villages into isolated enclaves. Today,
[00:34:50] we see how the fence and concrete blocks
[00:34:53] have been applied to the entrances of the town of Azzun, and how the towers
[00:34:57] have surrounded it from every direction, turning the settler's
[00:35:00] security into a daily prison for thousands
[00:35:03] of Palestinians. The town of Azzun lives in exceptional
[00:35:06] circumstances and an exceptional situation due to the occupation's practices. What the people of Azzun
[00:35:10] are subjected to are daily and continuous practices
[00:35:13] as a result of the constant incursions. The town of Azzun, I will describe
[00:35:17] the town of Azzun to you. The town of Azzun consists of five
[00:35:21] gates and an apartheid wall. It is surrounded by three
[00:35:23] large settlements from all directions.
[00:35:26] The town of Azzun is besieged. More than hundreds of dunams are uprooted
[00:35:29] or cut off from the town of Azzun, as
[00:35:32] you can see. The continuous fence that cut off
[00:35:36] hundreds of dunams from the town of Azzun, and that besieges the town of Azzun from all
[00:35:40] sides, from this eastern direction, and also from the northern direction, there are closed
[00:35:43] gates and the eastern entrance is closed from the First Intifada.
[00:35:47] Azzun suffers from a difficult economic situation, a state
[00:35:50] of struggle, a state of continuous closure on the town of Azzun. The
[00:35:53] presence of towers that fire bullets and tear gas,
[00:35:57] like this tower and the western and northern towers. These towers
[00:36:00] fire bullets at citizens. This
[00:36:03] area experiences continuous incursions, especially
[00:36:06] when there is even a security pretext that stones are thrown at
[00:36:11] forces come and terrorize the safe people here in this
[00:36:15] eastern area of Azzun. The town of Azzun.
[00:36:18] The
[00:36:30] settlements surrounding the village of Jin Safut, as you see from the east,
[00:36:34] Qedumim, and also from the southern
[00:36:37] side, Immanuel, and
[00:36:40] from the west and north and southwest,
[00:36:43] also a settlement bloc
[00:36:46] overlooking Wadi Qana, and we have settlements
[00:36:50] or four four settlement
[00:36:53] outposts, two outposts on the northern and southern hills
[00:36:57] of Qarnayim, and also the settlement of Qarnay
[00:37:00] Shomron settlement
[00:37:03] bloc surrounds the lands of the town
[00:37:07] from all sides. Since the beginning of the settlement
[00:37:11] movement in 1982, which
[00:37:14] began in this area, approximately 2500 dunams of the village's
[00:37:18] lands have been confiscated for the expansion and establishment of settlements
[00:37:21] and the construction of bypass roads in this town.
[00:37:25] The land inside
[00:37:39] the settlement, the settlement is all around,
[00:37:43] around, I am around here,
[00:37:47] and around there, and from here around, there is empty
[00:37:50] land in it. I kept reaching
[00:37:53] it. Yes, I kept reaching it. They sat with me as if
[00:37:57] they let me in. After that, I came and told the girls to make me a cup of tea.
[00:38:01] We need to have breakfast.
[00:38:04] by the street, they jumped on us, one wanted to take off the scarf
[00:38:07] from the girls, one wanted to. I stood at the tractor and said, "It's an hour."
[00:38:11] They deflated our tire, we couldn't leave. I called
[00:38:14] after they let me in. By God, he didn't open the window until he said to me,
[00:38:18] "I can't help you. Take your things and go."
[00:38:24] land is yours or it's not yours. But you take me and humiliate me and humiliate."
[00:38:27] It came out. So the news reached her, she called
[00:38:31] back. They stayed for three years.
[00:38:38] the settlement at the guard. He said, "Are you Suleiman Jabr?" I said, "Yes." He
[00:38:42] said, "Wait." I waited. He
[00:38:45] said to me, "10 minutes." 10 minutes later, a car came, not a Mark IV, it had four
[00:38:49] soldiers, a police car had four soldiers, an army car had four
[00:38:53] soldiers. When they let me in, there was a car in front of me and a car
[00:38:57] behind me. When I wanted to cross the street, I would block the street from here, block the
[00:39:01] other street. This situation lasted with me for three
[00:39:03] years. After that, the crisis eased a little,
[00:39:07] little by little. Two soldiers remained with us
[00:39:11] until the war that happened three
[00:39:13] years ago. They let me in for three weeks,
[00:39:17] every week two, three, four,
[00:39:20] five.
[00:39:22] Three weeks of them, one week of them, one day they said there were elections, they didn't
[00:39:26] let us in. One day it rained, they didn't
[00:39:29] let us in. We worked for 10 days. 10
[00:39:32] days. I made a ton
[00:39:35] of oil. The last day remained for me. The last
[00:39:38] day, they said the coordination for Azzun, for Kafr
[00:39:41] Laqif, for Jin Safut is now for Akrit and for
[00:39:45] Saff Kaddoum. After that, the war happened and we didn't
[00:39:48] get it. I don't know what happened
[00:39:51] to them.
[00:40:01] If we head north towards Jayyus, the settlement of
[00:40:04] Tzufim appears, which was established in the eighties of the last century
[00:40:07] and is still expanding with the construction of hundreds of new
[00:40:10] units.
[00:40:18] So, Tzufim settlement is part of the settlements or the eastern
[00:40:21] belt, even the belt that connects
[00:40:24] the eight Green Line settlements. The West
[00:40:31] the West Bank, are part of it. It began to expand in
[00:40:34] the first nucleus began in the early 80s,
[00:40:38] and currently, two years ago, the southern
[00:40:42] settlement neighborhood was established, which
[00:40:44] is called Novy Tzufim or Kedar
[00:40:47] Tzufim. It is being advertised on TikTok, advertising
[00:40:51] to promote the purchase of apartments and settlement
[00:40:55] units available. And this settlement
[00:40:57] changed the approach that
[00:41:00] was and the program that the Israeli planning administration
[00:41:04] had. Buildings are being established by establishing settlement
[00:41:07] towers. For the first time, towers are being
[00:41:10] built, as is the case in the area of the settlement
[00:41:14] of El-Faq. The southern neighborhood also has a system of towers that were established,
[00:41:17] not ground residential
[00:41:21] units, but rather
[00:41:24] to keep pace with what they claim is a population
[00:41:28] increase, and the population count that increases
[00:41:30] year after year.
[00:41:43] Here, the settlement was not content with the land, but rather pursued people in
[00:41:46] their water. The wall that surrounded Jayyus isolated behind it
[00:41:50] thousands of dunams of the best agricultural land and artesian water
[00:41:54] wells, to prevent farmers from reaching
[00:41:57] their trees except with humiliating permits, in
[00:42:01] a clear policy to displace farmers by
[00:42:04] drying up their sources of livelihood. By God,
[00:42:07] it's all hard work. I mean, death.
[00:42:10] Worse than this, we suffer a lot. I mean, you have to
[00:42:14] wait for an hour or they open it for us sometimes,
[00:42:17] sometimes they don't open it for us.
[00:42:21] You wait for an hour, half an hour, according to the Jews. I mean, whatever
[00:42:24] the Jews want, they let us pass. This land is like this in your mind. I mean,
[00:42:28] I can see it in two minutes, perhaps.
[00:42:31] I need two or three hours, perhaps. The coast.
[00:42:35] And sometimes they let us to the coast. And sometimes they tell you,
[00:42:38] "Go back."
[00:42:41] By God, they open it for people once a day. By God, I mean, sometimes they delay us.
[00:42:44] The gate opens, they open it at nine, for example, at ten they open it. We used to go home, for example.
[00:42:48] Sometimes they open it early in the morning, sometimes they don't open it.
[00:42:52] I mean, it's according to their mood. It's temperamental. They brought us back. For example,
[00:42:56] we have cucumbers that we pick and string.
[00:42:59] Or is it not right to pick and string them? Cucumbers are known to be picked
[00:43:03] day after day. If you miss picking cucumbers, then the farmer, excuse me,
[00:43:06] didn't bring anything. If he has to go pick them and they are cut off from him, that means
[00:43:10] he should stay at home. But we remain steadfast in this land.
[00:43:24] Havat Gilad, the monster that grew in the dark,
[00:43:28] the matter did not stop at official settlements. In
[00:43:32] 2002, on the lands of Qaryut, Fur'ah,
[00:43:35] and Sarra, the first caravan was placed
[00:43:38] for what was then called
[00:43:40] a pastoral outpost. It began as a settler
[00:43:44] rebellion, but today it is a forced reality
[00:43:48] that devours hundreds of dunams, supported by a complete
[00:43:50] infrastructure and military protection,
[00:43:53] turning the lives of farmers in Fur'ah, Immatain,
[00:43:57] and Qaryut into a daily hell, forming a link
[00:44:01] connecting the eastern settlements to the depth of Nablus
[00:44:04] and completing the siege.
[00:44:40] Oh, Sheikh Zayna, they tell us the army, "You are the ones who uprooted them. You
[00:44:43] are fighting with people in your country. They came and uprooted them." And here
[00:44:47] in Asfour, they don't even see him. Now we came to you, we came here
[00:44:50] to film how they are coming at us.
[00:44:54] Parking on the land is allowed for us to pass through, build on it, and everything
[00:44:58] on it. But these came and prevented us. Havat Gilad
[00:45:01] was a settlement outpost located
[00:45:04] east of Fur'ah. Uh,
[00:45:07] bordering the lands of Immatain and Fur'ah. These lands
[00:45:10] were shared between Fur'ah and Immatain,
[00:45:14] and it was a border outpost
[00:45:17] between Immatain and Fur'ah. It is
[00:45:21] a hill, meaning in a border area. I mean,
[00:45:24] the expansion was east and west
[00:45:27] of the Yitzhar road. This comes
[00:45:30] west of the road with eastern Fur'ah
[00:45:34] and Immatain, and the eastern borders are also
[00:45:37] Jitt. So it expanded.
[00:45:40] It has been more than perhaps
[00:45:43] 20 years, in 2008. Oh, oh, it has been more than 20 years
[00:45:47] since it existed and expanded. It was a small outpost
[00:45:49] and now it has expanded on the lands of the citizens. Thousands
[00:45:53] of dunams were seized by it and extended
[00:45:56] to a new settlement outpost
[00:46:00] war. A pastoral outpost
[00:46:04] extended to the southern eastern
[00:46:08] lands.
[00:46:10] And it controlled all the agricultural areas,
[00:46:13] especially the olive nursery
[00:46:17] and these settlements. Their owners
[00:46:21] use sheep
[00:46:24] to graze excessively among the olive trees
[00:46:28] and other agricultural lands.
[00:46:43] It started more than 20 years ago,
[00:46:47] but its impact extends
[00:46:50] horizontally, meaning we are talking about.
[00:46:53] It was established, called Havat
[00:46:56] Gilad,
[00:47:00] time there was horizontal expansion.
[00:47:03] What does horizontal expansion mean for the residents
[00:47:07] here? It means stifling, destroying the eastern
[00:47:10] region, and now the area we are in. Let's anticipate
[00:47:14] the discussion. This horizontal expansion
[00:47:18] affected it, meaning we are talking about a pastoral
[00:47:21] settlement. A settlement
[00:47:24] began to expand and consume everything green and dry.
[00:47:28] I mean, this eastern facade and the area known
[00:47:32] as the Harika area, which is an area
[00:47:34] of course, where our people in
[00:47:38] Tell and Immatain and we in Fur'ah
[00:47:42] are partners in the destruction of lands. And when we talk about the destruction
[00:47:45] of lands, we are talking about the actual destruction
[00:47:48] of livelihoods and sources
[00:47:51] of income. Lands planted with hundreds of olive
[00:47:54] trees, and also pastoral lands
[00:47:58] for Palestinian farmers. Therefore,
[00:48:01] today we are talking about great harm on the social
[00:48:05] level, on the economic
[00:48:08] level for
[00:48:11] the citizens.
[00:48:18] This is what happened before, but what happened in the last three years,
[00:48:22] specifically since the outbreak of the last war on Gaza, was not
[00:48:26] an ordinary expansion, but rather a settlement
[00:48:29] earthquake. At a time when attention was focused
[00:48:33] on the destruction in Gaza, the settlers here
[00:48:36] were fighting a war to consolidate
[00:48:38] What
[00:48:42] recent years is equivalent to decades of previous
[00:48:45] work. The outposts have turned into municipalities,
[00:48:49] and the dividing lines between settlements have disappeared
[00:48:53] to form a single contiguous bloc. The settler
[00:48:56] no longer waits for permission, but rather
[00:48:59] the bulldozer has become the law, and the legitimate weapon against
[00:49:02] the farmer is
[00:49:03] the ruling.
[00:49:09] And after October 7th, they completely banned
[00:49:13] coordination for Jitt due to its location between
[00:49:16] the settlements. And after October 7th, about
[00:49:20] 500 dunams of their olive trees were cut down, their fruitful trees,
[00:49:23] whose age is older than the age of the state of
[00:49:26] Israel. I mean, there are olive trees that are 100 years old, 70 years old, and 80 years old.
[00:49:30] The last aggression was carried out by
[00:49:34] the occupation by confiscating about 450 dunams,
[00:49:37] uh, located next to
[00:49:41] the illegal Havat Gilad outpost on
[00:49:44] our lands. And the 450 dunams are located in the middle
[00:49:47] between the town of Fur'ah and the town of Tell. We
[00:49:51] got the largest share of this confiscated land.
[00:49:55] We tried to contact
[00:49:58] who tried to get farmers to submit papers and objections to these lands,
[00:50:02] because these lands, according to what they claim, have no owners.
[00:50:06] No, they have owners, real owners, and they reach
[00:50:10] them and cultivate them, and they are planted with olive trees. But
[00:50:13] they were prevented from doing so after October 7th. And
[00:50:16] this was the occupation's pretext. They prevented them on the pretext that
[00:50:19] after a while, they would say the land is important, no one can reach
[00:50:23] the land, so it will become state property for them.
[00:50:26] But these are lands that have their owners, and their owners are in
[00:50:31] and what proves that these lands belong to them. There is no,
[00:50:35] God forbid, any leak or anything like they claim.
[00:50:38] No, the land is there and its owners are there,
[00:50:41] the real ones.
[00:50:42] The
[00:50:57] furious settlement attack. The