Daoud Nassar Tent of Nations
This is Daoud Nassar. His family own a beautiful piece of land to the west of Bethlehem, in the Occupied West Bank. I have had the privilege of visiting their land numerous times since I first went to Palestine/Israel in 2003, and the Nassars have become dear friends.
Their story is a both typical and unique. The land has been in the family's hands since the Ottoman times, but beginning in the early 1990s, the Israeli military has sought to confiscate the property. Undaunted, the Nassar family have developed their land and established the 'Tent of Nations' project, whose activities include "educating local children from the refugee camps about rural Palestine, hosting young people for camps and activities such as open-air theatre, and acting as a forum for internationals and Palestinians to get to know each other". The Nassars have also grown strong links with international supporters, including in Germany, the USA and UK.
The Nassars' land lies just above Nahalin village - and is surrounded by illegal Israeli colonies (map adapted from Jan de Jong for FMEP).
Nassars land
The Nassars' land and Nahalin are located in the 'Gush Etzion' settlement 'bloc', with the nearby colonies including Betar Illit, Geva'ot, Rosh Tzurim, and Neve Daniel - not to mention the Separation Wall and Route 60.
Neve Daniel settlement from the Nassars land
The Nassars' land has often been 'visited' over the years by soldiers and settlers, including in the following incident:
“When the intifada started the settlers wanted to confiscate the land,” Daoud told me, after a hard morning’s work clearing a cave. “Sometimes they came with machine guns. One time I showed a settler my papers showing ownership of the land, and he said that he had papers from God. They tried to open a road through the land, they uprooted our trees, pulled down fences, broke water tanks, but we just kept mending everything. Now we try and keep a permanent presence here.”
Last night, Daoud sent out an urgent message to the 'Tent of Nations' email list:
Today at 2.00 pm in the afternoon, 2 officers form the Israeli Civil Administration guarded by Israeli soldiers came to our farm and gave us NINE demolishing orders for nine structures we built in the last years without a building permit from the Israeli Military Authority.
The demolition orders are for tents, animal shelters, metal roofing, toilets, a water cistern, a metal container, and renovated underground caves.
One officer was writing the demolishing orders and the other was taking pictures with two cameras, Israeli soldiers were following them everywhere and pointing their guns on us.
The demolition orders were in Hebrew, and Daoud refused to sign receiving them. The papers claim that the family have three days (i.e. until Sunday) to respond - the timing, Daoud notes, makes it difficult to mount a court challenge because of the Sabbath/weekend. Nevertheless, the family's lawyer will oppose the order to the military court on Sunday morning.
Daoud's message concluded by asking people to be prepared and "alert for actions". Speaking to him on the phone last night, his voice was tired - but still defiant and hopeful. It was, he said, yet another attempt "to destroy our spirit".
Blocked access route to the Nassars land
While the Nassars face demolition orders for animal shelters and toilets built on their own land, around and above them, Jewish Israeli citizens live normal lives in thriving colonies. This is 'Area C', where Israeli colonisation policies are designed to make a continued Palestinian presence impossible through almost entirely preventing construction:
This is because the majority of this land "is earmarked for the settlements, the army, nature reserves or a buffer zone around the separation fence", and in the rest, almost all Palestinian building permits are refused. Last year, close to 200 Palestinian structures in Area C were demolished by the Israeli military.
This is the reality in Occupied Palestine in 2010. This is the story of Daoud and his family, along with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. This is Israeli apartheid.
This is the Jewish pogroms of Palestine. My deep sorrow for the Nassars. I have no words to describe my anger.
[Israel targets landmark Palestinian estate on West Bank with ‘papers from God’]
Such is a bad ‘title’ making things worst by creating an uncalled impression of religious bias against all those who have no personal interest on this conflict… but simply believed these ‘papers from God’. The title ‘papers from God’ has connotation offensive or of mockery against those who believes on the ‘papers’… Now this heading made more ‘potential enemies that friends’… which connotation could have even obliterate all the sympathetic arguments made for Nassars…
Are we sure Ben White is pro-Palestinian?
zamaaz,
These jewish pogroms abuse Judaism, they and Israel (Colonialist Zionists ) must be denounced.
Who is creating religious bias here?
One time I showed a settler my papers showing ownership of the land, and he said that he had papers from God.
Of cause the settler can never have said something like this, right? they always lie, these Arabs (Palestinians don’t exist), right? But why do the settlers believe they can live on this land? …
This is an example of how the wealthy steal from the increasingly
poor in an international border dispute.
The Israeli state can’t issue a demolition order to a civilian structure when they are a foreign government; these buildings on his site are not military in nature. This is state sponsored destruction and greed from fascist Israel.
The family also is given three days to challenge the demo order; that sounds fair, given it the Sabbath is included as one of those days. grrrrr…
Chu, I would be careful characterizing the situation as a haves vs. have nots issue. The same goes for the “international border dispute”, mostly because Israeli hasbartists love clinging onto such false comparisons as they resonate with the American populace, re: Mexico and the US.
There are wealthy Palestinians who have far more personal wealth and political influence than the Nassars. They, too, have been oppressed and abused. Rich or poor, every Palestinian is subject to the Military Administration in the occupied territories.
Technically, the Green Line is an armistice line. The international border is between Israel and Jordan.
By the way, I don’t mean to be argumentative, it’s just that it is too important a distinction.
…point taken. I found this article on the wealth gap after Oslo.
“Abu Mazen’s new $2 million mansion, complete with wood panelling, a rarity here. The only thing out of place is the graffiti, scrawled in Arabic: “This is your reward for selling Palestine”
link to greenleft.org.au
But collectively, Palestinians have seen a great loss per capita, where Israel has gained significantly.
Point taken.
Chu,
I just read my 11:43 am post again. I apologize for coming across as patronizing. It wasn’t my intention.
Not at all. I didn’t take it that way at all and I know
your intent agrees with mine. I’m not thin skinned
anyway. We’ve talked before, so it’s not like you’re
a stranger, but thanks for the consideration.
Richard Witty is happy when this shit happens. He can go on being the phony ‘Liberal’ Zionist preaching diversions and equivocation to us (‘talk’ ‘BDS is terrorism’) while the facts on the ground continue to destroy the Two-State solution.
Meanwhile, retards like yonira and rachel make up the IDF goon-squad, ensuring the continued oppression of Palestinians and theft of Historic Palestine from the indigenous population.
Fuck Zionism.
Cliff,
Lieberman called “Gaza aid convoy is violent propaganda against Israel”
link to haaretz.com
Read the true propagandists on the article. I can fully agree with you on the “Fuck Zionism”. Yes Fuck Zionism!!! Screw Israel and Zionism.
And wait for Dershowitz to echo this statement. And Goldstone likely the secret captain of the fleet. They call him El Capitan GoldMoser.
Like Goldfinger, But Gold-moser the stalwart captain of Gazaa.
“And wait for Dershowitz to echo this statement. ”
I wonder, does *anybody* except hardcore zionists take him seriously anymore? Each time I see a clip of him he’s saying more and more lunatic things. I can’t imagine anybody coming away with a positive impression of Israel after witnessing a Dershowitz tantrum.
My disgust with Israel grows and grows.
Read Wondering Jew’s intentionally ignorant comment in response to Walid, concerning the Lebanon 2006 War.
Zionists are liars. They can’t defend their case without CONSTANTLY lying or being dishonest.
Here it is:
link to mondoweiss.net
So the freak ignores the POINT which is that the war was PRE-PLANNED ANYWAY.
So the skirmish which became the catalyst for this pre-planned war, would be another skirmish normally.
I mean, how often does Israel kidnap Palestinians and Lebanese? Is WJ going to support a war on the proportions of destruction wreaked on Gaza and South Lebanon on poor poor poor constantly-victimized/constantly living in Holocaust-fear, Israel?
No, he wouldn’t. So he’ll ignore the details and be like : LOL IT WAZ WAR
Yea, good response WJ, you idiot.
Cliff- interesting tactic: refutations complete with insults on a thread I haven’t posted on. As I said. You lack class.
How many kidnappings/capturing of enemy militants did Israel commit (in Lebanon) between its withdrawal in 2000 and the war in 2006.
There was an ongoing war/skirmish in Gaza as the aftereffect of the capture of Gilad Shalit (and its context), a border skirmish with Lebanon at that time would have been significant beyond itself because of the skirmish going on in Gaza. But certainly kidnapping/capturing is beyond the “normal” skirmishing. So I will amend my statement to state that war plus kidnapping is a war and that’s what Lebanon/Hezbollah started, no matter what Israeli plans existed in a drawer or on paper at the time of the Lebanon/Hezbollah starting a war.
It’s selective memory he’ll say! And why drag his fellow Zionists good name through the mud by calling them liars? C’mon Cliff.
We know they are just fervent nationalists with an inclination to mislead.
It reminds of an article I read just a year after Israel’s 2006 destruction of Lebanon. The author of the piece claimed that after Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel, the Israeli air force retaliated.
Historical revisionism less than a year after the incident, now that’s good propaganda.
That is a very commonly-seen lie.
“The author of the piece claimed that after Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel, the Israeli air force retaliated.”
I’ve heard the same claim multiple times. Ziozombies use it to misinform people who don’t have detailed knowledge of the conflict – they get confused with hamas / hezbollah and the rockets.
It is very disgusting.
Please sign the petition to get the Israeli government to withdraw these demolition orders: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dahers_vineyard_demolitions
Israel is a sadistic state.
I just don’t understand you guys; if only he listened to the Israeli concerns, he would realize that they are very moderate in what they need. He is out of line for trying to build on the disputed land; how do they know that things like tents, cisterns, metal roofing isn’t covering or hiding something? The fact that they just haven’t gone in, removed him, and taken over is testament to Israeli Restraint. They gave him 3 days for Pete’s Sake! The inclusion of the Sabbath was to allow him to spend an extra day preparing for himself – you guys are not so dense that you imagine he will literally spend 3 days at the court!
When you choose to live near a Jewish Neighborhood, you open yourself up to security concerns because Israelis are very sensitive about these things considering how they were nearly pushed out to the sea several times, but miraculously survived each time. If you have a problem with it, move to another location. No one is forcing you to live there.
…Three days was wayyy too generous.
I do wonder through what was the reason for the demolition orders, that were written in Hebrew. No matter, he’s Palestinian. It’s likely Israel needs land for a doggie-day care facility.
Gosh, where to start?
>He is out of line for trying to build on the disputed land;
This is not disputed land. It is land recognised by the UN and the international community (except Israel and the U.S.) as belonging to Palestine (it is behind the Green Line). The land was bought in 1924 by Daher Nasser and to this day the Nasser family hold the original land papers from the time of Ottoman, British, Jordanian and Israeli governance.
> how do they know that things like tents, cisterns, metal roofing isn’t covering or hiding something? The fact that they just haven’t gone in, removed him, and taken over is testament to Israeli Restraint.
They have been onto the land on a number of occasions and have documented in detail the building structures and content. If there was any security concerns these couldn’t been addressed then. I’m astounded that you consider demolishing agricultural structures as ‘restraint’.
> They gave him 3 days for Pete’s Sake! The inclusion of the Sabbath was to allow him to spend an extra day preparing for himself – you guys are not so dense that you imagine he will literally spend 3 days at the court!
Your sentiment is breathtaking. You talk as if the land rightly belongs to Israel! I refer to my previous point about the land documents and international law. Why should the family ‘prepare’ themselves to have their livelihood destroyed?
> When you choose to live near a Jewish Neighborhood, you open yourself up to security concerns because Israelis are very sensitive about these things considering how they were nearly pushed out to the sea several times, but miraculously survived each time. If you have a problem with it, move to another location. No one is forcing you to live there.
These Jewish Neighbourhoods you describe are built on occupied Palestinian land, gained by military force in the 6 day war of 1967. They are illegal under international law. The Nasser family didn’t chose to live near a Jewish Neighbourhood, they have lived there since 1924.
Dude, that was a very good refutation, but I’m pretty sure he was being ironic.
You forgot he could relocate to any number of the neighboring “Arab” States. After all they only have one tiny nation……
Sadly, we know how this will likely develop. The Israelis will find or invent and excuse for violence, as they have done many times in many places already. Houses will be flattened, trees bulldozed and Palestinians killed.
This is the moral ‘superiority’ of Eretz Israel. The pattern of ideology intimately relies upon notions of racial and ethnic superiority, ‘divine’ right, natural right, pseudo-Lockean acquired right, systematic historical revisionism and raw racism. In other words, the thinking that moves many Israelis to think they can simply kill or displace Palestinians is substantively indistinguishable from that of the Nazis 70 years ago.
” In other words, the thinking that moves many Israelis to think they can simply kill or displace Palestinians is substantively indistinguishable from that of the Nazis 70 years ago.”
Only in the details.
A good illustration of just how aesthetically offensive the settlements are. They’re like the very worst of crummy South Florida tract housing in the middle of beautiful country.