Palestinian-American Lawyer Describes Settler Attack on Family Home in West Bank

Kim Iversen

West Bank settler violencePalestinian displacementEyewitness testimony — settler attacksPalestinian-American experiencesFear and retaliation

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Jawad Ali, a Palestinian-American lawyer, describes a violent attack on his family home in the West Bank by Israeli settlers while he was attending his daughter's graduation. His sister, who was inside the house with her husband, called him in distress as four settlers carrying gasoline tanks and a torch attempted to set fires around the perimeter of the property, break windows and doors, and force gasoline inside. The attackers encircled the house in flames, but the stone construction, metal doors, and protective measures the family had taken prevented the fire from entering the home—measures that, Ali states, saved their lives from what he characterises as an attempted murder. Ali emphasises that he and his family are American citizens and that the settlers were attempting to displace them from their own private property. He acknowledges that few Palestinians speak publicly about such attacks due to fear of retaliation from Israeli authorities, but the severity and personal nature of this incident compelled him to break his silence despite his reluctance to be in the public eye.

Key Points

Palestinian-American lawyer Jawad Ali recounts a settler attack on his family home in the West Bank, in which a mob of four settlers attempted to set fire to the house with his sister and brother-in-law inside. Despite living in fear of retaliation, Ali chose to speak publicly about the incident, which he characterises as an attempted murder motivated by displacement.

Summary

Jawad Ali, a Palestinian-American lawyer, describes a violent attack on his family home in the West Bank by Israeli settlers while he was attending his daughter's graduation. His sister, who was inside the house with her husband, called him in distress as four settlers carrying gasoline tanks and a torch attempted to set fires around the perimeter of the property, break windows and doors, and force gasoline inside. The attackers encircled the house in flames, but the stone construction, metal doors, and protective measures the family had taken prevented the fire from entering the home—measures that, Ali states, saved their lives from what he characterises as an attempted murder. Ali emphasises that he and his family are American citizens and that the settlers were attempting to displace them from their own private property. He acknowledges that few Palestinians speak publicly about such attacks due to fear of retaliation from Israeli authorities, but the severity and personal nature of this incident compelled him to break his silence despite his reluctance to be in the public eye.

Key takeaways

Four Israeli settlers attacked the Ali family home in the West Bank with gasoline tanks and a torch, attempting to set fire to the house while Ali's sister and brother-in-law were inside.
The attackers set fires around the entire perimeter of the property, targeted windows and doors, and attempted to force gasoline under the main entrance, but were prevented from penetrating the interior by the house's stone construction and metal doors.
Ali characterises the attack as terrorism and an attempted murder motivated by displacement, with the intent to kill his family members.
Many Palestinians fear speaking publicly about settler attacks due to concern about retaliation from Israeli authorities, creating a climate in which such incidents often go unattested.
Ali, a Palestinian-American lawyer and private citizen, chose to speak publicly about his family's experience despite his reluctance to be in the public eye, citing the personal and life-threatening nature of the attack.

Full article

Escalating Attacks in the West Bank

While international attention has focused on Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have significantly intensified. Palestinian communities face ongoing violence from Israeli settlers. Jawad Ali, a Palestinian-American lawyer, recently experienced this violence firsthand when his family home in the West Bank came under attack by a mob of settlers.

The Attack on June

Ali described the incident as a day he will never forget. He was attending his daughter's graduation when he received a distressing call from his sister, who lives in the family home on the West Bank. His sister was crying and nearly hysterical as she told him what was happening: "They're trying to burn us alive in our home." When Ali asked who was attacking them, she explained that settlers had invaded their property—four of them carrying gasoline tanks and a torch, attempting to break the glass and set fire inside the house while his sister and her husband were still inside.

Ali characterised the attackers as terrorists intent on displacing his family from their own home. He emphasised that he and his family are American citizens and that this is their private property. The settlers came directly to the house and attempted to burn his sister and her husband alive while they remained inside. The attackers set fires around the entire perimeter of the property, went up to the porch, and burned the outdoor furniture. They attempted to break the windows but were prevented by shutters. They tried to force gasoline under the main door and attempted to break every door and window on the house.

The House Engulfed in Fire

From a distance, the house appeared to be completely engulfed in flames because fire surrounded it on all sides. However, the fire did not penetrate inside the house because it was built with stone, had metal doors, and the family had taken precautions for such an attack. Without these protective measures, Ali's sister and her husband would have been burned alive and killed. The attackers would have succeeded in their apparent intent to murder his family members.

Speaking Out Despite Fear

Ali acknowledged that few Palestinians are willing to speak publicly about their experiences these days because many live in fear of retaliation from Israeli authorities. Many Palestinians he knows are afraid to say anything or speak out, worried about being retaliated against by the Israelis. Despite this climate of fear, Ali chose to share his family's story. He noted that he had never done this before and is reluctant to be in the public eye, but the nature of the attack made it impossible to stay silent. When you receive a call from your sister telling you that they are going to burn her alive, he said, it does not get more personal than that.

Topics#West Bank settler violence#Palestinian displacement#Eyewitness testimony — settler attacks#Palestinian-American experiences#Fear and retaliation#Private property and home invasion

Transcript

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0:01 People have been focused on Gaza, people have been focused on Lebanon, people

0:03 have been focused on Iran, and the

0:05 attacks in the West Bank have really

0:07 ramped up. Palestinians are being

0:09 attacked by insane settlers. Joining us

0:12 now is Jawad Ali. He is a

0:13 Palestinian-American lawyer whose family

0:16 home in the West Bank was attacked by a

0:18 mob of Israeli settlers just last week.

0:22 What happened to your family home?

0:24 >> of June is a a day that I will never

0:27 forget. I was attending my daughter's

0:29 graduation and I got a call from my

0:32 distraught sister who lives in our

0:34 family home on the West Bank. She was

0:36 [music] crying, almost hysterical,

0:38 saying, "They're trying to burn us alive

0:40 in our home." And I said, "Who?" And she

0:42 said, "We have been attacked by the

0:44 settlers. There are four of them with

0:46 gasoline tank and a torch and [music]

0:49 they're trying to break the glass and

0:51 put the fire inside the house while

0:54 we're [music] in it." These are

0:55 terrorists who are hell-bent on

0:57 displacing us from our own home. We are

1:00 >> [music]

1:00 >> American citizens and this is our

1:01 property and they've attacked us inside

1:04 our property and came up to our house

1:06 [music] and tried to burn my sister and

1:07 her husband while they're inside the

1:09 house alive. They set fire to all of the

1:12 perimeter. They went up to the porch. We

1:14 have outside furniture there. [music]

1:15 They've burnt all of that. They tried to

1:17 break the windows, but there were

1:19 shutters that prevented them from

1:20 breaking the windows. They tried to put

1:22 gasoline under the [music] main door to

1:24 the house. Attempted to break every

1:26 single door there and window. From afar,

1:30 from our village, the house [music]

1:31 looked completely on fire as if the

1:34 entire house is engulfed because there

1:35 was fire all around the house, but

1:37 thankfully, the fire did not go in the

1:39 house because the house is built [music]

1:40 with stones and the doors are metal and

1:43 we have taken all of precautions for a

1:45 day like this. They would have burnt

1:47 alive. They would have killed them.

1:48 >> We don't have many Palestinians these

1:50 days that are willing to actually come

1:52 and talk because people are very afraid.

1:54 I'm in communication with many, many

1:55 Palestinians and many of them are afraid

1:57 to say anything or to speak out because

2:00 they're worried that they're going to be

2:01 retaliated against by the Israelis. So,

2:04 it is brave of you telling your story

2:06 [music] and I absolutely hope that your

2:07 family stays safe somehow.

2:09 >> It hit home. Like [clears throat] I am

2:12 I've never done this before

2:14 >> [music] >> and I'm always reluctant to you know, be

2:17 in the public eye, but when

2:20 >> [music] >> you get a call from your sister telling

2:22 you that

2:23 they're going to burn me alive. It It

2:25 doesn't get more personal than this.

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