The Christian Palestinian family in Bethlehem fighting back against Israeli settlers

Bethlehem, occupied West Bank - For 12 years, the Palestinian Kisiya family has been fighting to keep a plot of land belonging to them in the historically Christian village of al-Makhrour, located in the breathtaking mountainous town of Beit Jala near Bethlehem.

“We have both Palestinian and Israeli documents to prove our ownership of this land,” Alice Kisiya, daughter of the land owner and a prominent activist against illegal Israeli settlements, told The New Arab.

Last week, Israeli forces demolished a protest encampment set up by the Kisiya with support from international solidarity and Israeli peace activists near the 1000-square-meter plot that was illegally seized by Israeli settlers on 31 July who were supported by the Israeli military, according to Kisiya.

On 14 August, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on X that he had approved a new illegal settlement on a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

He said that the new settlement, Nahal Heletz, would be part of the existing Gush Etzion, a bloc of illegal settlements south of Jerusalem. 

All of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, which has been occupied since 1967 and is currently inhabited by around 700,000 Israeli settlers, are considered illegal under international law, regardless of whether they have Israeli planning permission.

Smotrich noted that this settlement is one of five the government approved two months ago in the West Bank in response to alleged Palestinian Authority (PA) measures against Israel and unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state by Western countries.

In May, Norway, Spain, Slovenia and Ireland officially recognised a Palestinian state, followed by Armenia in June.

These recognitions were a reaction to the war Israel has been waging against Palestinians in Gaza with American support since 7 October last year, when a surprise Hamas attack killed over 1,200 Israelis. 

According to UN data, at least 40,878 Palestinians have been killed and 94,454 injured by Israel during the war, including over 16,000 children. Around 10,000 Palestinians are reported missing, 1.7 million people have been displaced amid massive destruction, and a deadly famine, rampant disease, and most recently a polio outbreak have all been reported.

UN experts and academics say Israel has committed acts of genocide during the war.

According to the Israeli left-wing movement Peace Now, the Israeli government is building a new and harmful settlement in the heart of Palestinian geographic continuity in Bethlehem on land declared as a World Heritage site, most of which is owned by Palestinians.

It warned that "the settlement to be established will be confined in the heart of Palestinian territories and will inevitably lead to more friction and security challenges".

The movement, which monitors settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, recently stated on X that "Smotrich continues to promote the de facto annexation" of the West Bank.

In a landmark opinion on 19 July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's 76-year occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

A family saga 

Alice Kisiya told TNA that the seized land was a piece of paradise. “My father built a rural restaurant overlooking the valley covered with olive trees, and vine orchards, with the Jerusalem mountains in the background - it was a haven for tourists,” says Alice.

“But the occupation didn’t like this so they destroyed it four times. First in 2012, then in 2013 after we rebuilt it, and then in 2015 and 2016. They demolished the house and the restaurant again in 2019."

Since 2019, the Israeli army has carried out 20 demolition operations of structures built on the land.

Kisiya says that her family has been fighting the demolitions in court and on-site for over 12 years.

"I lived here during my childhood, with beautiful and bitter memories. Suddenly, life changed. Now we can’t set foot in our own land because the settlers have stolen it."

Israel, says Kisiya, declared the land a closed military zone based on a decision by the central court in Jerusalem affirming the settlers’ right to it, claims the family says are false and forged.

“Today Israel’s military governor and its extreme right-wing government are making these decisions to expand settlements and displace the rightful residents," says Kisiya.

She says that Israel’s goal is not merely to control this 1000-square-meter plot, but to control the mountain and surrounding lands for settlement purposes.

She holds up a document she says is the "birth certificate” of her land issued by the Israeli authorities.

The isolation of Bethlehem

Palestinian anti-settlement activist Jamil Qassas, who supports the Kisiya family’s cause, says Israel uses settlers and military decisions to implement its settlement projects, but the Kisiya family will continue their struggle in peaceful ways to reclaim their land.

"This piece of agricultural land is privately owned and is the only breathing space for Beit Jala, but the occupation wants to annex it because of its location. Their goal is to isolate Bethlehem from Jerusalem," says Qassas.

Hasan Bireija, the head of the Israeli Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission office in Bethlehem, agrees. 

“Annexing this land means implementing a settlement belt that isolates the western countryside of Bethlehem from the city and links the settlements of Bethlehem with western Jerusalem," he explained.

The site is within Area C, which according to the 1995 Oslo Accords is under Israel security and administrative control and forms 60 percent of the West Bank.

This artificial division was only intended to last for five years, but Israel has continued, and deepened, its military occupation of the West Bank.

“Area C is populated and planted with olive trees, vines, and other crops, giving it tourist appeal,” Bireija says, noting that Israel’s military decision is contrary to international humanitarian law, which states that the occupier is responsible for preserving property and “not supporting settlers in stealing it".

"Bethlehem and the towns surrounding it are the homeland for Christians, yet today they represent no more than three percent of the Palestinian population because of the forced displacement caused by Israeli practices," Bireija added.

"Christians suffer just like Muslims in Palestine, and the Kisiya family is a living example of this suffering."

Alice Kisiya is determined to reclaim her father’s land and rebuild the house and the restaurant.

“The intruders will leave inevitably but the world needs to see what Israel is doing to Palestinians, both Christians and Muslims."

This story was produced in collaboration with Egab