The role of US citizens in Israel's settlement & military activities | People & Power Documentary

[Music] [Music] since October 7th 2023 Israeli military raids and settler violence has surged in the occupied West Bank hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured more than a dozen countries including the US have condemned the violence the White House has even announced sanctions against several Israeli settlers tens of thousands of Americans live in illegal settlements and many serve in the Israeli military people and power investigate the role US citizens play in Israel's occupation and settlement expansion hundreds of Israelis are attending this proar rally in Jerusalem supporting the bombardment of Gaza a far right settlers and American jeel Nationals since October the 7th there has been a spike in violence carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and as a result the United States have said that they will impose visa restrictions on those carrying out the violence but some Palestinians say that this doesn't go far enough because the relationship between the United States the occupation and settlers runs deep in February 20124 after mounting pressure US President Joe Biden issued an executive order sanctioning four Israeli settlers accused of violence and intimidation against Palestinians since then more settlers and settlements have been added to the list but the US remains Israel's closest political Ally and continues to give it more military aid than any other country in the world Mr President you're meeting with our United War cabinet to lead Israel to Victory Israel has the right and I would add responsibility to respond to the slaughter of their people and we will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against these terrorists [Music] if you could describe the relationship between the United States and Israel in one sentence how what would you say let's get Trump back in because he let's keep this broader let's keep I'm going say need the support of both parties they got to start thinking a little bit more like the enemies I mean the United States in Great Britain their forces are being shot at uh in the Middle East also and what are they going to let that happen we we have to we have to draw the line and say enough they don't understand restraint they don't understand negotiation they understand force and power so you smack them punch them in the face and knock them down it's different mentality in the middle eag we have children who are fighting for the IDF and and that puts us in a little different position as well since the Hamas attack on October 7th when at least 1,139 were killed and 240 people taken hostage Israel has carried out one of the most intensive bombing campaigns against a populated area in history so far killing at least 33,42 people and displacing 85% of the population there's been a lot of coverage about accusations of war crimes that have been committed by members of the Israeli forces do you think that there is an issue there for American Jewel Nationals to be in an army that has this accusation put against them the Israelis you know we're accused of war crimes whether whether we commit them or not we have suffered so many so many more losses of our guys and of our men and women in in in battle because we don't go in and carpet bomb the way they think we do why should that building who a death trap why should we send our guys in there just knock it down knock it down [Music] human rights groups accuse the Israeli military of collective punishment arbitary executions torture and starvation Israel continues to blame Hamas for its actions while the US vetoed multiple calls by the UN for a ceasefire and despite Biden's executive order Palestinians living under occupation say they face increasing restrictions on movement while settlers accused of violence enjoy near impunity settlers are Israeli citizens who live in the West Bank in East Jerusalem Palestinian territory which has been occupied by Israel since 1967 there are now around 700,000 settlers the 3 million Palestinians there are ruled under military law since October 7th more than 430 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the occupied West Bank 29-year-old zachar Adra lives inaf Arata a collection of Palestinian Villages which have faced years of attacks and systematic Force displacement by Israeli settlers and the military on the 13th of October a settler shot him in the stomach he now has trouble walking and eating and is in constant pain there's a cell phone video of the [Music] attack for can you describe that moment did you know what was happening to [Music] you [Music] for Zacharia says the shooter came from the direction of havat on and legal Outpost in the southern Hebron Hills rights groups say it has a history of violent harassment of Palestinians yet according to recent media reports has received private us funding this isn't uncommon us residents have funnel millions of dollars of tax deductible donations into illegal settlements which violate international law and play a significant role in the expulsion of Palestinians from their land around 20 km North is heon City one of the starkest symbols of the occupation it's home to around 200,000 Palestinians and 1,000 settlers hagit ofran monitors settlements and their expansion for Israeli campaign group peace now in order to protect this small group of settlers inside the Palestinian City the Israeli Army sealed a whole neighborhood from the presence of Palestinians the heart of the Old City where you had all the shops are closed for 30 years already for Palestinians and there are parts of the streets that they are not even allowed to walk since October 7 the whole area became even more restricted for instance as I was walking up here I saw a Palestinian house where the roof of it is taken as a military post well so they just take over the roof of their home and they have a a military order it's called the seizure order and the commander is say I need this property for the security of the area and I take it temporarily so this family has to eat sleep go about their day while there is an occupying force on their roof sometimes it's not only on the roof sometime it can be in in the Next Room all of it is for the security needs suddenly our interview is interrupted so every time we do an interview we're met with soldiers they're sent here I believe to check if we're a threat or whatever I need to see your ID please you have authorization from the Israeli government to be here they know that we're here it's okay that you're telling me but we need authorization yeah but I'm just as well just so you the guy here not to film us they sent here a terrorist from El jazer we have to make sure you're not where's your accent from Michigan Michigan okay after checking our documents they finally left what was really interesting is I just spoke to one of the soldiers and he told me that he was from Michigan and a duel National how many of these settlements that you're talking about are funded by us residents we cannot really know uh how much money is going directly from funds or Charities American Charities to settlements there are many settlements that get funds from charities in America you can also look at you know the Americans give Israel x amount of of billions for our security so it frees ex amount of billions for other causes for Israel so you can say that it's indirectly support the the settlements do you think that there's any desire to try and limit people living on land that is deemed illegal internationally I don't see this still in the United States any big opposition to the very settlements what we saw is like the first step and I think it's not insignificant it is an important step and it puts a lot of political pressure within Israel and it's bringing the issue of settler violence to the headlines in Israel which is something very very very significant but of course this will not end the occupation the soldier we met isn't the only American in the West Bank according to a study by Oxford University released in 2015 60,000 settlers living in the occupied Palestinian territory are also American citizens they're playing a significant role in enforcing the occupation as we traveled through the city to meet Palestinians we witnessed just how difficult it was to move around there are many many Israeli checkpoints some denied us entry we're trying to find a different route to get to the Palestinian that lives in this area of heon high can we see the ideas please yes where do you how do you guys get in through the gate over there yeah is that an issue so this is the situation in heon now there's a lot of security and it's very difficult to move around over there it's called the red area but there's no signs on the gate there's literally none this is Asa he lives on the other side over here he's a local resident of Hebron told us that he was attacked after October the 7th he's now trying to communicate with the Israeli soldiers to see if we can pass through we didn't expect this to be the fast meeting sorry this is the reality so this is the reality of heon uh I am living here since uh almost 17 18 years you literally have to get through a dozen soldiers just to get to your home and people can't just come and visit nobody can come to visit me only the people who are living inside the area are allowed to come here so this is an occupied Palestinian Land by the Israeli settlers and they usually attack Palestinian families here and here they attacked us ASA Amro says that on October 7th he was attacked and detained by both settlers and Israeli soldiers and that in the days after his release he was also forced out of his home for weeks we put asa's claims to the Israeli military but we didn't hear back I was tortured I was almost killed I was coming from here to my house the way you you came and settlers in an arm uniform who are my neighbors I was kidnapped by them I was kept for 10 hours handcuffed blindfolded gagged beaten sexually assaulted they pointed the the gun and they put it on my head in count to 10 I fainted two times without any medical treatment spitting at me seeing B bad things to me they were celebrating torturing me for 10 hours continuously and you thought you were going to die I I said goodbye to everything you know I thought that it's my last moment and recently we've been hearing from the United States from some European countries that they are going to impose visa restrictions on settlers who were convicted of carrying out attacks what did you think when you heard this I can say that it's a kind of uh public opinion uh satisfaction the sers are attacking Palestinians are only four now in the West Bank there are 10 Palestinians killed by settlers directly what are they and many American citizens here that many American citizens they live here illegally inside heon as settlers they should take them to American courts and treat them as war criminals to be very honest they should be brought to the IC nobody was accountable for what happened to me and to many other Palestinians and the sers are not the only one who are attacking Palestinians the Israeli soldiers who are siters in an army uniform there are many siters joined the army and they kill Palestinians if you want really to make them accountable make Israel accountable the settlers they are backed up by the Israeli government they are supported by the Israeli government they are financed by the Israeli government so let's go after the Israeli government and stop them and dismantle all the Israeli settlements according to the international [Music] law the White House recently reversed Donald Trump's policy on Israel's settlement expansion declaring them inconsistent with international law yet organizations like the one Israel fund an American not for profit exempt from federal tax claims it's raised millions of dollars for settlements Kamas sent us a message on October 7th never again is now one of its prominent ambassadors is Gabriel boxer who regularly promotes and fundraises for settlements and Israeli soldiers boom shaka in February he also accompanied the Israeli military as it bombed Gaza wow that's all I can say right be behind me is hostile enemy territory that we learned what really they believe after October 7th we are now approaching the Cave of the M this huge structure is the burial place of the Patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people it's also a holy site for Muslims the ibrahimi mosque in order to get around the Region's strict military control we met with David an American Israeli tour guide so what do you say to those in America who say that there should be more sanctions on even the funding of settlements by private us residents I think that the people who claim that they support the Palestinians are not aware of the facts on the ground are either being fed misinformation intentionally or imagining events that are not actually happening David takes us to ma alh its rare access to a highly secured and gated settlement which has received donations from the one Israel fund around 700 settlers live in the sprawling Suburban style luxury Community we're met by Gideon Ariel an American Israeli settler who's lived here for 11 years of different places here's my home watch watch your head when you uh pass by the flag that my kids fo up I'll let you leave the way this this is the view that uh that sold me on Mal my wife has a cousin who lives here and we would come from time to time for the holidays and uh one day her husband took me outside and said you see this house next door you can have it for 250,000 shekels which was a pittance in the time why is it important to live in a community like this well first of all why is it important to live anywhere a person lives where they want to live and this is as you can see a beautiful place historically God promised Abraham this is the land that is going to belong to you and to your children forever more right here in my backyard well it's h Shabbat tomorrow is Shabbat so my wife debah here is uh preparing for Shabbat deah BTO are you also American yeah every time I hear an American accent it's like I what's going on where am I we have people here from all different places of the world we have people here from United States from Russia from India from Germany from Ethiopia you it's just a small community of 100 there going be people watching who are going to say what the hell is a American doing in this land because they are all Jews we are all Jews who were exiled from this land about 2,000 years ago we kept that connection to the land all throughout those Millennium and now thanks to God we are coming back to our [Laughter] land if the United Nations says that there has been a significant increase in attacks from settlers and then also as this area was called by the United Nations an occupation that is a legal under the Geneva Convention then it is only right for the United States to take action how do you respond to that it is not illegal for me to raise my children here I'm not bothering anybody else this land never belonged to anybody else it was always state land we're going to decide what's best for us we've established a state which is thriving which is helping people all over the world and nobody's going to tell us what we can do or what we can't do I'm sorry Israeli rights groups say part of the settlement is built on private Palestinian land in a AUST around 500 M away settlers from an unknown location armed with M16 rifles were filmed physically assaulting a Palestinian farmer how would you feel about potentially having Palestinians live here this specific a community is a small community and it wants to stay a small community and we're also all religious Jews over here so not here but in other places yeah yeah in general however it's very important that Jews stay the majority and we even though we believe in democracy very much so we believe in the only place for Jews to live and call it their own the UN describes settlements and the displacements of Palestinians as a major obstacle to peace in the region at the heart of this obstacle are American citizens and groups like the one Israel fund one of the settlers accused of violence and sanctioned by both the US and the UK is by YF shown here on the one Israel fund website thanking them for donating a drone these are the guys who are really responsible for preventing Terror and saving lives and fighting the bad guys funding is often used to support Israeli paramilitary groups with surveillance equipment like drones vehicles and helmets missing a lot of equipment they needed before but now because of all the donations they've been able to receive a lot of stuff they wanted and thank God we will be improving the security of all Jud and Samaria so thank you all thank you very much in the US there's increasing pressure to explicitly ban the funding of settlements by groups like the one Israel fund who did not respond to our repeated requests for comment for now American dollars continue to fund settlements and soldiers while Palestinians like ASA bear the brunt of the occupation there's a drone up here just now do you think they know we're doing an interview what what is this Israeli settlers they have drones to film us to intimidate us to spy on us and now it's only on us they so they're filming us they are filming us now it happens almost every day whenever I have visitors I have uh uh journalists who are are here it's a kind of that we are watching you what do you think America needs to do America needs to uh work hard to punish the Israeli government government to punish the Israeli uh settlers leaders and to punish the Israeli uh settlement organizations and Nos and even to start with themselves first to stop the 3.8 billion dollar uh Aid to the Israeli military every year H and make it conditional on ending the Israeli occupation and ending the Israeli sitler violence and ending the Israeli AAR tide here and they should start with their own people to stop them from funding the Israeli settlers terrorist here it's really important that they should start first in their own countries according to their legal system [Music]

Channel: Al Jazeera English

Views: 171,989

Keywords: Al Jazeera, Documentary, Israel, Israel Military, Israel War on Gaza, Israel-Palestine conflict, Military, Palestine

Id: O1kLUVK8NaU

Length: 25min 0sec (1500 seconds)

Published: Wed May 01 2024