Colonization/Taking

Even though the cities and villages have varied, as have their respective statuses as part of the occupied Palestinian territory or across the Green Line, the stories have been similar. Natural resources, and their importance to the economy, have been central to the colonization of Palestine, be it in Jaffa or in the Jordan Valley.

Land confiscation coupled with discriminatory planning regimes have led to house demolitions and the constricted growth of communities ranging from Palestinian Druze villages to neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Palestinian Bedouins, both with West Bank IDs and with Israeli citizenship, have been repeatedly targeted for transfer. Palestinian families are separated by overarching policies that prohibit the right of return and family unification, as well as by physical barriers like the annexation wall.

The impacts, and the Israeli policies that drive them, are countless; they reiterate that the past 70+ years are not marked by some general loss that comes with conflict but rather by aggressive, purposeful taking - of time, livelihoods, property, etc. – by Israel. The weight of this reality breaks with each activist, lawyer, and volunteer that we meet with; each have not only persisted in their work, but remain optimistic that change is near.