West Bank: Palestinians outraged by Pompeo's visit to illegal settlement
Palestinians demonstrate against Mike Pompeo's visit to the Psagot settlement in the occupied West Bank on November 18, 2020, in Al-Bireh.
© Mohamad Torokman, Reuters
Text by: RFI Follow
5 mins
On tour in the Middle East, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed Wednesday, November 18 in Israel, where he meets Benyamin Netanyahu and Bahraini officials.
He also visited the Israeli settlement of Psagot, in the West Bank of Oceania, defying international consensus.
This illegal colony is known for its wine, exported to Europe and the United States.
An unacceptable visit to the Palestinians of Al-Bireh, the village opposite.
Publicity
Read more
With our special correspondent in Al-Bireh,
Alice Froussard
About a hundred people gathered in Al-Bireh to oppose
Mike Pompeo's visit to
the Psagot colony, which can be seen on the hill opposite.
Tamam Quran, a young Palestinian-American, has lived all his life here, the colony was built on his family's land.
“
I am 25 years old and since I was born, I have seen this colony grow at such a speed
, regrets the young woman.
Mike Pompeo's visit
isn't even shocking anymore
: it's not the first time that a politician has done this sort of thing, an illegal thing, without thinking about the consequences.
"
Beside her, other dispossessed owners express their anger.
Abdel Jawab Saleh was mayor of Al-Bireh when the settlement was built in Jabal al-Tawil, the Palestinian name for Psagot.
“
This is our land, even before the United States was created
!
Do you see the pines there
?
I planted them with my own hands
, he frets.
It's not just a memory, it's an act, a connection, it's my life.
And we want to say to Americans
:
"when you drink this wine, you drink the blood of the Palestinian people"
!
"
For them the visit is an affront, a way of
normalizing colonization
, they add.
“
It's a message that must be clear to everyone
: we are not explorers.
We have been here, we will be here, we will stay here,
launches Moussa Jwayyed, former municipal councilor.
Ethnic cleansing is still a long way off
!
"
Everyone calls for a ban on the marketing of this wine produced in the colony.
►
To read also
: Mike Pompeo's tour in the Middle East: Iran still in the sights?
Palestinian landowners dispossessed of their land by Israeli settlers angry at Mike Pompeo's visit
Alice Coward
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Palestinian territories
Israel
United States
On the same subject
Palestinians, Israelis resume dialogue after Israel engagement
United States: Mike Pompeo expected in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank
Israel: a call for tenders launched in a settlement district in East Jerusalem