Land grabs in the Occupied West Bank are widespread. Through a combination of military oppression and state-facilitated settler violence, Israel is demolishing villages in Masafer Yatta, the Jordan Valley, and other regions of the West Bank. But beyond these routine acts of displacement, a home invasion in al-Makhrour, a neighborhood of Beit Jala, stands out as the suburban front of Israeli expansionism.
Beit Jala is a relatively upper-class suburb of Bethlehem. The settlers engaging in this land grab are not claiming ownership of Palestinian-owned grazing land lacking buildings or visible signs of ownership—they are squatting in a gated lot of private property. There are currently at least 196 illegal settler outposts across the West Bank, according to the BBC—29 of which were set up last year alone, more than in any previous year. Israeli watchdog group Kerem Navot recorded 77 of these to be farming outposts in rural areas.
But unlike the victims of more urban land grabs happening in areas like Sheikh Jarrah and the Old City of Jerusalem, the members of the Kisiya family, a Palestinian Christian family whose land has been invaded by Israeli settlers, are Israeli citizens. Many of them are also dual citizens, holding French and American passports.
Amira Musallam, a Palestinian peace activist and ex-wife of family member Jihad Kisiya, has been active in the Kisiya family’s campaign to recover their land. Musallam tells The Progressive that Jihad Kisiya’s grandfather originally purchased the land. The family has lived on the land since, their land ownership recognized by the Israeli courts. But the Israeli military demolished the Kisiya family home in 2019, after which Jihad and his father Ramzi continued to live on their land in a tent. The rest of the family began renting a nearby home in Beit Jala.
Michelle Kisiya
The Israeli military demolished the Kisiya family home in 2019.
In July 2024, the Israeli military forced Jihad and Ramzi off the land, allowing settlers to move in. The settlers dismantled the gate to the property and replaced it with another gate decorated with a Star of David. Since then, the Kisiya family has protested daily alongside solidarity activists outside of their property, where they have been met with violent suppression by the military. Alice Kisiya, who has also been a prominent figure in the campaign, was arrested last month alongside her mother for resisting the land theft by settlers.
The day after the settlers entered the property, soldiers showed protesters a closed military zone around the property where only seven settlers were permitted to be. Activists told The Progressive that other settlers have been seen in the closed military zone with no pushback from Israeli forces.
Alice Kisiya
Israeli settlers dismantled the gate to the Kisiya family's land and replaced it with their own gate.
Israeli military frequently uses closed military zones to quell Palestinian protests in the West Bank. Multiple activists tell The Progressive that the map of the original closed military zone order indicated the incorrect area; not the Kisiya family’s property. The most recent order does cover the Kisiya family land and lasts a full month from the time it was issued. According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, closed military zones do not apply to residents of the closed-off area. This should permit the Kisiya family to remain in the area despite a closed military zone order.
Outside the parameters of the closed military zone, the rest of the Kisiya family, along with Musallam, began living in a tent. The tent—which was demolished by the Israeli army on September 4—was decorated with a blown-up print-out of the deed to the land signed by the Gush Etzion regional council. Gush Etzion is the Israeli name for the region of the West Bank just south of Jerusalem; because three-quarters of Beit Jala is in Area C of the West Bank, according to the Oslo Accords, most of the town is under full Israeli civil and military control.
Alice Kisiya
Earlier this summer, members of the Kisiya family began living in a tent outside their land. The tent was demolished by the Israeli military on September 4.
With most legal disputes between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank, there is a de jure imbalance. Israelis enjoy the liberties of Israeli civil law while Palestinians are subject to military law; since members of the Kisiya family are Israeli citizens, they fall under the former. The legal proceedings between the Kisiya family and the settlers claiming the land should, theoretically, take place on equal footing.
Grassroots activists have been present in the area since July, while registered Israeli-Palestinian nonprofit organizations such as Rabbis for Human Rights and Standing Together have helped raise awareness of the case and organized structured tours of villages in al-Makhrour. The suburban setting of this case, the Kisiya family’s international ties, and the current spotlight that Israel-Palestine has in mainstream news have contributed to this story quickly gaining publicity. Just like Sheikh Jarrah in May 2021, al-Makhrour may soon become a household name.