The Fight for the West Bank

>> Hello. >> Hi, Louis. This is Rachel Abrams from the Daily. >> Hi, Rachel. >> Thank you so much for making time to speak with us. >> Thank you. >> Where are you physically right now? >> I am currently in my house in the West Bank under CH by Israeli settlers extremists. We are now allowed to leave the property. >> The settlers wants my family, the neighbor's family, to leave. So simply they can steal the houses and take over. They want the entire land, the entire mountain, all the houses. >> What's happening right now, Louis? Like are there settlers outside that you can see from inside your house right now? >> Yes, I am watching them as we speak. There's three settlers, that's about 300 to 400 yards from me. They brought couches and they sit in the sun and moments ago. There's three soldiers and I was watching. Wondering what was the soldiers going to do to them? Are they going to arrest them? They're going to move them? Are they going to tell them it's a close military zone? Because this is what they told me yesterday. >> Absolutely, they did nothing. They just looked around, they talked to them probably for five minutes. And they just left them. It's insane. >> From the New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams, and this is the daily. For the past year, there's been a huge increase in violence in the West Bank. Israeli settlers have been terrorizing Palestinians, setting fire to their property, abrooting their olive groves, and stealing their animals. All in an effort to drive them off their land. According to the United Nations, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been injured and more than 20 killed so far just this year. That's more than twice the number of killings as in 2025. But the settlers seldom face any consequences for their actions, in part because they received broad support from the Israeli government. Today, we talked to Palestinian-American Louis Reedy in the West Bank. About the settlers that have arrived at his doorstep. It's Wednesday, September 2nd. [MUSIC] When we called Louis Reedy, he was in his house in Kustra, a small village of about 5,000 people in the northern West Bank. Louis talked to us from his bedroom, where he could look out the window and keep an eye on what was happening outside. I wonder whether you ever expected that this would be your view. Absolutely not. This is actually Louis's second home. He normally lives in Ohio, where he emigrated to in 2004. The Kustra is where Louis grew up and never used to be like this. Back in the days, we did not have no issues with the settlers. They were not aggressive as happening right now. We did have a settlement next to our village. I remember that settlement when I was a kid, but we always told that's going to be temporarily. And there is going to be a peace agreement and they will leave. Soon none of them will be here. So just never dealt with any of them, never interact with any. Just drive in and pass them, you know, that's it. Given that this was kind of a quiet period, Louis, what was it like to grow up in Kustra, the town of Kustra? So our town is really a good special town. It's about 850 meters above sea level. So you can be on the mountain and looking down, you see the entire village. The weather here is beautiful. No matter how hot it is, you always have a breeze coming directly from the sea. Most of the people was farmers. And so there's a lot of olive trees, figs and grapes and beaches and my family. We are nine brothers and one sister. Oh, wow. My dad used to have a junk yard with cars and part of parts. And my mom stayed at home. We always gave her hard time dealing with nine brothers when we were kids. We always really outnumbered her. Yes, only one sister. One of my favorite memories was school. Once a year, they used to arrange a road trip. It's like a vacation, all day of vacation. To take us to the Dead Sea. Oh, yeah. Because in that time, you know, there's Mediterranean Sea. It's only one hour. But none of the West Bank residents allowed to go to their beach. And we always see on TV kids jumping in the pools, swimming, but we never experienced it. So in that time, probably was my first time to swim in a water. And it was like a dream becomes true. To us, probably one of the most wonderful experience. So we did have a lot of good memories in Kostra. Do you remember, Louis, when you first started thinking about immigrating to the United States? My older brothers, they were in the United States early '90s. And that's why I thought I would have a better future and opportunity if I go to the United States. So I applied for the University of Toledo and I learned English there. So yes, I was the fortunate one to be in the United States and become a successful businessman. And even more fortunate, I end up for love and marry my wife. Now I have a beautiful family, I have two girls, I have an 19 years old. She just started second year in college, Sam University Toledo. Oh, you must be so proud. Yes. And I have a 10 years old, she's started fifth grade two days ago. And you know, they're born and raised in America, they know the American way. Well, we like them to know the Palestinian culture as well. So we take them, we bring them to visit often here. And they like it. And one time I bring my daughters here and they ask me, how come we can have our own house here? And I started thinking about it, I said, you know, we come here more often. Maybe that would be good for my retirement of the future. Maybe I'll start spending more time here in Kuswa when I get older. And I made my decision and I started building it on the beautiful mountain. It has a beautiful view. You can see Jordan, she's the country next to us, Jordan. I can see clearly, if I look to the left to the west, I can see Tel Aviv. And sometimes I can see the sea from the same spot. From the house, the way I design it, it's the American style. Everything is open, there is no doors whatsoever. I cared about the outside, the front yard, the back yard, the trees. I just wanted to be my peaceful and my retirement vacation at home. Now before I did this, I made sure that it is 100% legal. I started the blueprint, I took the blueprint to the government. The Israeli government. No, the Palestinian government, because this is a designated area B under the Palestinian authority under Oslo Agrima, B area, they gave it to the Palestinian to control it. So if I need to build and pull permits, I don't need to go to the Israeli list, they tell me, you go to the Palestinians. Okay. So you go and you check with the Palestinian authority? Yes. That you had the legal right to build this house. Correct. Yes. So I went to the Palestinian Authority, they gave me the authorization in 2023, and I started the house. And probably one of the most beautiful things I ever done, I was proud of it, but never across my mind that one day, the settlers will be able to come in area B and claim that it belonged to them. Can you just describe the moment, the first moment that you learned that settlers were encroaching on the house that these intentions would really arrived at your doorstep? - This started in January. My brother called me and said, the settlers came on top of the mountain. This started coming down the hill, driving those ATVs. Every night checking out the areas which houses have people, which house is empty. So I told my brother I want you to install security cameras 'cause it looks like it's not safe. So I put the security cameras and then in March, 230 in the morning. I got notifications on someone at my house. It was like four or five centers masked. They start jumping over the fence. They brought ladders, they bought jewels, then, and they start doing the damages. - What kind of damage should they do? - Well, I had automatic motors for the gates. They damaged, they stopped breaking the lights around all the yards. They stole all my routers, mortems. They caught the main electricity panel wires. They damaged it. Cutting and damaging my security camera 'cause they want a flying one by one, one by one. Believe or not, I watched them live. - Back in Ohio. - Yes, back in Ohio. After this incident, I talked to my brother and said, okay, we're gonna fix it. We're gonna put more security guard on the windows so they can't get in. Brand new security cameras. Fix the gates, fix the internet, fix the lights, and he did all this. Now he said, I'm gonna move in. I'm gonna move in with my family to protect the house. - Wow. - And he did. - Louis, all of this sounds unbelievably stressful, but when do the settlers actually start camping out outside of your house? - That was August 9th. It's Reilly settlers, it's extremists. They brought like four ATVs, they parked them in front of the house and they built a tent in front of the house. They started jumping over the fence. And again, when this happened, you know, I was back in Ohio and every movement, I get an notification. - How did it feel, Louis, to be so far away watching all of this happening? - That was, honestly, it was very stressful. Imagine that someone is attacking your family member and you're watching it live from distance. Literally, you're watching it live. That's what happened to me. And in that moment, my brother and his son, they were terrified. They're going to attack him inside the house. So my brother called the police that night and they dispatched an IDF vehicle but instead of helping my brother, they went straight to the tent. They celebrated with those settlers. They sat down with them and were basically chilling out with them and drinking and they conducted prayer with those settlers. - And I'm talking to my brother and we paused. My brother paused and I paused too and I asked him what we're gonna do next because we thought they are only few feet away taken over this house. And my brother, he said, I'm not leaving this house, I don't wanna leave it but I have an issue. I have no food. When he said this, I said, you know why? I can't handle it anymore, I can't sleep. I'm gonna book my flight. I'm gonna come, I'll do whatever it takes for me to provide you food and protection and try to end the siege. - We'll be right back. - Louis, how did your wife and your children feel about you flying back to the West Bank at a moment where it is so much more dangerous? - Well, it was a tough decision to be honest with you. Yes, they were terrified. They were stressing out, especially in my 10 years old, asking me, is the settler's going to go inside the house while you're right there? What's gonna happen to you? Are you gonna be safe? And sometimes I have to lie to her. I said, I'll be okay, I'll be safe, even though that's not a fix. I do feel for my own safety here because it is not safe. - If I'm getting this right, I think you arrived about a week after the settlers first put that tent up outside of your house. That's when you first saw your brother after all this time knowing he was under threat. What was it like to see him for the first time? - Well, we are brothers. Yeah, that's my brother of the site. So it's me with him and hug him for the first time. - It was a lot of emotion. And then I grabbed the American flag. This is what I brought. - I brought it with me from Ohio all the way to Kustra to my house. - I got to put it on the house over there. - And I went on top of my house and I raised American flags on my house. - Oh, what were you trying to telegraph? - Usually when settler is still a house, the first thing they do, they raise their own flag on top of the house, it's a yellow flag. And I said, if it required for a bit, if this happens, if they wanna raise it, they have to take the most powerful flag in the world, the American flag and raise their flag. That's what's gonna happen in theory. And that's the reason I put the American flag. - Was any part of you also hoping that maybe the settlers would be more intimidated knowing that an American was there? - They did not care because the next day, a settler, stopped coming down toward me. - And he dared to tell me, myself, I need to leave because this is his land. - That's my house, I'm in my house. - I said, that's my land. And I told the Israeli soldiers they were present. - He needs to be a move from here. He's a legal here. - He needs to be a move because he's a legal. - Was this Louis, was this your first interaction with the settler ever? - It is. This is the first time I talk to a settler like this, face to face, yes. - I love to be in my house. - This is okay. - Is that so? - And I told them, - That's belong to me. - That's my land and I'm staying here. - I'm not. - I told this upper. - Yeah, he's the one came to me, I didn't go to him. - Okay. - Since then, the IDF decided to come and move the tent in front of the house. But now, we are unable to leave freely in and out of our houses from the IDF. They claim it's a closed military zone. - What does that mean exactly? - There is an IDF tent right now, like actually I'm watching it as we speak, in front of my house. That one is blocking us, leaving our own house or walking in the yard. - And have you asked the IDF, like why are you keeping me in my house? Like what's the reasoning behind this? Have you talked to any of the military people there? - Yes, that was yesterday when I was walking in my yard. - Please, walk right, head back to the villa. - I said, why can't walk in my yard, my own yard? - I'm not trying to argue. - That was my commanding officer, okay? And he just said, whoever's here has to go back into the villa. Please don't make me use force, all right? He said, please go, unless we're gonna use force against you. - Wow. - That's what he literally said, told me yesterday. - Thank you. - Can you tell me your name? So when I call, so I can tell him whoever's trying to. - My name is IDF, all right? - IDF spokesperson? - No, IDF commander. - IDF commander. Okay, I would listen. I'm not here to argue, no, no. You know, first we're dealing with the settlers. Now the IDF is here, they're still not able to move freely. So, you know, we're the same situation, the same result either way, settlers are IDF. They're doing the same thing on us. - Right, you want the soldiers to leave because they're enforcing this close military zone where you can't move freely, but you also fear what will happen with the settlers if the soldiers leave. It's an impossible situation. - Exactly, and we still, as of today, able to spot settlers, able to walk around the house almost every day. I just want to mention here that the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that the IDF and Israeli police did go to your house to remove what he described as "Israeli terrorists" at Huckabee's request, at the U.S.'s request. And I guess I wonder whether you feel like in this moment, the U.S. authorities could have or should have done more? I watched all Mike's Huckabee's interview and every time he did condemn it, he did say that they are terrorists. And I appreciate all these comments, but that's not, it wasn't enough, because nothing happened on the ground. I really wish that Mike Huckabee himself or Cindy Teein from the U.S. Embassy to come visit my house, so them can witness what's going on here, what happened into an American citizen in the West Bank. But Louis, don't you think that they know what's going on? I mean, there are videos on the internet, they've clearly made statements in response to this. I mean, it doesn't feel like the issue is that they don't know what's happening. I'm sure they do, I'm sure they do, and that's, it's a question I always ask myself. Why everybody on the news, including the U.S. officials, including the Israeli officials, including the army, even the settlers, the leaders of the settlers, they condemned what the Israeli did in Kusra. Okay, why none of you able to move five to ten settlers, just go ahead and arrest them, put them in jail, prosecute them, and lift the siege on the residents in Kusra and let them live in peace. I don't have the answer. You know, I'm thinking, Louis, if the person who might be listening to this and thinking, like, at the end of the day, it's just a building. It's just, it's just materials, right? Like, why is it so important to put yourself or your brother or anybody in your family in harm's way to protect a piece of property that isn't even your primary home? It's like your second house. Like, how would you explain why you and your brother and anybody else feels the need to like, put yourself at risk for this place? Well, it's not really just the home, it's not about the home, it's about the entire land. And you know, just maybe five years ago, I was walking, my father's land, and I know he inherited this from his father and from his grandfather. And I looked at a wall and I started looking at it and imagine, I said, "How many years, is it like 200 years, 300 years?" And I took the rock. A rock? Yes. It just like, I felt there was an emotion to that rock. Maybe one of my great grandparents touched it and I grabbed it. And I said, "I'm going to take it." I took it home and I had it in my office in Ohio. It just reminded me, again, this is our land, the settlers are trying to steal. And what's been going on, it changed a lot of people's dreams and that's, I'm one of them. The dream that I thought of that I'm going to live in this house and peace, I don't see none of that happening while I see soldiers surrounding my house and settlers still able and come harassing me. To be honest with you, the general mood in the West Bank, it's hopeless, but it doesn't mean that we have to give up. We have to fight to protect our houses and stay in our land. Do you have any idea when you're going to go back to Ohio? My wife asked me this question, I told her I'm living day by day, I will update her, it could be a couple of weeks, it could be a couple of months. I have no idea, but I'm staying here until I make sure my house is safe, my family is safe. I'll go my best on that. Louis Reedy, thank you so much for giving us all this time. Thank you, thank you for having me. When we reached out to the Israeli military for comment, they told us that the IDF is operating in Kusra with the aim of "protecting its residents and preventing confrontations". They also said that Louis Reedy is free to come and go from his house, but the family remains there and afraid to leave. The IDF is still stationed just outside the property, as are some settlers. When we asked the IDF if anyone has been arrested in connection with the case, they told us to ask the police. We did ask the Israeli police, but they didn't respond. The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, told us that the U.S. has a very strong engagement with the IDF, to act on behalf of U.S. citizens. Over the weekend, there were more violent attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. In the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has largely played down these attacks as the actions of a small minority, issued a rare rebuke, condemning the attackers, and calling their actions "criminal". He said that the causing "imense harm" to the law abiding settler community and damaging, Israel's standing in the world. We'll be right back. Here's what else you need to know today. On Tuesday for the second time in three days, the U.S. attacked Iran, puncturing a month-long break in fighting between the two countries. Iranian officials said the latest American attacks caused significant damage to sites across Iran's southern shores, including a military base. In a social media post, President Trump threatened even bigger strikes of Iran decides to retaliate. The global market for government bonds experienced a massive sell-off on Tuesday, pushing borrowing costs which are closely tied to bonds to some of their highest levels in decades. Analysts blamed the sell-off on a growing consensus that officials across the world will raise interest rates to tamp down inflation, lowering the value, and the appeal of existing bonds. Today's episode was produced by Claire Tennis-Getter, Rochelle Bonja, and Lindsey Garrison. It was edited by Maria Byrne with help from Paige Cowatt, and fact-checked by Susan Lee. It contains music by Pat McCusker and Alyssa Moxley, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Wonderly, special thanks to David Helpinger, Aaron Boxerman, and No-on-Blanks.