Yesterday I had an idea for a short story to explain the unrelenting insanity of the occupation for ordinary Palestinians. Tell me what you think.<\/p>\n
In my story, there is a Palestinian family, let\u2019s call them the Jaabaris, and they live next to a Jewish settlement, let\u2019s call it Kiryat Arba, close to Hebron deep in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n
One day the settlers decide to build a synagogue on the family\u2019s private land in an effort to force them off.<\/p>\n
This family decide to stand their ground. Sadly,\u00a0they have no way\u00a0to stop the takeover of land that has been in their family for generations other than by appealing\u00a0to the Israeli\u00a0legal system. They petition the Israeli Supreme Court to order\u00a0the synagogue demolished.<\/p>\n
In the court room, the settlers argue that the land is not under Kiryat Arba\u2019s control \u2013 it\u2019s private Palestinian property \u2013 and therefore it is outside the court\u2019s jurisdiction. The judges\u00a0have no right to issue a ruling in this case, they claim.<\/p>\n
The court disagrees and says the land is under Kiryat Arba\u2019s control \u2013 ie the judges treat it as part of Israel \u2013 and therefore the court can\u00a0issue a ruling. The judges’\u00a0verdict is a triumph for justice: the synagogue should be demolished.<\/p>\n
However, now that the settlers have a piece of paper with the court\u2019s decision stating that the land belongs to Kiryat Arba, they can bill\u00a0the Palestinian family\u00a0for\u00a0years of arrears on property taxes amounting to $22,000 \u2013 more than the family earns in several years. If they don’t\u00a0pay, the settlers will seize\u00a0the\u00a0land and sell it.<\/p>\n
Heads the Jaabaris lose; tails they lose too. That’s Israeli occupiers\u2019 justice.<\/p>\n
What do you think? Have I gone a bit too far? Too crazy to be credible.<\/p>\n
Or have I simply plagiarised this story from the Times of Israel, where exactly this just happened to the Jaabari family.<\/p>\n