Transcript [00:00] Israeli settlers are besieging an Arab [00:02] home in the West Bank and Netanyahu's [00:05] IDF are doing nothing to stop it. This [00:08] according to dozens of headlines [00:10] plastering the media over the past few [00:13] days. This is a crazy story and everyday [00:15] [music] it seems like the reporting just [00:17] gets a little more intense. We have been [00:20] reaching out to all of our sources [00:22] pulling together as much first-hand [00:24] information as possible so that we [00:26] [music] can bring you the truth and the [00:28] truth is kind of wild. There is a lot [00:31] more going on here with both the Arabs [00:33] and the Israelis involved in the [00:35] incident than what is getting reported. [00:40] So, first [music] the facts what we know [00:42] so far about what is actually happening. [00:45] For several years now Israelis have been [00:47] trying to establish a new community [00:49] called Tal Talpiot on a hill near the [00:52] Arab village of Kusra in the heart of [00:55] biblical Samaria what some would call [00:57] the West Bank. Over and over again this [00:59] new community has been established and [01:01] then demolished by the IDF and over and [01:04] over again these Israelis have tried [01:06] again and from what we can find it looks [01:09] like the hill is in area B under the [01:11] Oslo Accords which means it's designated [01:13] to be under the Palestinian Authority [01:16] civilian control but under the Israeli [01:18] security control. This may be the [01:21] biggest reason why there has been such [01:23] an outcry over this entire incident as [01:26] new Jewish communities are typically [01:28] established in area C on Israeli [01:30] state-owned land. Several years ago a [01:33] wealthy Palestinian-American built a [01:35] villa close to the Tal Talpiot hill on [01:39] land that is again designated for both [01:41] Israeli and Palestinian use also area B. [01:46] From its construction this house has [01:47] been problematic. Kusra is notorious for [01:50] housing Arab terrorists and is a hub for [01:52] a constant string of attacks against [01:55] nearby Jewish communities. This house [01:58] seems to be an attempt to expand the [02:00] reach of those attacks even further out [02:02] from the village. There are several [02:04] videos of Arabs using the house as a [02:06] staging place to throw rocks at Israeli [02:08] hikers visiting nearby historical sites. [02:11] Also, the owner of the house himself, [02:13] Kassai Abu Reedy, was involved in an [02:16] attempted lynching of a Jewish shepherd [02:18] not far from the house where he tried to [02:20] use a hoe to decapitate the Israeli. [02:23] Thankfully, he was stopped in time by [02:25] rescue forces. Also, I got this video [02:28] here from source today where a little [02:30] while back, local Arabs open fire on [02:32] some Israelis in the area unprovoked [02:35] from the house itself. The source said [02:37] that there were a total of 10 gunshots, [02:40] but just the last few were caught on [02:42] camera. So, that's a little bit of what [02:45] we're dealing with here and may help [02:47] explain what happened next. The young [02:51] Israelis who had been attempting to [02:52] establish a new community for some time [02:54] now brought in shade cloths and some old [02:57] couches and camped out by this Arab [02:59] villa compound. And this created an [03:03] international incident. The Arab family [03:05] holed up inside of the house while [03:07] FaceTiming major media outlets claiming [03:10] they were being besieged and couldn't [03:12] leave. Never mind the fact that there's [03:14] no evidence that we've been able to find [03:16] to say the Israelis actually kept them [03:18] from leaving. The army was quickly [03:21] called in, but when they arrived, they [03:23] didn't seem to understand what was [03:25] happening. I'm guessing since the [03:26] Israelis weren't actually making an [03:28] assault on the house itself, they didn't [03:30] seem to think that they had the [03:31] authority to arrest anyone. So, they [03:34] basically just hung out by themselves [03:36] for a bit. You can see footage of a few [03:38] religious soldiers praying the daily [03:40] prayers with some of the young Israelis [03:42] by the shade tarps. Later, you can see [03:44] the military gets reinforced and they [03:46] actually make an effort to remove the [03:48] Israelis. There was a scuffle, [03:50] flashbangs and tear gas were used by the [03:52] IDF, and in response, the young Israelis [03:55] grabbed large rocks from the villa [03:56] enclosure and threw them into the road [03:59] itself to stop the army trucks. [04:02] Eventually, one Israeli was arrested, [04:04] according to reports, and the shade [04:06] tarps were taken down, but then things [04:08] kind of moved into a stalemate. In a [04:11] second, we'll get into the rest of the [04:13] details on what happened and more [04:14] importantly, the context as to why. But [04:17] first, here's something most people [04:19] don't realize. More than 4,000 [04:22] volunteers from 32 different countries [04:24] have come to these mountains of Samaria [04:26] to serve and help Israeli farmers, and [04:28] hundreds more come every single year. [04:31] None of it happens on its own. It's made [04:34] possible by people who partner with us [04:36] every single month. 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Members of the media and [05:17] left-wing activists who have tried to [05:19] approach the site are being told by the [05:20] IDF that it is a closed military zone, [05:23] but that doesn't seem to be entirely [05:25] accurate because there are still a few [05:26] Israelis hanging out by the villa and on [05:29] the road leading to it who have not been [05:32] removed by the IDF. There are random [05:35] videos on social media saying that the [05:36] activists cut power to the house and [05:38] that the Arab family is running out of [05:39] food, but both these claims seem [05:41] unlikely and aren't backed up by any [05:44] evidence. There's no reason in the world [05:46] why they can't just walk out the door [05:47] and go get more food, especially with [05:49] all the cameras and military watching. [05:51] So, basically, when you look at this [05:53] situation, I think there are two very [05:55] obvious questions. One is, why are these [05:59] young Israelis camping out by this home? [06:01] And also, why is the IDF not really [06:03] doing anything about it? To answer the [06:06] first question, this is what I think is [06:08] happening. As tends to happen, there is [06:11] a competition between Israelis who want [06:12] to settle the land and Arabs who want to [06:15] stop them. This wealthy American Arab [06:18] probably built this home on a hill [06:20] specifically to hinder Israeli attempts [06:22] of creating a new community in this [06:25] area. Not only that, but also expands [06:28] the Arab village of Kusra in an effort [06:30] to claim more open land and creates a [06:33] hub to facilitate more attacks on [06:35] Israelis. I think these young Israelis [06:38] were trying to make a statement [06:40] basically by camping out outside the [06:41] home. [06:42] They were sending a clear message to the [06:44] Arabs inside that they aren't welcome [06:47] there. Not only that, but the attacks [06:49] from the home shouldn't be allowed to [06:51] continue. Now, while this may be the [06:53] rationale, building structures in random [06:56] open land is illegal. And historically, [06:58] the army would be there in about 10 [07:00] minutes hauling these guys off to jail. [07:02] But right now, the situation is [07:04] complicated. Israel is in a post October [07:07] 7th election season, meaning there is a [07:09] huge demographic inside of Israel that [07:12] one is horrified by Jewish on Jewish [07:14] violence and two is very wary of Arab [07:17] expansion inside of Israel's borders. [07:20] This means that politically, the IDF [07:22] rolling up to arrest these guys [07:23] violently would be complicated at best. [07:26] Since the construction of Israeli [07:28] structures in the area is illegal, but [07:30] the presence of the Israelis themselves [07:32] is not. So, the people who actually set [07:35] up the structures committed a crime, [07:37] which is why the IDF destroyed them [07:39] quickly. But as far as arresting the [07:41] guys who just hanging out, this is more [07:43] problematic legally, especially in this [07:46] post-October 7th election season. And to [07:49] be clear, Israelis aren't generally in [07:51] favor of this kind of vigilante activist [07:53] behavior. There is a loud hue and cry [07:55] across Israel, both right and left, to [07:58] have these guys arrested and leave these [08:01] Arabs alone. But there isn't the stomach [08:04] for Jewish on Jewish violence, and I [08:06] think that's what's at the core of why [08:08] the IDF has been so hesitant. Also, [08:11] there's the fact that the Israeli army [08:12] is spread really thin right now, and the [08:14] soldiers responding to this case weren't [08:16] initially border police or combat units. [08:19] They were relatively easygoing reserve [08:21] soldiers, meaning they were much less [08:23] likely to use quick force to clear these [08:25] guys out. But just over the last little [08:28] bit, the IDF sent in the Golani 51st [08:30] Battalion, an elite fighting force, [08:33] prompting criticism by some in Israel [08:34] that Israel is now diverting precious [08:37] combat resources to manage a few [08:39] teenagers in response to the wildly [08:41] overblown international outcry. So, at [08:44] the end of the day, these Arabs built [08:46] this home to try to occupy more land for [08:49] the village of Kusra and to prevent a [08:51] new Israeli community from being built. [08:54] And also as a staging ground to launch [08:56] attacks on nearby Israelis. On the flip [08:59] side, local Israeli young guys seem to [09:02] see it as their duty to intimidate these [09:04] Arabs into leaving like David might have [09:09] in Bible times. Meanwhile, already [09:12] living in Judea and Samaria, see this as [09:14] a crime and uncalled-for vigilante [09:17] activity. And the army is trying to [09:19] figure out a way to end this in a [09:21] peaceful way without creating a violent [09:24] situation. And need I remind you, a [09:27] couple of Israeli teenagers are camping [09:29] out in the front yard of an Arab's home, [09:31] and somehow this is a whole week's worth [09:33] of international news. CNN, Reuters, [09:36] BBC, New York Times, all of these major [09:38] networks are just eating this up and [09:41] there are hundreds of left-wing [09:42] so-called reporters running around [09:44] social media claiming that the family is [09:46] running out of food, they're being [09:47] harassed and fear of their lives, etc. [09:49] When the video footage shows that, like [09:51] I said, some Israeli teenagers are [09:53] basically camping out in front of an [09:55] Arab's home with the army sitting there [09:57] to make sure no one gets hurt. At the [10:00] end of the day, this story is bad. It [10:02] shouldn't have happened. The [10:03] Arab-American probably should not have [10:05] built his home and the Israelis should [10:07] have stayed out of his yard. But, is [10:09] this really worth an entire week's worth [10:12] of international news? [10:14] I guess it's like they say, no Jews, no [10:17] news. [10:18] This is a statement from Israel Gantz, [10:19] the head of the Binyamin Regional [10:21] Council, basically the top politician [10:23] for the area. He said, quote, "The [10:26] events in Qusra are severe and not our [10:28] way. There's no place to privately [10:30] decide to establish a hilltop outpost in [10:32] the yard of a house, even when dealing [10:34] with an illegal house or an attempt to [10:36] take over land. There's no justification [10:39] whatsoever for violence against [10:41] uninvolved civilians or security forces. [10:44] There's no doubt that some are [10:45] exploiting these events for a campaign [10:47] against settlement movement, but this [10:49] must not obscure the fact. Whatever [10:51] happened in Qusra is unacceptable and [10:53] wrong. 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