Surveilled, harassed by Israel – life as a West Bank Palestinian
Al Jazeera
Up close and personal with the discrimination Palestinians face every day from Israeli authorities.
Occupied West Bank – “The Israeli army is here. They’re coming up the road!” our Palestinian driver Mohammad shouts, alarmed, as we near the location of a recent settler attack in the village of al-Sawiya.
The message is passed to him by anxious villagers congregating in the street. This is my first time working with Mohammad, who is on edge and seems uneasy. In our short time together, he has already recounted numerous traumatic experiences at the hands of the Israeli military.
We get out of the car. I’m concerned the army may stop us filming the damage from the attack, so I need to move quickly.
It has been raining on and off for days, and white fog hangs over the streets and hills, dispersing slowly and only adding to the sense of tension.
Last night, Israelis from a nearby illegal settlement had doused a car in petrol and set it alight. According to witnesses, they had planned to set fire to the adjacent house as the families slept inside but they were spotted and chased away, having damaged only the car.
