Photo: Daher and Amal Nassar at Tent of Nations entrance – May 2024 visit during ICAHD’s study tour
The Tent of Nations needs our immediate support due to increasing settler activity on their land and their forthcoming court case scheduled for 2nd July 2024 when its status is to be determined. ICAHD has long stood in solidary with its struggle to retain its farm from confiscation by Israeli authorities due to its location in Area C of the West Bank. Many of the ICAHD study tours have visited Tent of Nations over the years. Participants have heard about the family’s determination not to be victims but to believe in themselves. Their message is that they refuse to hate but want justice.
Tent of Nations is located on a hilltop between Hebron and Bethlehem and has been in the family since 1916. Over the years, five settlements have been constructed which surround it and the Israeli government claimed ownership of the land which has resulted in the Nasser family being in a legal battle for 34 years despite having all the legal documents to prove ownership.
The family seeks to retain their land and protect it from settlement expansion. It has developed programmes that bring young people from local areas (such as the refugee camps in Bethlehem), together with international groups, to learn about respect and maintenance of the countryside. Their pioneering projects aim to prepare young people for a better future and teach them about cultural heritage and citizenship. Tent of Nations also seeks to build bridges of understanding, reconciliation, and peace on a broad-spectrum base.
Since 7th October, and with all eyes focused on Gaza, Tent of Nations, like other Palestinian communities in the West Bank, has been targeted. Since March 2024, Israelis have started construction of two roads on its private property, with a third road that will encroach their land if construction continues. The Nassar family has appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, which had previously ruled that their land is not to be touched while they undergo its re-registration process. On 21st April 2024, the Supreme Court issued an order preventing the State from doing anything on their land until further notice. Yet, as recently as 31st May, Israelis continue to enter and work on their land. In addition, on 27th May, Israeli settlers placed an RV directly abutting their farmland in what appears to be establishment of a new outpost.
When ICAHD’s latest study tour visited the farm earlier in May, it took four attempts on different routes to reach the farm because of the new restrictions on accessing it. Tour participants heard about the regular intimidation and harassment by the Israeli army and the settlers who appear while the family is farming its land. Daoud, Amal and Daher thanked us for visiting them at this time when Palestinians throughout the West Bank feel abandoned. They called for internationals to volunteer at their farm because our presence significantly helps them to farm their land without fear.
Right now, immediate action is needed
To save Tent of Nations, the family needs to re-register their land as required by Israeli law since their property is in Area C of the Occupied West Bank. The next court hearing regarding their registration is scheduled for 2nd July 2024. This hearing, if not cancelled, will be the 11th in a series of hearings that began in 2021, many years after the Israeli Supreme Court ruled, in 2006, that they be allowed to re-register their land proving their ownership, so it is not confiscated. The current situation along with the new road construction heightens the urgency for the family so that these delays end and a just outcome is secured
Write to the British Consulate in Jerusalem asking them to support the Nassar family's case. Please use this template email & send to britain.jerusalem@fcdo.gov.uk (please do so as soon as possible, as the date for the hearing is now very soon). Note the sections in red in the letter are where you should include your own details.