Defiance in the West Bank – despite encroaching threat from ‘unwanted neighbours’
For generations, Keith Asad’s family has owned olive trees in the land near the West Bank town of Turmosayya, but now they are out of his reach.
The trees are still there.
He can see them, clearly, from the backyard of his house, tantalisingly close.
Keith Asad says he can’t go to his olive trees as he’s too frightened
But he can’t go there. He’s too frightened, and with good reason.
Even though he lives in a town where crime is almost unknown, Keith has just installed a wall made of rigid metal spikes, and he’s considering adding barbed wire to the top of them.
He worries about the safety of his wife and children, but why?
Through the gaps between the spikes, we can see a group of vehicles and tents that have been set up in the valley beyond Keith’s house. He calls them his “unwanted neighbours”.
The rest of the world calls them settlers.
“We have some trees over there,” he says, pointing at his land. “This is the first year that we’re not even thinking about going over there.”
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West Bank teenagers: Situation is ‘disastrous’
‘Oh, we’ll be shot… guaranteed’
“What would happen if you went?” I ask, and the answer is immediate.
“Oh, we’ll be shot. That’s guaranteed. One hundred percent.”
This group arrived a few months ago, with just a couple of tents, a couple of cars and an air of menace.
Road blocks appeared, stopping the locals from reaching their ancestral land. Buildings were vandalised and weapons were brandished. And Keith says the Israeli police and military have done nothing to help.
Olive farmers still come out, tending to their trees, knowing armed settlers are lurking
He shows me the damage to a door left behind after Israeli soldiers came to the house in the early hours of one morning, searching it from top to bottom and refusing to explain why.
He feels besieged, and he knows it will get worse. Because more and more of these outposts are being set up in the West Bank, by Israelis who believe they have a historic, or biblical, right to the land.
They are illegal, under both Israeli and international law.
But it is almost unknown for Israeli authorities to do anything to stop them and there is a crop of Israeli politicians, including some in the cabinet, who are passionate about encouraging as many new outposts as possible.
Because over time, they grow, attracting more people.
Military to civilian occupation
Roads and houses are built, Palestinians are intimidated into leaving and eventually those little outposts morph into permanent settlements, signed off and approved by the Israeli government.
And gradually, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank becomes slightly less military and slightly more civilian.
For the Palestinians we spoke to, it feels like an invasion, fuelled by a sense that the settlers act and attack with impunity.
Between 2005 and 2024, only around 3% of police investigations into settler violence ended in conviction. And, of course, many attacks are never investigated.
‘Very, very nervous’
In the olive groves outside Turmosayya, Yasser Alqam is driving me along a rough track, looking warily from side to side.
“I feel very, very nervous,” he says. “I’m looking to my sides, on top of these hills, because, without any warning, stones can come down on your car.
“And it’s going to take you a while before you figure out which way they’re coming from.”
Yasser Alqam says he feels ‘very, very nervous’
Yasser was here earlier in the month when he saw a horrendous attack, in which a settler, armed with a club dotted with nails, beat people – including a 53-year-old Palestinian woman called Afaf Abu Alia.
Video of her being attacked, and then, covered in blood, helped to a car to be taken to hospital, was put on social media and attracted widespread condemnation. So far, despite the video evidence, nobody has been arrested.
Sky News confronted by Israeli troops
Yasser takes us to the site of the attack. As we film, an Israeli military vehicle comes along a track and stops in a cloud of dust.
The soldiers emerge and tell us we have to leave for our own protection, claiming that this olive grove is, in fact, a closed military zone.
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I ask who they are protecting us from, but there is no answer. I’m shown a WhatsApp image of a rudimentary rectangle on a map, and informed that this is a military order.
We’re then told we can’t leave, and that the police are on the way to arrest us. We discuss the law. And then, as suddenly as it started, it’s over – we’re free to go. It’s just another flare-up on the West Bank.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told us its mission was to thwart terrorism, and it said it strongly condemned violence of any kind. It said it would conduct a review of the attacks we have reported on here.
But the echoes of violence reverberate here. We go to visit Afaf, the woman who was so grievously attacked.
Her body is badly battered, and she has two blood clots on her brain, but she has been discharged from hospital and is sitting on a sofa, her family around her, frail but sure.
Afra says she was beaten ‘all over her body’
The song of defiance
“They beat me on my head, behind my ears, along my legs, my back, and my neck all over my body, everywhere,” she tells me.
“I was terrified. The first thing that came to my mind was my son – he’s getting married soon. All I could think was that I might never get the chance to celebrate.
“It’s our land. We stand our ground, and we are here to stay. We’re not going anywhere. I won’t give it up to settlers. They can beat us all they want, they won’t break us.”
It is a refrain you hear repeatedly on the West Bank – the song of defiance. The olive farmers still come out, tending to their trees, aware that settlers, with their guns and their own belief that this land is rightly theirs, are lurking.
These valleys and fields are, at once, so tranquil, but also so very ominous and menacing.
World
Ukraine war: Putin rejects peace deal after meeting Trump’s team – and telling Europe he’s ready for war
Talks between US negotiators and Vladimir Putin about Ukraine were “productive” but there was no breakthrough, according to Russian officials.
Donald Trump sent special envoy Steve Witkoff and his own son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to Tuesday’s summit in Moscow.
They were pictured in Red Square prior to the summit and Mr Witkoff later told a smiling Mr Putin that Moscow was a “magnificent city”.
Shortly before the summit, the Russian president warned his country was ready to fight if Europe wanted a war.
Analysis: Why Putin won’t agree to latest peace plan
Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev were involved in the talks, which lasted over five fours and ended after midnight.
Both sides agreed not to disclose precise details, but in a one-word social media post, Mr Dmitriev described the meeting as “productive”.
Mr Ushakov called it “rather useful, constructive” and asked whether peace was closer or further, he commented: “Not further, that’s for sure”.
However, he said a compromise hadn’t been reached on the issue of territories and that the Kremlin sees “no resolution to the crisis” without one.
Russia wants the whole of the Donbas region – even the parts it does not hold – but Ukraine has balked at the prospect.
Mr Ushakov said there was “still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow” and that “contacts will continue”.
The two sides were joined by translators. Pic: Sputnik/AP
Pic: Reuters
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were joined by Kirill Dmitriev (2nd right) and Yuri Ushakov (left). Pic: Reuters
The meeting took place after an initial 28-point US peace plan was leaked and alarmed European officials, who said it heavily favoured Russia.
An “updated and refined peace framework” was formulated after talks between Europe, the US, and Ukraine in Geneva last month, but Mr Putin has indicated he will not accept it.
Putin: Europe on the side of war
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Putin said Russia was ready to fight if Europe wanted a war.
The Russian president accused European powers of changing peace proposals for Ukraine with “demands” that Russia considered “absolutely unacceptable”.
Mr Putin said the Europeans were “on the side of war”.
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Putin ‘lashes out’ at Europe
“We’re not planning to go to war with Europe, I’ve said that a hundred times,” he said following an investment forum.
“But if Europe suddenly wants to fight us and starts, we’re ready right now. There can be no doubt about that.”
“If Europe suddenly wants to start a war with us and does, then a situation could very quickly arise in which we have no one to negotiate with,” he added.
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Putin trying to frighten US away from Europe with war remarks
Zelenskyy in Dublin
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Dublin on Tuesday to meet Ireland’s prime minister and president.
During the trip, Mr Zelenskyy said he was ready to meet Mr Trump again, but it would depend on how successful the Moscow talks were.
He said the chances of ending the war were “better now than ever” but warned there would be “no easy decisions” and there must be “no games behind Ukraine’s back”.
President Zelenskyy had a guard of honour in Dublin. Pic: Reuters
Calling it “one of the most challenging but optimistic moments” since Russia invaded in 2022, he said the US was “taking serious steps to end this war one way or another”.
He admitted “some things still need to be worked out” and said a “decent, dignified peace” was needed.
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President Zelenskyy, his wife Olena, and Irish President Catherine Connolly. Pic: Reuters
The Irish government announced €100m (£88m) in non-lethal aid for Ukraine, “generosity” for which Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was grateful.
It brings the total in non-lethal military aid provided to Ukraine this year to €200m (£176m).
The funding is part of a new Ireland-Ukraine partnership, which builds on an agreement signed last year.
It includes €25m (£22m) for the restoration and protection of energy infrastructure and a scheme to support training and other efforts as part of Ukraine’s path to EU accession, which Mr Zelenskyy said he hoped to achieve within five years.
The Americans were given the full VIP treatment on their visit to Moscow.
There was a motorcade from the airport, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and even a stroll around Red Square.
It felt like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on more of a tourist trail than the path to peace.
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Trump’s envoys walk around Moscow
They finally got down to business in the Kremlin more than six hours after arriving in Russia. And by that point, it was already clear that the one thing they had come to Moscow for wasn’t on offer: Russia’s agreement to their latest peace plan.
According to Vladimir Putin, it’s all Europe’s fault. While his guests were having lunch, he was busy accusing Ukraine’s allies of blocking the peace process by imposing demands that are unacceptable to Russia.
The Europeans, of course, would say it’s the other way round.
But where there was hostility to Europe, only hospitality to the Americans – part of Russia’s strategy to distance the US from its NATO allies, and bring them back to Moscow’s side.
Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff shaking hands in August. AP file pic
Putin thinks he’s winning…
Russia wants to return to the 28-point plan that caved in to its demands. And it believes it has the right to because of what’s happening on the battlefield.
It’s no coincidence that on the eve of the US delegation’s visit to Moscow, Russia announced the apparent capture of Pokrovsk, a key strategic target in the Donetsk region.
It was a message designed to assert Russian dominance, and by extension, reinforce its demands rather than dilute them.
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‘Everyone must be on this side of peace’
…and believes US-Russian interests are aligned
The other reason I think Vladimir Putin doesn’t feel the need to compromise is because he believes Moscow and Washington want the same thing: closer US-Russia relations, which can only come after the war is over.
It’s easy to see why. Time and again in this process, the US has defaulted to a position that favours Moscow. The way these negotiations are being conducted is merely the latest example.
With Kyiv, the Americans force the Ukrainians to come to them – first in Geneva, then Florida.
As for Moscow, it’s the other way around. Witkoff is happy to make the long overnight journey, and then endure the long wait ahead of any audience with Putin.
It all gives the impression that when it comes to Russia, the US prefers to placate rather than pressure.
According to the Kremlin, both Russia and the US have agreed not to disclose the details of yesterday’s talks in Moscow.
I doubt Volodymyr Zelenskyy is filled with hope.
The Pope has urged Donald Trump not to try to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro using military force.
Leo, the first American pontiff, said it would be better to attempt dialogue or impose economic pressure on Venezuela if Washington wants to pursue change there.
The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Mr Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans.
The socialist Venezuelan president has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.
Pope Leo XIV aboard a flight to Rome. Pic: Reuters
Asked during a news conference about President Trump’s threats to remove Mr Maduro by force, the Pope said: “It is better to search for ways of dialogue, or perhaps pressure, including economic pressure.”
He added that Washington should search for other ways to achieve change “if that is what they want to do in the United States”.
The Pope was speaking as he flew home from a visit to Turkey and Lebanon – his first overseas trip in the role.
Mr Maduro has said Venezuelans are ready to defend their country as the US considers a land attack.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas. Pic: Reuters
The president held a rally in Caracas amid heightened tensions with Mr Trump’s administration, which has been targeting what it says are boats carrying drug smugglers.
Mr Trump met his national security team on Monday evening, having warned last week that land strikes would start “very soon”.
It’s not been confirmed what was discussed at the meeting, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “There’s many options at the president’s disposal that are on the table – and I’ll let him speak on those.”
US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats it claims were carrying narcotics to its shores over the last few months.
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‘The president has a right to take them out’
Mr Maduro – widely considered a dictator by the West – said on Monday that Venezuelans are ready “to defend [the country] and lead it to the path of peace”.
“We have lived through 22 weeks of aggression that can only be described as psychological terrorism,” he said.
Venezuela has said the boat attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder – and that Mr Trump’s true motivation is to oust Mr Maduro and access its oil.
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