On October 31, 2023, the family of Bilal Muhammed Saleh occupied the West Bank outside their home in As-Sawiya.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
hide title
Switch title
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
On October 31, 2023, the family of Bilal Muhammed Saleh occupied the West Bank outside their home in As-Sawiya.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 killed approximately 1,400 people, according to Israeli authorities. The Palestinian Authority insists that Israel’s response has killed more than 10,000 people.
So it’s reasonable to ask why the death of an olive farmer attracted so much attention. Many news outlets, including NPR, reported on the killing of Bilal Saleh outside his village last month. human rights groups Think tanks have also highlighted the case.
The incident is a microcosm of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the conflict reflects many divisions – over identity, security, faith, nationalism and history – it often manifests itself as a battle over land.
Bilal Muhammed Saleh, 40, was shot dead by a settler while picking olives near the occupied West Bank village of As-Sawiya.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
hide title
Switch title
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
Bilal Muhammed Saleh, 40, was shot dead by a settler while picking olives near the occupied West Bank village of As-Sawiya.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
Pilar’s daughter showed his photo on her phone.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
hide title
Switch title
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
Pilar’s daughter showed his photo on her phone.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
Saleh lives with his family in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 war. It is home to millions of Palestinians and is planned as territory for a future Palestinian state. But Israeli settlers have claimed much of it for decades, building palisaded or walled communities connected to mainland Israel by their own limited highways. The United States and the United Nations have called the settlements illegal. The Israelites called the region Judea and Samaria, two biblical names that represented their sovereignty over the land.
Saleh’s home is in As-Sawiya, a village on a ridgeline overlooking a valley filled with olive trees. Across the valley, an Israeli settlement called Rehelim encroached on land that Assawiya residents considered their own.
When Saleh, his family and many of his neighbors descended into the valley for the annual olive harvest, he took part.
Saleh’s brother-in-law, Hazem Saleh, described the harvest as more than just farming. It’s like a “festival”. The whole family took the ladder to the field. “We bring food. We bring food. We bring kids,” he told us morning edition.
When harvest time came on October 28, the village’s residents knew they too were at risk. They have a tense relationship with Rehelim across from them and know that a war is underway. But they kept going.
Samy Freitah was part of a group harvesting olives outside a village near Nablus when they were attacked by settlers.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
hide title
Switch title
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
Samy Freitah was part of a group harvesting olives outside a village near Nablus when they were attacked by settlers.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
Frightened, residents did not cut down trees, instead focusing on trees they considered safer near the village of As-Sawiya, in the occupied West Bank on October 31, 2023.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
hide title
Switch title
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
Frightened, residents did not cut down trees, instead focusing on trees they considered safer near the village of As-Sawiya, in the occupied West Bank on October 31, 2023.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
They were picking olives on wooden ladders when Israeli settlers approached. The Palestinians said they decided to retreat, and then Bilal Saleh realized he had left his phone behind. His family last saw him walking through the woods to get his smartphone.
He was out of sight in the woods when his wife heard him yell and at least two gunshots rang out. His friends and relatives later discovered he had injuries to his chest and arms. Lacking first aid supplies, they used a ladder as a makeshift stretcher to carry him up the mountain to the nearest road. He died in front of his wife and children.
When his wife Ikhlas realized he was dead, she explained her thoughts with an Arabic proverb: “My back is broken.”
Bilal’s wife, Ikhlas Muhammed Saleh, outside her home in the occupied West Bank village of As-Sawiya.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
hide title
Switch title
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
Bilal’s wife, Ikhlas Muhammed Saleh, outside her home in the occupied West Bank village of As-Sawiya.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
On October 31, 2023, Bilal’s mother-in-law and children were outside the house.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
hide title
Switch title
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
On October 31, 2023, Bilal’s mother-in-law and children were outside the house.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
When we interviewed her on October 31, a man was in custody for the crime. The Israel Defense Forces arrested an off-duty soldier. Israeli military law is supreme in the occupied territories. The arrest sets the case apart from other violent incidents. In the West Bank, Yihlath was unmoved.
“I don’t think he will be charged or punished. He will stay there for a few days and then he will be released. The laws they have made for themselves are stronger than our existence,” Ikras said.
A few days later, her prediction came true. The soldier’s lawyer said he was free.
The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to a request for comment on the progress of the case. The suspect’s lawyers have accused Saleh of supporting Hamas, but Saleh’s family has denied any ties to the group.
On October 31, 2023, in the occupied West Bank village of As-Sawiya, Isarelli troops set up a “dirt road” at the main entrance to the village, forcing residents to walk to the main road or find a dirt road.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
hide title
Switch title
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
On October 31, 2023, in the occupied West Bank village of As-Sawiya, Isarelli troops set up a “dirt road” at the main entrance to the village, forcing residents to walk to the main road or find a dirt road.
NPR’s Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR
The Palestinian Authority says that 176 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7. Most were killed by Israeli troops in what Israel calls anti-terror operations, and some were killed by settlers.
On October 25, President Biden said he was alarmed by extremist settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, equating them with “adding fuel to the fire.” At a joint news conference with the Australian prime minister, Biden said, “They are attacking Palestinians in places they have a right to be, and that has to stop. They have to be held accountable.”
The U.S. government has warned that actions against Israel could expand the war, including by inflaming the West Bank. But when it comes to settlements in the West Bank, Israeli authorities often ignore the advice of allies.