Transcript of The Fight for the West Bank

Hello? Hi, Louie.

This is Rachel Abrams from The Daily.

Hi, Rachel.

Thank you so much for making time to speak with us.

Thank you.

Where are you physically right now?

I am currently in my house in the West Bank, under siege by Israeli settlers, extremists. We are not allowed to leave the property. The settlers want my family, the neighbor's family to leave so simply they can steal the houses and take over. They want the entire land, the entire mountain, all the houses.

What's happening right now, Louie? Like, are there settlers outside that you can see from inside your house right now?

Yes, I am watching them as we speak. There's 3 settlers. That's about 300 to 400 yards from me. They brought couches and they sit in the sun. And moments ago, there's 3 soldiers. And I was watching, wondering what's the soldiers going to do to them? Are they going to arrest them? They're going to remove them? Are they going to tell them it's a closed military zone? Because this is what they told me yesterday. Absolutely. Absolutely. They did nothing. They just looked around. They talked to them probably for 5 minutes, and they just left them. It's insane.

From The New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams, and this is The Daily. For the past year, there's been a huge increase in violence in the West Bank. Israeli settlers have been terrorizing Palestinians, setting fire to their property, uprooting their olive groves, and stealing their animals— all in an effort to drive them off their land. According to the United Nations, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been injured and more than 20 killed so far just this year. That's more than twice the number of killings as in 2025. But the settlers seldom face any consequences for their actions, in part because they receive broad support from the Israeli government. Today, we talk to Palestinian American Louis Reedy in the West Bank about the settlers that have arrived at his doorstep. It's Wednesday, September 2nd. When we called Louis Reedy, he was in his house in Qusra, a small village of about 5,000 people in the northern West Bank.

Excuse me.

Louis talked to us from his bedroom, where he could look out the window and keep an eye on what was happening outside. I wonder whether you ever expected that this would be your view?

Absolutely not.

This is actually Louis's second home. He normally lives in Ohio, where he immigrated to in 2004. But Kusra is where Louis grew up, and it never used to be like this.

Back in the days, we did not have no issues with the settlers.

Mm-hmm.

They were not aggressive as happening right now. We did have a settlement next to our village. I remember that settlement when I was a kid, but we always told that's going to be temporarily and there is going to be a peace agreement and they will leave. Soon none of them will be here. So just never dealt with any of them, never interact with any, just driving and pass them, you know, that's it.

Given that this was kind of a quiet period, Louis, what was it like to grow up in Qusra, the town of Qusra?

So our town is really a good, special town. It's about 850 meters above sea level, so you can be on the mountain and looking down, you see the entire village. The weather here is beautiful. No matter how hot it is, you always have a breeze coming directly from the sea.

Hmm.

Most of the people was farmers. So there's a lot of olive trees, figs and grapes and peaches.

Hmm.

And my family, we are 9 brothers and 1 sister.

Oh, wow.

My dad, he used to have a junkyard with cars and auto parts. And my mom, uh, staying at home. We always gave her a hard time dealing with 9 brothers when we were kids.

Boys really outnumbered her.

Yes. I have only one sister. One of my favorite memories was school. Once a year, they used to arrange a road trip. It's like a vacation, all-day vacation, to take us to the Dead Sea.

Oh, yeah.

Because in that time, you know, there's Mediterranean Sea. It's only 1 hour. But none of the West Bank residents allowed to go to the beach. And we always see on TV kids jumping in the pools, swimming, but we never experienced it. So in that time, probably was my first time to swim in the water.

Hmm.

And it was like a dream becomes true. To us, probably one of the most wonderful experiences.

Mm-hmm.

So we did have a lot of good memories in Kusura.

Do you remember, Louis, when you first started thinking about emigrating to the United States?

My older brothers, they were in the United States early '90s, and that's why I thought I would have a better future and opportunity if I go to United States. So I applied for the University of Toledo.

Hmm.

And I learned English there. So yes, I was the fortunate one to be in the United States and become a successful businessman. And even more fortunate that I end up for love and marry my wife. Now I have a beautiful family. I have 2 girls. I have a 19-year-old. She just started second year in college, same university, Toledo.

Oh, you must be so proud.

Yes. And I have a 10-year-old. She started 5th grade 2 days ago. And, you know, they're born and raised in America. They know the American way, but we'd like them to know the Palestinian way. So we take them, we bring them to visit often here.

Mm-hmm.

And they like it. And one time I bring my daughters here and they ask me, how come we can't have our own house here? And I start thinking about it. I said, you know, we come here more often. Maybe that would be good for my retirement, the future. Maybe I'll start spending more time here in Kosova when I get older. And I made my decision and I said, okay, I start building it on a beautiful mountain. It has a beautiful view. You can see Jordan, which is the country next to us. Jordan, I can see clearly. If I look to the left, to the west, I can see Tel Aviv. And sometimes I can see the sea from the same spot.

Hmm.

And the house, the way I design it, it's the American style. Everything is open. There is no doors whatsoever. I cared about the outside, the front yard, the backyard, the trees. I just want it to be my peaceful and my retirement vacation home.

Hmm.

Now, before I did this, I made sure that it is 100% legal. I started the blueprint. I took the blueprint to the government.

The Israeli government.

No, the Palestinian government, because this is a designated Area B under the Palestinian Authority. Under Oslo Agreement, B area, they gave it to the Palestinians to control it. So if I need to build and pull permit, I don't need to go to the Israelis. They tell me, go to the Palestinians.

Okay. So you go and you check with the Palestinian Authority—

Yes.

—to confirm that you had the legal right to build this house.

Correct, yes. So I went to the Palestinian Authority. They gave me the authorization in 2023, and I started the house. And probably one of the most beautiful things I ever done.

Mm.

I was proud of it, but never crossed my mind that one day the settlers will be able to come in Area B And claimed that it belonged to them.

Can you just describe the moment, the first moment that you learned that settlers were encroaching on the house, that these tensions had really arrived at your doorstep?

This started in January.

Uh-huh.

My brother called me, said, the settlers came on top of the mountain. They start coming down the hill driving those ATVs. Every night checking out the areas, which houses have people, which house is empty. So I told my brother, I want you to install security cameras because it looks like it's not safe. So I put the security cameras. Then in March, 2:30 in the morning, I got notification, someone at my house. There's like 4 or 5 settlers masked. They start jumping over the fence. They brought ladders, they brought tools, then— and they start doing the damages.

What kind of damage did they do?

Well, I had automatic motors for the gates. They damaged that. They start breaking the lights around all the yards. They stole all my routers, modems. They cut the main electricity panel wires. They damaged it, cutting and damaging my security cameras. They went offline one by one, one by one. Wow. Believe it or not, I watched them live.

Back in Ohio?

Yes, back in Ohio. After this incident, I talked to my brother and said, okay, we're gonna fix it. We're gonna put more security guard on the windows so they can't get in, brand new security cameras, fix the gates, fix the internet, fix the lights. And he did all this. Now he said, I'm gonna move in. I'm gonna move in with my family to protect the house.

Wow.

And he did.

Louis, all of this sounds unbelievably stressful, but when do the settlers actually start camping out outside of your house?

That was August 9th. Israeli settlers, extremists, they brought, like, 4 ATVs. They parked them in front of the house, and they built a tent in front of the house. They start jumping over the fence. And again, when this happened, you know, I was back in Ohio, and every movement I get a notification.

How did it feel, Louie, to be so far away watching all of this happening?

That was— honestly, it was very stressful. Imagine that someone is attacking your family member and you're watching it live from distance. Literally watching it live. That's what happened to me. And in that moment, my brother and his son, they were terrified they were going to attack him inside the house. So my brother called the police that night, and they dispatched an IDF vehicle. But instead of helping my brother, they went straight to the tent. They celebrated with those settlers. They sat down with them and were basically chilling out with them and drinking. And they conducted prayer with those settlers. And I'm talking to my brother and we paused. My brother paused. And I paused too, and I asked him what we're going to do next because we felt they are only a few feet away taking over this house. And my brother, he said, I'm not leaving this house. I don't want to leave it. But I have an issue. I have no food.

Yeah.

When he said this, I said, you know what? I can't handle it anymore. I can't sleep. I'm gonna book my flight. I'm gonna come. I'll do whatever it takes for me to provide you food and protection and try to end this siege.

We'll be right back. Louie, how did your wife and your children feel about you flying back to the West Bank at a moment where it is so much more dangerous?

Well, it was, it was a tough decision, to be honest with you. Yes, they were terrified. They were stressing out, especially my 10-year-old, asking me, is the settlers going to go inside the house while you were there? What's going to happen to you? Are you going to be safe? And sometimes I have to lie to her. I said, I'll be okay. I'll be safe. Even though that's not the case, I do fear for my own safety here because it is not safe.

If I'm getting this right, I think you arrived about a week after the settlers first put that tent up outside of your house. That's when you first saw your brother after all this time knowing he was under threat. What was it like to see him for the first time?

Well, we are brothers. Yeah, that's my brother, Fisai. So to be with him and hug him for the first time, It was a lot of emotion. And then I grabbed the American flag. This is what I brought. I brought it with me from Ohio all the way to Kusura, to my house. Gotta put it on the house over there. And I went on top of my house and I raised the American flags on my house.

Oh. What were you trying to telegraph?

Usually when settlers steal a house, the first thing they do, they raise their own flag on top of the house. It's a yellow flag. And I said, if— God forbid, if this happens, if they want to raise it, they have to take the most powerful flag in the world, the American flag, and raise their flag. That's, that's, that's what's going to happen in theory. And that's the reason I put the American flag.

Was any part of you also hoping that maybe the settlers would be more intimidated knowing that an American was there?

They did not care because the next day, a settler start coming down toward me. And He dared to tell me, myself, I need to leave because this is his land. That's my house. I'm in my house. I said, that's my land. And I told the Israeli soldiers, they were present. He needs to be removed from here. He's illegal here. He needs to be removed because he's illegal.

Was this, Louis, was this your first interaction with a settler ever?

It is. This is the first time I talked to a settler like this face-to-face, yes. I'm allowed to be in my house. Yes, yes.

Okay, that's—

and I told them— That's my property. That belongs to me. That's my land and I'm staying here.

I'm not.

I thought this happened. Yeah, he's the one came to me. I didn't go to him. Since then, the IDF decided to come and remove the tents in front of the house. But now we are unable to leave freely in and out of our houses from the IDF. They claim it's a closed military zone.

What does that mean exactly?

There is an IDF tent right now. Like, actually, I'm watching it as we speak in front of my house. That one is blocking us leaving our own house or walking in the yard.

And have you asked the IDF, like, why are you keeping me in my house? Like, what's the reasoning behind this? Have you talked to any of the military people there?

Yes. That was yesterday when I was walking in my yard. Please cooperate. Head back to the villa. I said, why can't I walk in my yard? My own yard. I'm not trying to argue. I spoke with my commanding officer, okay? And he just said whoever's here has to go back into the villa. Please don't make me use force. All right? He said, please go unless we're going to use force against you.

Wow.

That's what he literally told me yesterday. Can you tell me your name so when I call, so I can tell him whoever trying to— My name is IDF. All right.

IDF spokesperson?

No, IDF command. IDF command. Okay, I would listen. I'm not here to argue. No, no. So, you know, first we're dealing with the settlers. Now the IDF is here. They're still not able to move freely. So in a way, the same situation, the same results either way.

Right. You want the soldiers to leave because they're enforcing this closed military zone where you can't move freely, but you also fear what will happen if— with the settlers if the soldiers leave. It's an impossible situation.

Exactly. And we still, as of today, able to spot settlers able to walk around the house almost every day.

I just want to mention here that the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that the IDF and Israeli police did go to your house to remove what he described as Israeli terrorists at Huckabee's request, at the US's request. And I guess I wonder whether you feel like in this moment, the US authorities could have or should have done more.

I watched all Mike Huckabee's interviews, and every time he did condemn it. He did say that they are terrorists. And I appreciate all these comments, but that's not— wasn't enough because nothing happened on the ground.

Mm-hmm.

I really wish that Mike Huckabee himself or send a team from the US Embassy to come visit my house so they can witness what's going on here, what's happening to an American citizen in the West Bank.

But Louis, don't you think that they know what's going on? I mean, there's videos on the internet. They've clearly made statements in response to this. I mean, it doesn't feel like the issue is that they don't know what's happening.

I'm sure they do. I'm sure they do. And it's a question I always ask myself, why everybody on the news, including the US officials, including the Israeli officials, including the army, even the settlers, the leaders of the settlers, they condemned what the Israeli did, in Qusra. Okay, why none of you able to move 5 to 10 settlers? Just go ahead, arrest them, put them in jail, prosecute them, and lift the siege on the residents in Qusra and let them live in peace. I don't have the answer.

I'm thinking, Louis, of the person who might be listening to this and thinking, at the end of the day, it's just a building. It's just materials, right? Like, why is it so important to put yourself or your brother or anybody in your family in harm's way to protect a piece of property that isn't even your primary home? It's like your second house. Like, how would you explain why you and your brother and anybody else feels the need to, like, put yourself at risk for this place?

Well, it's not really just the home. It's not about the home. It's about the entire land. And, you know, just maybe 5 years ago, I was walking my father's land, and I know he inherited this from his father and from his grandfather. And I looked at a wall, and I started looking at it and imagining. I said, how many years is it? Like 200 years, 300 years? And I took a rock.

A rock?

A rock, yes. It just like— I felt there's emotion to that rock. Maybe one of my great-grandpas touched it. And I grabbed it and I just— I said, I'm gonna take it. I took it home and I have it in my office in Ohio. It just reminds me again, this is, this is our land that settlers are trying to steal. And what's been going on, it changed a lot of people's dreams, and that's— I'm one of them. The dream that I thought of, that I'm gonna live in this house in peace I don't see none of that happening while I see soldiers surrounding my house and settlers still able and come harassing me.

Hmm.

To be honest with you, the general mood in the West Bank, it's hopeless. But it doesn't mean that we have to give up. We have to fight to protect our houses and stay in our land.

Do you have any idea when you're gonna go back to Ohio?

My wife asked me this question. I told her I'm living day by day. I will update her. It could be a couple of weeks. It could be a couple of months. I have no idea. But I'm staying here until I make sure my house is safe, my family's safe. I'll do my best on that.

Thank you so much for giving us all this time.

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

When we reached out to the Israeli military for comment, they told us that the IDF is operating in Qusra with the aim of, quote, protecting its residents and preventing confrontations. They also said that Louis-Ready is free to come and go from his house. But the family remains there, afraid to leave. The IDF is still stationed just outside the property, as are some settlers. When we asked the IDF if anyone has been arrested in connection with the case, they told us to ask the police. We did ask the Israeli police, but they didn't respond. The US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, told us that the US has a very strong engagement with the IDF. to act on behalf of US citizens. Over the weekend, there were more violent attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. And the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has largely played down these attacks as the actions of a small minority, issued a rare rebuke condemning the attackers and calling their actions criminal. He said that they're causing, quote, immense harm to the law-abiding settler community And damaging, quote, Israel's standing in the world. We'll be right back.

Here's what else you need to know today. On Tuesday, for the second time in 3 days, the U.S. attacked Iran, puncturing a month-long break in fighting between the 2 countries. Iranian officials said the latest American attacks caused significant damage to sites across Iran's southern shores, including a military base. In a social media post, President Trump threatened even bigger strikes if Iran decides to retaliate. And the global market for government bonds experienced a massive sell-off on Tuesday, pushing borrowing costs, which are closely tied to bonds, to some of their highest levels in decades. Analysts blamed the sell-off on a growing consensus that officials across the world will raise interest rates to tamp down inflation. inflation, lowering the value and the appeal of existing bonds. Today's episode was produced by Clare Tennis-Getter, Rachelle Bonja, and Lindsay Garrison. It was edited by Maria Byrne with help from Paige Cowitt and fact-checked by Susan Leed. It contains music by Pat McCusker and Alyssa Moxley and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Wonder Special thanks to David Halpinger, Aaron Boxerman, and Noam Blanks. That's it for The Daily. I'm Rachel Abrams. See you tomorrow.