Not By Right, But By Might
Not By Right, But By Might Najwan Simri | Al Jazeera Correspondent - Jerusalem
All the way back home after hours of interviews, Nabil’s words kept resonating in my mind: “Not by right, but by force and might.” Nabil Al Kurd spoke to me, to Al Jazeera, while holding back his tears. He repeated the same words as if he feared he might forget them. He was telling us how the Israeli military was forcibly expelling him and his family from their home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Jerusalem. In early December 2020 - before the Sheikh Jarrah issue came to prominence - I was interviewing a lawyer in Jerusalem about a different issue. Before leaving, he asked: “Aren’t you going to do something about Sheikh Jarrah?” He briefed me on the story, before handing me a list of contact numbers for some of the families threatened with forcible expulsion. It was by chance that I dialled Nabil’s number first. Nabil told us how an Israeli settler had taken illegal possession of his home, the house he had built for his wife and four children, close to his mother’s. As he explained what was happening in great detail, I interrupted him to ask that he share his story in just a few seconds, for the purpose of our TV report. “You must listen to every word. I cannot tell the
story from its end,” he replied. Nabil walked us through the story from the earlier expulsion order issued for his parent’s house. As he talked, I noticed an Israeli man stepping out of the house. I stopped the interview and ran after the settler, who has become known to our viewers as Jacob the settler. “What are you doing here? Where did you come from? Do you know you are stealing this man’s house?” I asked him. He spoke a few words in an American accent before he ran off. At that point, I realised why Nabil insisted I should hear the story from the beginning and appreciated how he must feel when he sees a stranger in his yard. Now, I fully understand Nabil’s words: who has the right, and who has the force and might to usurp that right. A few months later, I met Nabil once again. It was the deadline for the expulsion under an Israeli court order. Our bureau chief, Walid Al Omary, telephoned me and asked if I could interrupt my day off and head to Sheikh Jarrah. Within minutes, the cameraman, Murad Saeed, and I were there. The Israelis had deployed their Special Task Force personnel. No sooner had we gone live
on air than clashes resumed between the Israeli soldiers and the angry residents defending their homes. The Israeli soldiers started firing rubber bullets and skunk water to disperse the Palestinian residents. My cameraman and I followed the events as they unfolded; from Sheikh Jarrah to Bab Al Amoud (Damascus Gate). We then entered Othman bin Affan Street, which was sealed off by the Israeli forces. I saw some people gathering at Nabil’s house. “It is Al Jazeera; it is our sister Najwan,” said Nabil.
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