Israeli Police Extend Detention of Christian Activist Protesting Land Seizure by Settlers
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israeli police have extended the detention of a Christian activist arrested for protesting the seizure of her family’s land by armed settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Alice Kisiya, a 30-year-old activist, is set to appear in court on Monday in connection with the forcible takeover of her family's land and the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in her hometown of Al-Makhrour.
On July 31, armed settlers, accompanied by Israeli military forces, entered the Kisiya family's land in Al-Makhrour and forcibly evicted her and other Palestinian Christian families residing there.
Since the eviction, the Kisiya family, alongside Palestinian human rights activists, has repeatedly returned to their ancestral land in protest.
“We will stay here until we get our land back,” Kisiya said prior to her arrest. “They took advantage of the war. They thought it would end in silence, but it didn’t.”
The expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank is occurring alongside the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 40,300 people.
The Kisiya family, among the last remaining Christian families in the area, has faced threats from illegal settlement construction for years. Their home and restaurant were demolished in 2019.