My Journey in Occupied Palestine - Part 1

A multi-part series documenting my on the ground experience in Occupied Palestine

In April, 2022 I stood on the outskirts of an illegal Israeli settlement in Occupied Palestine. An Israeli soldier brandished his rifle and demanded my passport.

“You don’t have any actual authority here under international law, you know?” I spoke calmly but directly. “You do know this is illegal, right? Why do you do this?”

A photo of the only Palestinian flag I found during my time in Occupied Palestine, tucked away from public view. The Israeli government has made it illegal for Palestinians to fly their own flag in their own nation.

Just following orders

The soldier didn’t answer much less look at me. Completely ignoring my protest, or the protest of anyone in our group, he again demanded each of our passports. This behavior and command was normal to him. He appeared desensitized to the fact that he was following and enforcing illegal orders.

I traveled with a delegation of American Veterans and former Israeli soldiers, traversing Occupied Palestine to witness first hand the reality of Palestinian life under illegal military occupation. Our delegation comprised of Jews, Christians, Muslims, and non-believers. And we were united in the cause of upholding international human rights law and collaborating to advocate for an end Israel’s illegal military occupation of Palestine. Moments earlier we’d been stopped by Israeli soldiers and forced to ‘show our papers.’ It wouldn’t be the last time we endured this type of violation.

Who was this soldier? I have no idea. He refused to identify himself. He wore a full face mask, protective eye wear, and a helmet, completely concealing his identity. He held his rifle close, repeating himself incessantly and demanding each of us hand him our passports, or else. Or else what?

“It’s not worth it to find out,” one of our Israeli hosts assured us.

Our groups verbal protests, though accurate and aligned with international law, didn’t matter to the Israeli soldier. Reluctantly, we were forced to hand over our passports. The Israeli soldier used his personal cell phone to photograph my passport—another clearly illegal act—and once satisfied with his illegal act, returned it to me.

“If this is how I’m treated as a U.S. Citizen and human rights lawyer,” I thought to myself, “how much worse is it for Palestinians?” On this journey in Occupied Palestine, I would soon find out first hand.

As you read this article and my forthcoming series titled My Journey in Occupied Palestine, I want you to place yourself into the shoes of the Palestinians I meet. The two young girls near Qinan Jaber who need a military escort to school ‪every morning because the Israeli settlers who illegally took their family’s land now throw stones at them. The humble farmers near the ancient village of Susya—whose land and water wells the Israeli military took by force—and who now have to buy back their own water at seven times the price it is sold to illegal Israeli settlers. The families who were forced to evacuate their homes at Mitzpe Yair because illegal Israeli settlers decided to build an outpost at that exact location. Or the college aged student in South Hebron who suddenly disappeared while walking next to me because I’d ventured into a part of Hebron where Palestinians are not allowed to walk. Roads and streets reserved only for illegal Israeli settlers and non-Palestinian foreigners like myself. And these are but a snapshot of the many such similar stories this series will cover.

Why am I writing this series?

First, to do my best to relate my on the ground experience in Occupied Palestine. As a human rights lawyer, I have always worked to uphold justice to create peace in Palestine and Israel. And given how our tax dollars are being spent to commit war crimes, I feel it is vital my fellow Americans have a window into the on the ground reality—and what needs to change to achieve that peace and justice.

Next, I have contemplated this series for some time. And given the year anniversary of October 7, and after watching Professor Ta-nehesi Coates’ September 30 interview on CBS, I have decided to act. (As an aside, I have already pre-ordered his book, The Message, which chronicles his experience in Occupied Palestine). We need to shed more light on the on the ground realities so people can understand them for what they are, and be empowered take more meaningful action to effectively counter these injustices.

Finally, prior to my visit I considered myself informed on the reality of injustice in Occupied Palestine. In an academic context, I was informed. After my visit, however, I realized that my insight was that of a person who has merely read a textbook about some tragic historical event, and therefore comparatively limited. Reading about an illegal military occupation, and experiencing it, are two very different phenomena—especially given that this illegal occupation is not some historical event, but instead contemporary reality. Thus, given the small fraction of my fellow Americans have actually visited Occupied Palestine, I am hopeful my experience can benefit them too.

Al Aqsa Mosque, Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

A note about context

Let me also address the elephant in the room. I write this series not as a Palestinian, nor as an Israeli. I write this as a Pakistani American and Muslim American, as an immigrant and U.S. citizen, and as a human rights lawyer. But most of all, I write this as a human being, and as someone who personally understands the pain and torture of apartheid oppression. I write not to compare atrocities, nor to answer the question of whether Israel has the right to exist—indeed as Professor Coates aptly stated in his CBS interview—Israel already does exist.

I write this series instead to answer questions like these: do our current policies honestly treat Palestine as if it has the right to exist? Do Palestinians have the right to self-determination, sovereignty, and to protect themselves from external powers besieging their lands and lives? And do we as Americans recognize Palestinian humanity and act to uphold justice accordingly? If you were to ask a US State Department official they’d proudly proclaim yes to each of these questions, but as James Baldwin writes in an essay incidentally titled, A Report from Occupied Territory, “I can’t believe what you say because I see what you do.”

And finally, this is not an academic series—it is a rendering of my experiences in Occupied Palestine. It relates the stories of Palestinians themselves. If you’re looking for academic scholarship on this topic, I can recommend The 100 Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi or The Question of Palestine by Edward Said or the recent landmark documentary titled Israelism. Indeed, there is no shortage of incredible scholarship written by Palestinian authors and academics that I encourage you to invest your time and resources to read and understand.

In Conclusion

Anyone who has followed my work and advocacy over the past several decades knows I have not hesitated to call out injustice no matter the actor—from people of my own faith, to people of my birth country, to people of my home country of the United States, to leaders of the Democratic party as well as the Republican party. As a human rights lawyer, my purpose, my mission, my driving force is to uphold justice in all matters. And that is the purpose of this series—to relate the current injustices imposed upon Palestinians in Occupied Palestine, so we can work together to ensure we uphold justice for Palestine, and indeed for all humanity as equals.

Therefore, in closing Part 1 of this series titled My Journey in Occupied Palestine, I ask you to read future parts with an expanding mind. Reflect on how you would react to the injustices imposed upon Palestinians—often with our American tax dollars—if they were imposed upon you or your loved ones? And what steps you can take to ensure our future elected leaders truly uphold justice, humanity, and the basic right to self-determination.

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