Al-Bireh, West Bank - 16 November 2020
1. Wide of municipality council member, Muneef Traish showing sisters, Kainat and Karema Quraan detailed map of the land and Psagot settlement buildings
2. Close of Karema Quraan
3. Wide of Muneef Traish and his sisters, Kainat and Karema Quraan
4. Close of Traish's finger on map
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Kainat Quraan, owner of private land who says her land was confiscated by Jewish settlers of Psagot:
"I feel pain and sadness for the loss of our land that we used to plant and harvest it with my father, so it hurts to see that your own land, your property, is taken like this and you can't do anything."
6. Close of map of the confiscated land and Psagot settlement buildings
Psagot, West Bank - 12 November 2019
7. Zoom out from Ramallah outskirts to winery
8. Wine bottles on table
9. Close of label on bottle reading (English) "Product of Israel"
10. Various of winery
11. Wine bottles on display
12. Various of frames certificate reading (English) "Best wine producer, Israel" and ''Psagot winery, Israel''
Al-Bireh, West Bank - 16 November 2020
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Kainat Quraan, owner of private land who says her land was confiscated by Jewish settlers of Psagot:
"My father used to cultivate the confiscated land with grapes, wheat, barley and figs, and my mother and I were harvesting it. Literally we were making our full living from this land, there was no other income source for my family other than it."
14. Mid of sisters Kainat and Karema Quraan
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Muneef Traish, Al-Bireh Municipality Council Member:
"We see Pompeo's visit as a step to legitimize settlement activity, because he is coming to visit lands owned by Palestinian citizen who hold American citizenship and instead of asking Israel to return the land to its American citizens you are here to celebrate the occupation of this land and dedicate the presence of these settlers."
16. Traish showing map to his sisters
The Quraan family once planted their plot of land in the West Bank with grapes, but for years, they say, that land has been inaccessible to them, covered instead by the grapes of an Israeli winery.
The Psagot winery, established in part on land the family says was stolen from local residents, is part of a sprawling network of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that most of the international community view as a violation of international law and a major obstacle to peace.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's expected tour of the West Bank winery this week will be the first time a top U.S. diplomat has visited an Israeli settlement, a parting gift from an administration that has taken unprecedented steps to support Israel's claims to war-won territory.
Kainat and Karema Quraan, two sisters from Al-Bireh, said they have documents showing they own a plot of land on which some of the vineyards and a winery building were established.
The award-winning winery, which offers tours and event spaces, is a focus of Israel's efforts to promote tourism in the occupied territory and a potent symbol of its fight against campaigns to boycott or label products from the settlements.
The Psagot winery produces 600,000 bottles a year and exports 70% of them.
The Palestinians said many of the settlements, including Psagot and its winery, were built on land stolen from private Palestinian owners.
Yaakov Berg, the owner of the winery, did not respond to requests for comment.
The winery had challenged a European Court of Justice ruling that European countries must label products originating in the settlements, a decision eventually made last November.
A week after the ruling, Pompeo announced that the U.S. no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be a violation of international law, reversing four decades of American policy.
To express its gratitude, Psagot released a new wine called "Pompeo," a blend of cabernet sauvignon, syrah and merlot.
Muneef Traish, an Al-Bireh city council member who has U.S. citizenship, has led a legal campaign for years on behalf of the community seeking the return of the confiscated lands.
He said the settlers seized a total of 1,000 dunams (250 acres), 400 of which are being used by the winery. Traish and other residents plan to protest Pompeo's visit to the settlement.
The visit to the winery is another gift to Israel in the final weeks of U.S. President Trump's presidency.
The visit could burnish Pompeo's credentials with evangelical Christians and other supporters of Israel, should he pursue a post-Trump political career.
