Naomi Linder Kahn stands on Skopuberget in eastern Jerusalem with a map of the West Bank and looks out over the area where the new settlement E1 will take shape.
A wind blows in from the east, it blows so strongly that she fails to unfold the map of what she herself describes as "illegal" Palestinian construction in Area C, the part of the occupied West Bank that has been completely controlled by the Israeli military since the Oslo Accords in the 1990s.
This is sovereign Israeli territory, she claims, contrary to international law.
The Jewish people have rights. Israel has failed to exercise these rights and that's where we come into the picture, says Linder Kahn, referring to the settler organization Regavim, where she works as a department head.
"A vacant area"
The organization was founded by Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich in 2006 and is pursuing legal proceedings to remove the Palestinian constructions, while also lobbying for more Israeli settlements.
Linder Kahn herself thinks that they are working against strong headwinds.
The Israeli expansion project has failed, she says, despite the fact that the settlements - which are illegal according to the UN - have increased at a record pace over the past two years.
The new settlement E1 is just one in a series, but according to the architects behind the project, it will kill the dream of a Palestinian state because it will divide the West Bank into two parts.
Linder Kahn thinks it's an "exaggeration" to call E1 "decisive" because she believes that the area already belongs to Israel and that they are only building on land they have the right to.
It's a vacant area, she says.
Received support from Wallström
But that's not true. In the middle of the new settlement, the Palestinian Bedouin Atallah Mazara'a's family has lived since 1947, when they were displaced in connection with the establishment of the state of Israel.
Like several other Bedouins living within the boundaries of E1, he has received a demolition order and now has 60 days to move.
Even the stable where our animals live will be demolished, says Mazara'a from his office in Jabal al-Baba, where he represents 80 families in the area.
On one of the walls in the office, a plaque with a photo of Sweden's former Foreign Minister Margot Wallström (S) hangs.
Here on the West Bank, she is as hated as she is loved after recognizing Palestine as a state in 2014 and being given the cold shoulder when she wanted to visit Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
So she came here instead to show solidarity, says Mazara'a, proudly showing a book about climate and environment that he received from Wallström during the visit.
She gave it because Bedouins live in nature. That's how our ancestors have lived for generations. We can't just move to a city!
Terrorized by settlers
Further east, the Bedouin Eid al-Jahalin also lives, who has also received a demolition order. It's not the first time. Like before, he thinks of ignoring it. But it doesn't make him less worried.
I've talked to a lawyer. The lawyer says that the Israeli government is completely crazy and that there's nowhere to complain, says al-Jahalin, while lighting the first of several cigarettes.
A stone's throw away, a settler has built a house on a hill overlooking the Bedouin family. On a fence outside the family's house, someone has written "revenge" in Hebrew with black letters that have begun to fade in the sun.
According to al-Jahalin, the settler has been terrorizing the family for a long time by doing everything from throwing trash and destroying solar panels to mixing up their sheep and then calling the police to report him for theft.
Four years ago, I got into a discussion with him. I said that I have the support of the international community and that I will never move, whereupon the settler replied "You have all that, but I have the Americans around my little finger", he says.
Ignoring Trump
US President Donald Trump has verbally promised that Israel will not be allowed to annex the West Bank, but in his peace plan, the occupied area is absent.
I don't believe anything that comes out of his mouth, says al-Jahalin.
And what will you do if you are forced to move?
I would like to ask you that question, because I don't know, he says to TT's correspondent.
Linder Kahn, who has won the battle against the east wind and managed to straighten out her map, has a suggestion on where the Palestinians who live in what she sees as illegal constructions in Area C can move.
There are many places where people who want to live in a country with an Arab majority can live completely freely. The world seems to have forgotten that.
Statements from President Trump about compromises she, like the Bedouins, has chosen not to take too seriously.
I don't listen to it for a reason, she says.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967.
After the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, the West Bank was divided into three main areas: A, B, and C.
In Area A, the Palestinian authorities have full control, in B, Israel and the Palestinian authorities have shared control, and in C, which accounts for about 60 percent of the West Bank, Israel has full control. According to the Oslo Accords, this control was to be gradually transferred to the Palestinians.
According to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Israeli settlements are illegal.
In September 2024, the UN General Assembly, in a non-binding resolution, demanded that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian areas cease within twelve months and that new settlements be stopped.
In May 2025, Israel's security cabinet approved the construction of 22 new settlements, which is considered the largest expansion since the Oslo Accords.
Between January 1 and September 1, 2025, Israeli authorities have demolished 1,151 buildings on the West Bank, 85 percent of which were in Area C.
Demolitions in Area C have displaced around 900 Palestinians by August 2025, which is a 40 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
After Israel's occupation of the West Bank in 1967, Palestinians must have permission to build houses on land they already own.
According to the UN, these permits are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain, which forces many to build without approval.
The demolitions of Palestinian homes have been condemned by the UN, large parts of the international community, and a number of human rights organizations.
Source: UN, Swedish Institute of International Affairs
