International Solidarity Movement Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.
UPDATED-14 November, 2023, Wadi Tiran in the occupied West Bank, Palestine
Thanks to the efforts of human rights volunteers and their supporters, the inhabitants of the village of Wadi Tiran have survived another night. The inhabitants were given a 24 hour warning “”. The volunteers kept a night watch, sleeping in a rota so that the villagers could get a sound night sleep for the first time in months. The ethnic cleansing of communities across the West Bank has escalated as world attention is focused on the genocide unfolding in Gaza.
Some local diplomats reacted today and have talked to members of the volunteer support group. But we must keep the pressure on. The settlers will only be reined in by political pressure on their leaders in the Israeli government. Our political representatives must be asked to act immediately to stop the displacement of these villagers.
Residents, along with a handful of international and Israeli human rights defenders, will be gathered in a large tent again tonight, awaiting their fate. The Israeli police have been called but they continue to refuse to attend.
The village of Wadi Tiran is a small herding community located next to what was the larger village of Zanuta, whose 150 residents were forced to leave their homes on 31 October under similar, persistent and violent Israeli settler attacks.
Seven colonial settlers from the Havat Yehuda illegal outpost that lies above the village arrived in Wadi Tiran three nights ago: “You have 24 hours to leave or we will kill everyone”. This threat has become the standard threat issued to herding communities across the Occupied West Bank. Fifteen of these communities have already been wiped off the map. After 24 hours passed, settlers entered the community and destroyed cars, a solar panel, a tractor, and anything they could get their hands on.
Now that night has fallen again, the entire village remains gathered in one tent waiting for the settlers to complete their threats.
We ask people around the world to pressure their governments to take immediate action to stop the displacement of Wadi Tiran.
American Human Rights Defenders, Jimmy Dunson and Dezeray Lyn, from Tampa, Florida, are present in Wadi Tiran. During this time, they have become concerned about the continual attacks against Palestinians by settlers. Residents, along with a handful of international and Israeli human rights defenders, are gathered in a large tent awaiting their fate. One human rights defender from Tampa holds onto the values of the White Rose Society, a group of people in the center of Nazi Germany who maintained their humanity amid the inhumanity around them and resisted the Holocaust. He speaks fondly of the Israelis who have chosen “to oppose another shoah, another nakba. I believe them to be some of the righteous among the nations in this generation, and I am grateful to be beside them. They, from below in the valley, rather than the settlers on the hilltops, are a light unto the nations, holding onto a culture of solidarity against the odds.”
For this reason, Human Rights Defenders everywhere demand a ceasefire and an immediate end to settlers raiding on Palestinian villages.
If you are a US citizen, please contact your local representatives and embassies:
Embassy in Jerusalem:
Ambassador: Jack Lew
Phone: (02) 630 400
Email: Americancenterjerusalem@state.gov
Website: https://il.USEmbassy.gov
Twitter: Jack Lew@USAmbIsrael
Follow @USembassyJLM and @USPalAffairs for updates.
Tel Aviv Branch Office:
Phone: (03) 519 7575
US Palestinian Affairs in Jerusalem:
Phone: (02) 6227230
Email: USPalestinianAffairs@state.gov
Script for communication to Embassies and Representatives:
I am writing to demand rapid action be taken by this body to defend human rights in the West Bank. As violations of International Humanitarian Law continue to be committed against occupied Palestinians, world leaders who do not take every action to defend human life and dignity are complicit in the denial of them.
Daily incidents of violence committed by Israeli settlers against isolated and vulnerable Palestinian families in the South Hebron Hills are being documented and transmitted to the world. Daily transgressions of the rights of Palestinians to live their lives without being harassed, searched, arbitrarily arrested and held without charge, raided, shot at and humiliated by the army and settlers -who are being emboldened by the silence of the international community. These violations are being reported by human rights organizations across the globe. With the whole world watching, what side of history will you be on?
Resources:
https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/east-mediterranean-mena/israelpalestine/settler-violence-rises-west-bank-gaza-war
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/31/west-bank-palestinian-villages-israeli-army-settlers
https://www.ochaopt.org/content/other-mass-displacement-while-eyes-are-gaza-settlers-advance-west-bank-herders
https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/fact-sheet-displacement-palestinian-herders-amid-increasing-settler-violence-september-2023
