Category: Video

Ethnic cleansing in Masafer Yatta reaches unbearable level: Call to Action

Masafer Yatta | International Solidarity Movement

Colonial violence and ethnic cleansing is quickly escalating in Masafer Yatta, a rural region south of Hebron, in the West Bank.

Settler militias are terrorizing Palestinians by invading their villages during pogroms, armed with assault rifles, often wearing Israeli army uniforms and accompanied by Israeli soldiers. Palestinians and ISM activists have reported and documented cases of settlers beating up Palestinian residents, including women, children and the elderly; settlers and soldiers shooting towards Palestinian houses and houses, destroying water pumps and electric grids, uprooting trees and taking up Palestinian fields, planting Israeli flags on Palestinian land and houses, and even forcing Palestinians to sing pro-Israel chants and to wave an Israeli flag while holding them at gun-point and filming them.

Last night, settlers and soldiers invaded the village of Susyia and threatened residents that if they don’t leave within 24 hours, they will be back and start killing Palestinians in the village. A similar threat to residents of the village of Khirbet Zanuta has already resulted in the community leaving the land in order to save their families.

CALL TO ACTION: Residents call on people around the world to “check in” to Masafer Yatta on FB and Instagram in solidarity with the villagers facing imminent violence. This will throw off Israeli security forces tracking the online activities of both Palestinians and local solidarity activists speaking out against settler violence. It will also show settlers and soldiers that the world is watching and that the residents of Masafer Yatta are not alone.

Check out the hashtag #savemasaferyatta and share content on Masafer Yatta from pages like:

Youth of Sumud

Masafer Yatta (Instagram)

ISM Instagram, ISM Facebook , ISM Twitter

What follows is just a summary of some outstanding cases of settler violence

  • On October 25th Israeli settlers and soldiers invaded the land belonging to a Palestinian family in Tuwani and used a bulldozer to uproot trees and destroy the family’s garden.

 

The soldiers then shot a half a dozen warning shots towards ISM and Israeli activists who were filming the scene.

 

  • On October 13th, an Israeli settler invaded Tuwani and shot a Palestinian man in the stomach at point blank range, while being protected by an Israeli soldier. The day before, Israeli settlers dressed in Israeli army uniforms had invaded Palestinian agricultural land, planted Israeli flags and started shooting towards Palestinians and solidarity activists. Israeli soldiers robbed ISM activists of their phones.

 

  • On October 26th, a resident of the village of Khallet al-Dabaa was arbitrarily arrested by Israeli soldiers. When he was released two days later, he showed clear signs of abuse and turture on his body.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Youth Of Sumud (@youthofsumud)

 

  • On October 26th, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) flew drones over villages in Masafer Yatta transmitting the following message in Arabic: “We can see you everywhere. Wherever you are, we are coming for you”.

  • On October 27th, Settler militias destroyed over 200 trees, along with irrigation pipes, water pumps, electrical cables, and a water tank belonging to local Palestinian residents in the Al-Ain Al-Bayda village in Masafer Yatta.
  • They also severed the water supply pipeline for the community in Saddet al-Tha’ala village, while making death threats against local residents.

 

  • The same day, a large group of settlers attacked residents in the village of Susiya, who confronted the colonists and forced them to run away after an outbreak of a fistfight. Several people suffered bruises. The settlers threatened that they would come back at night with Israeli soldiers, and they did.

 

  • On October 28th, armed settlers forcibly removed a Palestinian man from his car, in the village of Umm Al-Khair, and then destroyed his car by throwing large rocks and by shooting at it.

  • On the same day, two armed Israeli settlers dressed in Israeli army uniforms assaulted and detained 6 Palestinians, including a 16 year old girl, who got her hand broken by the settlers during the attack.

 

  • On October 29th, armed settlers and soldiers raided the village of Susiya again and threatened Palestinians there that if they did not leave the village within 24 hours, they would come back and start shooting and killing residents.
  • The same day, armed settlers invaded the village of Khirbet Zanuta and told residents: “If you don’t leave, we’ll do to you what we are doing in Gaza”. The community decided that they had to leave to save their families, knowing that they have nobody to protect them.
  • The same day, armed settlers raided the village of Tuba and stole 6 sheep from a Palestinian family, as well as a gas cilinder, a phone and a sheep feeder. A few days earlier, settlers had entered Tuba during the night and damaged the water tanks with knifes. Palestinians and ISM activists in Tuba have reported that the settlers appear to be building a new illegal outpost just meters away from the houses of Palestinians in Tuba.

 

  • On October 29th, armed settlers invaded the village of Umm Al-Khair and forced some Palestinians to raise the Israeli flag over their houses and to record videos of themselves in which they spoke against Palestinians in Gaza. The settlers then said that they would come back the next day and that if they did not see the Israeli flags on people’s houses, they would displace Palestinian families.

  • On October 29th, Israeli settlers and soldiers assaulted an elderly man and his children in his home, in the village of Sha’ab al-Butm.

The International Solidarity Movement maitains its presence on the ground in Masafer Yatta, with ISM activists standing with Palestinians as they face colonial violence in their villages.

 

WATCH: British-Palestinian children in Gaza call on Rishi Sunak to stop Israel’s massacre

 

‘I’m scared. They keep bombing children.’

Jenna and Nur, two British-Palestinian sisters in Gaza, have called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to stop the bombing in a video message.

Jenna is just five years old, and Nur is seven. The sisters are living under constant bombardement, and are now homeless.

In 19 days of relentless attacks, Israeli airstrikes have killed 2,704 children in Gaza: that’s 140 children every day.

Instead of demanding a ceasefire, Sunak and the leader of the opposition Keir Starmer have given Israel the greenlight to commit war crimes, sending weapons and support, and silencing Palestine solidarity at home.

Call on all international leaders to Stop the Genocide in Gaza now! Watch and share!

Watch: Israeli settlers and soldiers destroy Palestinian property, shoot live ammunition in Masafer Yatta

 

 

Masafer Yatta | International Solidarity Movement

On October 25th, 2023, Israeli settlers and soldiers invaded the land belonging to a Palestinian family in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, and used a bulldozer to uproot trees and destroy the family’s garden.

The colonial attack occured in the Palestinian village of  Tuwani and targeted the Hourani family. The settlers and soldiers came from the illegal Israeli settlement of Havat Ma’on, located a few hundred meters away fom Tuwani.

ISM activists and Israeli activists filmed the scene. After one hour, once the settlers and soldiers had left, the activists approached the scene to assess the damage caused by the bulldozer. One settler, noticing that the activists were walking towards the land that had just been destroyed, ran back, screaming and pointing his assault rifle towards the activists. Israeli soldiers rushed to the scene and shot half a dozen warning shots towards the activists, making it clear that they would shoot them if they didn’t back off.

“They followed us right to the back of the Hourani property, shouting, taking photos of us close up, demanding to see passports but we refused to hand them over” an ISM activist recounted.

Since the start of the war on Gaza, colonial crimes in Masafer Yatta have escalated, with settler militias committing pogroms against Palestinian villages and families, and Israeli soldiers at checkpoints shooting at civilian cars without warnings.

On October 13th, an Israeli settler invaded Tuwani and shot a Palestinian man in the stomach at point blank range, while being protected by an Israeli soldier. The day before, Israeli settlers dressed in Israeli army uniforms had invaded Palestinian agricultural land, planted Israeli flags and started shooting towards Palestinians and solidarity activists. ISM activists have also reported that they have been threatened them and robbed them of their phones by Israeli soldiers.

In the past days, settlers have also stormed the Palestinians villages of Isfay, Tuba, and Maghayr Al-Abeed, physically assaulting people and damaging the water tanks and electric grids.

Palestinians from the group Youth of Sumud, together with internationalist and Israeli activists, have been documenting and non-violently resisting the colonialist attacks.

More than 103 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza, with thousands more wounded or kidnapped by the Israeli army.

 

 

Israeli snipers target civilians, kill father of 3-year-old in Tulkarm

 

13 October, 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarm

By Diana Khwaelid

On the evening of Friday, October 13th, 2023, Israeli snipers opened direct live fire on a white civilian car while it was passing near the Sanaoz military checkpoint, in Tulkarm city.
Ahmed Abed, who was one of the two passengers in the vehicle, said that Israeli snipers on the tower opened fire on the car as they were on their way to the gas station to fill up on fuel. Ahmed was hit by four live bullets in the back and shoulder area, but was lucky to survive, he said.

Rami Hassan, 33, from the village of Arta, husband and father of a 3-year-old girl, Abe, was mortally wounded by several bullets that penetrated his body. His condition was initially described as serious. Rami did not withstand the wounds and died 8 hours after the shooting. Rami worked in a blacksmith shop and as a government employee in the municipality of Tulkarm to support his family.

 

The wounded and witness to the incident, Ahmed, said that they were about 500 meters away from the miltary checkpoint and they did not pose a danger to the Israeli occupation forces, as they were not near a military area and did not cross the border. Nevertheless, they were surprised by direct live fire on them.

He added that the Israeli occupation forces directly targeted them knowing that they were civilians, and that the snipers clearly intended on killing them. No warning shots were fired. Ahmed said he survived miraculously.

The National Action factions in the city of Tulkarem mourned the martyr Rami Hassan, dozens of Palestinians participated in his funeral, and he was given a farewell look by his family and friends. Palestinian demonstrators chanted patriotic phrases expressing anger and sadness at the continuation of the Israeli occupation forces targeting Palestinian civilians.

 

Watch: Israeli settler shoots Palestinian at point blank range in village of At-Tuwani

TRIGGER WARNING: Blood

 

On Friday, October 13th 2023, a settler from the illegal Israeli outpost of Havat Ma’on entered the Palestinian village of At-Tuwani, in the region of Masafer Yatta, armed with an assault rifle and shot a Palestinian man in the stomach at point blank range.

The video, which was made public by B’Tselem, shows the armed settler walking towards a group of Palestinians as he invaded the village. After hitting a Palestinian man with the gun, the settler pointed his weapon on the same man and shot him in the stomach, before falling back while keeping his weapon pointed on the unarmed group of Palestinians, who at this point were approaching the wounded man to rescue him. This happened as the armed settler was accompanied and protected by an Israeli army soldier.

 

The Palestinian man was rushed to the hospital and is now reportedly in stable conditions.

This episode comes amidst a peak of settler violence in the South Hebron Hills. On Thursday, October 12th, armed settlers dressed in Israeli army uniforms invaded the village of At-Tuwani from the illegal Israeli outpost of Havat Ma’on, shot live ammunition in the direction of Palestinians and internationalists, raided a house, wounded a Palestinian man, vandalised cultivated land and planted Israeli flags.

On the night of Saturday, October 14th, Israeli settlers entered the Palestinian village of Isfey at night and damaged the water tanks and electric grid of the village with knives.

Palestinians in Masafer Yatta are reporting frequent patrols of armed settlers on Palestinian lands and villages.

These attacks are increasing drastically in the occupied West Bank, with settlers taking advantage of the current situation of violence in Gaza, relying on all forms of violence either going unnoticed or being excused by the international community.