International Solidarity Movement

24 February 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Masafer Yatta

On Wednesday, February 21^st, a group of armed and masked settlers and occupation army soldiers violently attacked a group of Palestinian women, children and men grazing their sheep in Humra close to A-Tuwani, in Masafer Yatta.

The soldiers aggressively drove the shepherds out of their land, while continuously shouting and threatening them, at one point by running after one of the shepherds with a pointed machine gun.

At the edge of Humra, the settler and army soldiers detained one of the shepherds and two international solidarity activists present while driving the shepherds and their sheep down into their village and completely cut them off from any grazing land.

After calling for backup, two jeeps with more army and settler soldiers and border police officers arrived. They all worked closely together, making it challenging to differentiate between settlers and regular army. The border police were clearly intimidated by the settlers and took orders from them stating that “we are all working for the same”.

After extensive verbal harassment of the detained shepherd and international activists, and violent attempts to block the internationals from documenting the episode, the soldiers and border police retrieved, and everyone was let go.

Afterwards the shepherds called the police because two days prior the police had told them that they could graze in Humra. However, the settlers and army had kept harassing them everyday while grazing, finally escalating once again on this day.

For several days after, the shepherds have been prevented from grazing in the land, loosing invaluable grazing time to sustain their livestock.

Humra is part of an area recognised by the state as private Palestinian land. For the last couple of years, it has even been closed off by the high military commander of the West Bank meaning that only Palestinians legally can be present there.

But even though it’s a felony for Israelis to be present in the area, to sorbets or even to pass, settlers have been shepherding there have had no consequences, except when the police now and then would tell them to leave after being alerted, only to return again.

After the 7th of October, the situation has changed drastically, as the settlers and army again and again use excessive force to deny the Palestinian shepherds access to their land, using the tactic of declaring the area a closed military zone, with dire consequences for their livelihoods.

This is one of numerous examples of how the occupation force drive Palestinians out of their land.

Videos of soldier harassing the shepherds.

13 February 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Masafer Yatta

In the secluded village of Tiran, two shepherd families report increasing harassment by settler shepherds from the nearby outpost “Havat Yehuda”. Tiran is one of many hamlets south of Al Khalil (Hebron), known collectively as Masafer Yata. Like other villages in the area, Tiran is surrounded on all sides by both established settlements and vigilante outposts (usually a mobile home or bus with military escort) – illegal under international and technically Israeli law.

Though very used to settler harassment, the head of one family (who asks to withhold his name for safety), reports that harassment has increased dramatically since October 7th. Every morning, the settlers shepherd a large flock of sheep on the Palestinian land, and often onto his and his brother’s land, grazing their animals on the oats crop and stealing valuable grazing time needed for the Palestinian families’ own sheep and goats. This is part of a larger pattern, observed by Palestinian shepherds and solidarity activists in the area. Numerous encounters have been reported with military and sometimes settlers dressed in military fatigues. They tell Palestinian shepherds that they are not allowed to graze their animals on their own lands, and produce photographs of alleged ‘grazing permission’ and other military and court documents. Even when the military sometimes gives in, the shepherds lose valuable Spring grazing time in a typically arid environment while waiting for the settlers or soldiers to act.

Today, January 13, solidarity activists escorting children to school encountered a settler shepherd (pictured in film with ארץנו, “our land” sweatshirt) with her flock of sheep, waiting behind a hill and out of site of the villagers. After the kids passed, the sheep and sheepdogs turned onto the road and ran after the children quickly. When activists pointed out to the settler that her herd and dogs were chasing the children, she responded, “I know” and ran after the herd. In the included video, she is heard to shout, “!ללכת ,ללכת” (“go, go!”). After several minutes, the animals stopped and she shouted back “ok?” Activists stayed until the children were safely inside.

Apart from this shepherding interference, the head of household reports that settler violence and harassment of the two families’ homes have also increased since October 7th: the settlers came in the night, threatened to kill the families, damaged their water tank and farming machinery, entered their homes to take photos of family members, and completely destroyed the only road leading into the village with earth movers. Solidarity activists observed drones sent in during the day which the families say happens often. Like many rural Palestinian families, they say they are afraid of what will happen without solidarity activist presence; settlers have already driven another family who used to live close by from their home, as well as the entire village of Zanuta.

Sheep and dogs from Israeli settler chasing the children going to school. @ISM