International Solidarity Movement - Page 19 - Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.

Illegal Occupation and Power Abuse by Israeli Settlers in Masafer Yatta

27 February 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Masafer Yatta

Occupation forces and settler harassing Palestinians. @ISM

On February 25th, armed illegal Israeli settlers and border police approached and violently argued with Palestinian shepherds in Al-Rakeez, Masafer Yatta, driving them away from their land.

Two Palestinian shepherds were grazing their flocks at the top of a hill, where they have been recently told by Israeli occupation forces they are allowed to stay. About thirty minutes after the shepherds started grazing, one settler in civilian clothes and wearing a machine gun approached them. Amichai – the settler- lives in a close by settlement called Abigail and he has harassed Palestinian shepherds and families living in the area in the past.

He aggressively spoke with one of the shepherds, claiming that they are not allowed to be there. Few minutes later, three settlers in military clothes showed up, escorted by three border policemen. They all intimidated the shepherds and the activists present on the scene to step back, saying that they cannot be closer than 500 meters to the top of the hill, which included almost the entire valley. They refused to show any map or evidence, even when asked, as a testament of their abuse of power and their illegal actions, especially during times of war.

Amichai, one of the illegal settlers from the settlement Abigail. @ISM

They left after they pushed back the shepherds.

The area of Masafer Yatta, as other areas as in the West Bank, suffers from the Israeli massive ethnic cleansing project which has massively accelerated since last October. Al-Rakeez is one of the 14 communities which was at risk of forcible transfer due to the establishment by the Israeli occupation of the military zone 918, but shepherds were still able to graze in the surrounding area. One month ago, exploiting wartime, the area was sealed off and the access to the road leading to the valley was closed.

In this area, villages are being teared apart increasingly. It has become impossible, or at least very dangerous, being in the land and also walking from one village to another even though they are only a few hundred meters away from each other.

Israel’s ethnic cleansing project is being lead jointly via an expansion of illegal outposts and settlements over more Palestinian land, and by armed settlers – who nowadays are mostly in army uniform – threatening and pushing Palestinians from their homes and land and prohibiting them to shepherd. Settlers, together with the Israeli army and civil administration, have blocked roads and sealed off villages, invaded houses, destroyed private property, threatened Palestinians they will kill them all if they do not leave.

Since the beginning of the genocidal attack on Gaza, 16 Palestinian communities have been forced to leave their villages in the West Bank.

The settler and occupation forces on the hill. @ISM

More Attacks on Shepherds in Masafer Yatta

24 February 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Masafer Yatta

Settlers/ army harassing Palestinian shepherd. @ISM

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.

Swedish Human Rights Defender on Hunger Strike after Denied Entry and Detained by Israeli Authorities

23 February 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv, February 21, 2024 – Israeli authorities at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport have denied entry to a Swedish foreign national and Palestinian human rights defender arbitrarily citing “Public security or public safety or public order considerations”. Samira Khoshbakht, 42, a textile artist and craft teacher working with children, has started a hunger strike in protest of their detention after being denied entry to Israel/Palestine. Samira’s phone was taken, they have not been allowed to contact the Swedish embassy and are now held in a moldy cell.

Samira has stated: “Amidst the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Palestinians in the West Bank endure daily brutality from Israeli settlers and soldiers. The media coverage of these violations is highly deficient, only a small fraction of the most extreme cases are reported. Just in the past few months, sixteen whole communities have been displaced. Therefore, the presence of human rights activists is crucial. Israel’s imprisonment and deportation of international human rights defenders under the guise of terrorism are unjustifiable actions. In accordance with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, Israel is obliged to protect and promote our work. Our contribution is to observe and document what is happening on the ground and we are determined to continue doing so.”

Israel controls all access points to the Palestinian territories it occupies. Being denied entry by occupation authorities entails interrogation, forcible deportation and most often a ban on returning. In an extension of the oppression of Palestinian human rights, Israeli authorities continue targeting human rights defenders who speak out against its violations of international humanitarian law. Israel has denied entry to UN Special Rapporteurs on the occupied Palestinian Territories (oPT) since 2008. Lately, Israel has refused to extend the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the oPT’s visa. At the end of November 2023, human rights defender Allison Russell, a Scottish-born Belgian citizen, was arrested and then deported due to her work in reporting the ongoing attacks of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank. Far more brutal consequences for those that Israel wants to silence are implemented in the Gaza strip, where Israel has carried out targeted executions of journalists, outspoken academics, human rights defenders and their families.

We demand the immediate release of detained human rights defender Samira Khoshbakht and the cessation of tactics of violence and harassment against human rights defenders on the ground.

Contact email: info@ism-sweden.org

Illegal Settlers Attack Shepherding family in Masafer Yatta

21 February 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Masafer Yatta

On Tuesday, February 20^th, armed illegal Israeli settlers attacked a shepherding family and their sheep near the villages of Al Jawaya and Tuwani, in Masafer Yatta. The settlers reportedly let their dog loose on the sheep, injuring three, discharged a weapon, and hit a child.

Shepherd Hamze Shawaheen reports that 2 armed assailants dressed in army fatigues (believed to be from Susiya or another nearby settlement), came upon him and his family mid-morning. They beat and pushed to the ground one of his sons and many of his sheep, and then sent a dog among them to harm and break up his flock. Hamze attempted to film, but they pointed a gun at him and threatened to shoot him. He states they fired a weapon towards the herd, but no gunshot injuries were noted. The settlers threatened to come for him and his flock, stating: “We have a picture of you and we will come for you all the time, because you called [for help].”

Hamze chose to graze his sheep in different fields later in the day, and with solidarity activists present. That afternoon, three settler vehicles pulled onto a nearby rise and waited. Hamze believes that were activists not present, they would have attacked him again.

Settler vehicles pulled onto a nearby rise while shepherd was grazing. @ISM

He states these attackers are known to him, though he does not know their names. He offered a photo taken when one came in a tractor and attempted to run over his sheep. He states that they have harassed him and his sheep on a near-daily basis, and that they assaulted him twice physically. No charges have been brought against his assailants, though he himself was arrested and held for 6 hours after one altercation. Hamze denies any wrongdoing or physical aggression towards the settlers. Until now, none of his family have been seriously injured, but the settlers have killed 2 of his sheep, one pregnant with 2 unborn baby sheep.

A photo taken from Hamze when a settler came in a tractor and attempted to run over his sheep.

Violence like this has grown common in the South Hebron Hills since October 7th, whether at the hands of settlers or military reservists. It is difficult at times to differentiate them as settlers increasingly wear military uniforms and soldiers and police appear to defer to them during confrontations. They have attacked Palestinians’ livelihoods by attacking their flocks and destroying cultivated lands. And they have assaulted and threatened children and adults, displacing and terrorizing entire villages.

Solidarity activists, both Israeli and internationals, have been present in the area for many years, but settler and military violence against Palestinian civilians persists across the West Bank. Hamze believes that the only reason he can still graze his sheep at all is because of the presence of solidarity activists: “We must have activists with us every day. This means that when we want to go out, we must have activists with us, because the settler army is afraid of being photographed by cameras like you.”

Continued Settler Appropriation of Community Garden in At-Tuwani

17 February 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Masafer Yatta

Israeli occupation soldiers and settler army. @ISM

On February 14, for the second time in 3 days, a settler from an illegal outpost west of Ma’on settlement, entered At-Tuwani, in Masafer Yatta, to do illegal drilling and construction work in the Youth of Sumud garden. Five heavily armed and masked settlers in reservist clothing blocked Palestinians, who were with solidarity activists, from accessing their own land. A surveillance drone was also present (video).

Video of a surveillance drone. @ISM

The settler soldiers called for backup and were quickly joined by more masked settler soldiers and three active duty occupation soldiers, who further blocked access to the land, giving time for the settlers to complete their work.

When a member of Youth of Sumud asked the commanding soldier if he would make the settler leave his land, the officer answered: “No, and in fact you are the one disturbing the peace, so I will ask you to leave.” He then told him he could file a complaint with the police.

The soldier then showed a digital map of the area with a red circle over large parts of the Sumud garden and declared it a military zone for the next 30 days, which means Palestinians and solidarity activists cannot enter without facing arrest or violence.

A map showing the new closed military area ordered by the Israeli occupation forces, without a date. @ISM

Such digital maps are not reviewed by a judge and are not legal; this one did not even have a date. Israeli solidarity activists report they have seen them produced on the spot in the Jeep.

Finally the police came and, acknowledging the illegal digital map, demanded IDs from all Palestinians and solidarity activists present, and the settler soldiers together with the occupation army and police pushed Palestinians to the family home.

This is only one example of how Israeli occupation police, army, and settlers work together to commit illegal land grabs and settlement expansion, and to drive Palestinians from their lands and homes. There is a pattern of land grabbing in at-Tuwani and in Masafer Yatta, which has intensified since October: first the bulldozing of the garden, then the installing of Israeli flags and now these illegal construction works.

Yet the people of at-Tuwani and neighboring communities have been showing their steadfastness, as they resist daily oppression and colonization of their lands.

Activist from Youth of Sumud confronting the IOF. @ISM