Duma murders

Palestinian farmers from the West Bank village of Qaryut assess the damage done to their olive trees the day before by Israeli settlers, October 20, 2013. Officials from the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture on the scene counted 60 trees damaged belonging to 12 different farmers. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Living in the constant shadow of settler violence

A recent surge in hate crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank has drawn the attention of both local and international media. But the violence is just one part of the settlement system that is pushing Palestinians to abandon their land. In the hills of the northern West Bank, nightfall brings back an old fear. For the…

By Edo Konrad May 10, 2018

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks before the UN General Assembly (Kobi Gideon, GPO)

Netanyahu at the UN: Frozen bodies, blatant lies, and imaginary children

Netanyahu didn’t need the Mufti or a bomb diagram at this year’s UN General Assembly. Just a few kind words about a Palestinian victim of Jewish terror, branding Israel as an economic powerhouse, and kissing up to the Americans. 1. Stealing the president’s lines “Ahmed was the victim of a horrible terrorist act perpetrated by Jews……

By Samah Salaime September 24, 2016

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked. (Photo by Activestills.org)

Jewish politicians meet with terrorist families too

Netanyahu wants to kick Arab MKs out of the Knesset for meeting with families of Palestinian terrorists. Will the same standard be upheld for those who meet with Jewish terrorists? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to punish Palestinian members of Knesset for meeting with families of Palestinians who have carried out deadly attacks against Jewish…

By Edo Konrad February 7, 2016

Latest

Palestinian anti-occupation activist Nasser Nawajah is accompanied by Israeli attorney Gabi Lasky (right) as he enters the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, January 20, 2016. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

It’s open season on anyone opposing the occupation

There is a campaign being carried out against anyone actively opposing the occupation in Israel, and it doesn’t matter if you’re an activist in the field, a human rights attorney or a former soldier talking about what you were ordered to do. “Activists from the shady organization, “Ta’ayush,” who we tracked from within and outside,…

By Noam Sheizaf January 23, 2016

Organizer Simone Zimmerman speaks to some 250 If Not Now, When activists at a Tisha B’Av action in New York City, where participants read the names of Israelis and Palestinians who died in this summer’s Gaza war. (Photo by Gili Getz)

Time to break the silence: An open letter to American Jews

The American Jewish establishment, from the Federations to synagogues, must take a look in the mirror and decide whether this is the Israel it identifies with. If it isn’t, it should speak up. Urgently. Dear American Jewish community, I should start off with a full disclosure: I am only tangentially a part of you. I have…

By Edo Konrad January 14, 2016

A firefighter stands in front of the charred door of B’Tselem’s offices in Jerusalem. (Photo: Fire Department Spokesperson)

When every fire is a potential arson attack

As incitement against the Israeli Left grows, it is no surprise so many people believed right-wing arsonists were behind the fire at the offices of Israel’s oldest human rights organization. Preliminary investigations by Israeli Police and Israel Fire and Rescue Services indicated that the fire that erupted Sunday night in the Jerusalem offices of Israeli…

By Haggai Matar January 11, 2016

A Palestinian youth kicks a tear gas canister during clashes with the Israeli army in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, November 20, 2015. (photo: Activestills.org)

The Year in Photos: Palestine and Israel in 2015

Activestills selects the most powerful, important and moving images of 2015 — in chronological order. Photos by: Oren Ziv, Ahmad al-Bazz, Yotam Ronen, Faiz Abu-Rmeleh, Keren Manor, Hosam Salem, Ezz Zanoun, Anne Paq, Shiraz Grinbaum Editing: Anka Mirkin, Merieke Lauken / Activestills.org …

By Activestills December 31, 2015

Mother of Saad Dawabsheh (center) reacts during her son's funeral procession, in the West Bank village of Duma, August 8, 2015. Saad Dawabsha and his toddler son Ali, 18-months-old, were burned to death in an arson attack by Jewish extremists on their house last week. Saad died of his injuries after a week in the hospital, while his wife still fights for her life. (Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org)

Good riddance, 2015

2015 was a year full of murder, stabbings, homophobia, and gender-based violence. I can’t wait for it to be over. Damn you, 2015. Your place is in the dustbin of history. Leave us alone. You fraud. You began to shower us with specks of hope when the last elections were announced. We thought perhaps that…

By Samah Salaime December 28, 2015

Illustrative photo of a prisoner (Shutterstock.com)

Palestinian journalist on hunger strike to protest admin detention

It took Israeli authorities weeks to even tell Muhammad Al-Qiq why he is being imprisoned without charge or trial — ‘incitement.’ He has been on hunger strike for 32 days. By Yael Marom and Noam Rotem Palestinian journalist Muhammad al-Qiq, 33 from the Hebron area, has been on hunger strike for 32 days — since…

By +972 Magazine December 27, 2015

Jaffa protest in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners (Mati Milstein)

Israel isn’t denying that it uses torture, it’s justifying it

Responding to a right-wing campaign accusing it of torturing ‘Jewish terrorism’ suspects, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency basically admits doing so, and insists it is acting within the law. Last week’s episode of “This American Life” was called The Poetry of Propaganda. The Chicago-based radio program discussed how official government messaging often contains different meanings for different…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man December 25, 2015

Hilltop youth settlers protest the torture of Jewish minors by the Shin Bet, central Tel Aviv, December 23, 2015. (photo: Edo Konrad)

Settlers protest alleged torture of Jewish teens in Tel Aviv

Israel’s security service, the Shin Bet, has been using torture against suspects in the arson-murder of an entire Palestinian family, their attorneys and friends allege. Approximately 15 far-right settlers gathered in front of Israel’s national theater in central Tel Aviv Wednesday afternoon to stage a theatrical protest against Israeli authorities’ alleged use of terror against…

By Edo Konrad December 23, 2015

A leftist demonstrator looks on after being arrested by police during an anti-war demonstration in Tel Aviv. (photo: Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Maybe there’s just no room for human rights in Israel

Those trying to delegitimize rights groups because their funds come from overseas are sending a very clear message: human and civil rights are not values that exist naturally in Israel. Left-leaning Israelis have for decades warned that the occupation will one day come home to roost — that the injustices visited upon Palestinians in the territories…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man December 16, 2015