south hebron hills

Israeli soldiers violently drag Rabbi Arik Ascherman while he and a group of activists attempt to repair an access road for a cluster of Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills on May 3, 2019. (Ahmad al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

In the Hebron Hills, the settlers are the lords and the IDF does their bidding

A new booklet by Breaking the Silence compiles dozens of accounts by former Israeli combat soldiers who served in the South Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank. Text by Rachel Shenhav-Goldberg In 2012, two Israeli residents of Mitzpe Yair, an unauthorized settlement in the Hebron Hills, spontaneously attacked an elderly, unarmed Palestinian man, beating him so…

By +972 Resources November 12, 2019

Students from the Palestinian village of A-Tuba in the South Hebron Hills walk to school as the Israeli army escorts them to protect them from settler violence. (Rachel Shor)

To avoid settlers, the Israeli army escorts these Palestinian schoolchildren

For the past 15 years, soldiers have escorted the children of A-Tuba in the South Hebron Hills to their school in order to protect them from settler violence. This is what their daily journey looks like. By Yuval Abraham Issa is on his way to his first day of first grade. His head bops up…

By +972 Magazine September 2, 2019

The Israeli army violently detained Palestinian, Israeli and international activists who were repairing an access road in the South Hebron Hills on May 3, 2019. (Ahmad al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

Israeli army arrests 17 activists, two journalists in South Hebron Hills

Hundreds of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists partnered together to repair a central access road in the South Hebron Hills. Israeli soldiers then declared the area a closed military zone, forcibly dispersing volunteers. By Arianna Skibell The Israeli army assaulted and forcibly arrested 17 people Friday after a group of more than 125 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists…

By +972 Magazine May 3, 2019

Latest

Israeli soldiers detaining Avner Gvaryahu, director of Breaking the Silence, on a tour of the South Hebron Hills, August 31, 2018. (Nasser Nawaja, B'Tselem)

IDF detains South Hebron Hills tour organizers, days after settler attack there

Israeli soldiers detained senior members of Breaking the Silence and a human rights attorney in an attempt to block a tour of the South Hebron Hills, where settlers attacked six left-wing activists last week. By Orly Noy Breaking the Silence planned a tour in the South Hebron Hills on Friday, as a token of solidarity with the…

By Orly Noy August 31, 2018

A Ta'ayush activist is carried away after being attacked by settlers in the illegal outpost of Mitzpe Yair, South Hebron Hills, August 25, 2018. (Nasser Nawaja/B'Tselem)

‘Spilling enemy blood is allowed’: After settler attack, Israeli activists speak out

Four left-wing Israeli activists were taken to a hospital after being violently attacked by settlers in the West Bank on Saturday. Violence by settlers against activists has grown more common over the past few months, yet it seems the authorities are doing very little to stop it. When I heard the initial reports that settlers from the…

By Orly Noy August 26, 2018

Palestinians and Israeli activists attend a demonstration against the construction of Jewish settlements in the Jordan Valley, West Bank. November 17, 2016. (Flash90)

Israeli army to evict 300 Palestinians from Jordan Valley

So far this year, the IDF has demolished 349 structures, displacing 542 people and 302 children. Israeli human rights NGO B’Tselem warned in August that the expulsions would constitute a war crime. By +972 Magazine Staff The Israeli army ordered the eviction of 300 Palestinians from their homes in the northern Jordan Valley area of…

By +972 Magazine November 14, 2017

A members of Carmel's settler rapid response team attacks Israeli left-wing activist Guy Butavia, September 16, 2017.

WATCH: Settler attacks left-wing activist, breaks his arm

Guess who was detained and taken in for questioning. By Yael Marom An Israeli settler attacked a left-wing activist in a settlement in the south Hebron Hills Saturday, breaking his arm. The activist was transferred to Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, where his left arm was put in a cast. On Saturday morning, left-wing activists…

By +972 Magazine September 17, 2017

A Palestinian boy looks at the Israeli settlement of Carmel from the Bedouin village of Umm Al Khair, in South Hebron Hills, West bank, February 23, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

My village is under threat. I’m not giving up hope

The residents of Umm al-Khair have been robbed of humanity and justice. We have the right to live without the constant threat of demolition, to have enough clean water, and to live without fear. By Awdah al-Hathalean My name is Awdah Mohammed al-Hathalean. I’m 23 years old and I live in Umm al-Khair, a village in…

By +972 Magazine July 16, 2017

Children seen at Dkaika, a Palestinian village in the south Hebron Hills, slated for demolition. (Rabbis for Human Rights)

Israel is expelling 300 Palestinians, to a village it plans to demolish

Dkaika, a tiny Bedouin-Palestinian village in the south Hebron Hills, is under threat of demolition. The state hopes to expel its residents to a nearby village — which is also under threat of destruction. By Eli Bitan Israel’s High Court of Justice is set to decide the future of a small Palestinian village in the…

By +972 Magazine July 13, 2017

Palestinians, internationals, and Israelis dance together in Sarura, south Hebron Hills. (Rami Ben Ari)

40 days and 40 nights: Building a new reality in Sumud Freedom Camp

For 40 days and 40 nights, Palestinians, diaspora Jews, and Israeli activists learned to speak a new language of nonviolence, empathy, and steadfastness as we put our bodies on the line to protect Sumud Freedom Camp. By Sophie Schor Plato is famous for his allegory of a cave. In it, he employs a metaphor that if you were…

By +972 Magazine July 3, 2017

Israeli forces raiding the Sumud Freedom Camp, Sarura, West Bank, May 29, 2017. (Nasser Nawajah)

Israeli forces raid Palestinian-Jewish protest camp for third time in 10 days

Israeli soldiers and police officers showed up at the Sumud Freedom Camp in the south Hebron hills on Monday morning, confiscating and destroying property and detaining three Palestinian activists. Israeli soldiers and Border Police raided the Sumud Freedom Camp in the south Hebron hills for the third time on Monday morning, destroying and confiscating property…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland May 30, 2017

Activists listen to a speech given by a Palestinian elder from Sarura, West Bank, May 19, 2017. (Ahmad al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: A week of joint struggle in Sumud Freedom Camp

For over a week, Jewish activists from across the globe have joined Palestinians in an effort to rebuild a depopulated village in the West Bank. By: Ahmad Al-Bazz / Activestills.org It has been over a week since 250 Palestinians, Israelis, and diaspora Jews came together to establish the “Sumud Freedom Camp” on the site of Sarura,…

By Activestills May 28, 2017

Jewish and Palestinian activists at the Sumud Freedom Camp, Surara, West Bank, May 19, 2017. (Gili Getz)

Diaspora Jews must place our bodies on the line

As internationals and Jews, we are unjustly privileged — and therefore obligated to take part in nonviolent direct action in support of the Palestinian struggle for freedom. By Leanne Gale My first protest in the West Bank was in 2012. On the advice of a college professor, I went to a demonstration in Susya, a Palestinian…

By +972 Magazine May 23, 2017