Massafer Yatta is composed of twelve communities. Most of the villages and surrounding areas have been classified as being in a restricted military zone known officially as “Firing Zone 918” so that Israeli soldiers and settlers can have an excuse to harass people in their homes and prevent them from grazing their flock.
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This area has had a long history of oppression. On November 16, 1999, security forces forcibly evicted over 700 Palestinians and left them homeless. On July 22, 2012, the State Attorney made permanent presence in the area prohibited. The notice entailed that the residents of three of the 12 remaining villages would be permitted to continue living in the area while eight would be evicted- approximately 1,000 people. However, on May 4th, 2022 the HCJ ruled there were no legal barriers preventing the expulsion of Palestinian residents from “military zones” and demolition orders intensified. Four schools and four health clinics in Masafer Yatta were destroyed and residents are currently suffering the largest mass eviction of Palestinians since the 1970s.
Since July 2023, thirteen Palestinian families comprising 84 people, half of which were children, have been displaced due to increased movement restrictions imposed by Israeli forces. Every family who once resided in the town of Khirbet Bir Al ‘Idd has recently fled to escape settler violence, making it fourth completely empty Palestinian village in the south Hebron hills.
Some of these families had previously been forced to leave their original homes in the north during the 1948 occupation and had hope that they wouldn’t be displaced for a second time. But the violence of Israel is boundless and now people are now struggling to imagine a future at all.
Since October 7th, 16 entire villages in the West Bank have been depopulated. Settlers have gained new confidence and act with impunity. International volunteer presence on the ground is currently the main thing giving Zionists pause in the West Bank. If we are waiting for our governments to step in and end the atrocious injustices that occur here, we would be waiting for a thousand years and still be disappointed. It has always been people, not governments, who enact change.
I want to shake everyone back home who has been inactive and silent in the face of these human rights violations. Every day I grow angrier at all the people who have allowed this to happen. Angry at politicians and arms dealers, yes, but also at those who have continued to live their lives as normal and pretend that nothing is wrong.
Posting on social media is below the bare minimum. Watching the news is below the bare minimum. We have so much power, especially in the west. This nightmare does not have to be the only reality! And it feels so much better to collectively work towards bringing a new dream forward than it does accepting the one we have been given.
Late night henna as we prepare for Eid celebrations.
