Hello friends, 

More than a dozen Israeli settlers attacked Susiya village on the evening of March 24, seriously injuring multiple people and damaging water tanks, homes, cars and household goods. It was the 4th such attack on the village since March 2, when Susiya resident Hamdan Bilal was awarded an Oscar as co-director of No Other Land, and in the past weeks there have been multiple settler attacks and arrests of Palestinian shepherds in the larger area of Masafer Yatta.

Israeli police refused to arrest the settlers who launched the attack in Susiya, despite clear evidence of their rampage including the slashed tires and broken windows of a car driven to the attack by 5 Jewish activists from the US.  

Israeli police pulled Hamdan Bilal from an ambulance to arrest him along with two other Palestinians who were also victims of the attack, and then kept him handcuffed and denied him medical treatment for nearly 24 house despite a serious head injury. Residents were told they would have to go to the Israeli police station, inside an Israeli settlement in order to file a complaint.  

Illegal Israeli settlers have carried out more than 5,350 documented acts of violence against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank over the past 10 years, attacking them by throwing stones, arson attacks targeting houses, businesses, farms, and other private properties and a steeply escalating number of attacks including guns. Attacks have resulted in the destruction of Palestinian olive trees, sabotage of water infrastructure, theft and killing of livestock, forced displacement of entire villages due to violence and serious injuries requiring hospitalization and surgery.

The Israeli military is often present in support of these settler attacks, and armed groups of Israeli settlers dressed and armed as soldiers are now operating with complete impunity throughout the West Bank. In February alone, Israeli forces carried out 1,475 violent attacks against Palestinians, while illegal settlers committed 230 additional assaults.

It is unbelievably difficult and sad to witness these relentless attacks here in Masafer Yatta. Families are stressed far beyond any kind of normal breaking point, and all of this is occurring in a time where people are also facing the devastating loss of jobs and greatly increased restrictions on the freedom to move. Settlers are stealing sheep, poisoning wells, torching cars and attacking people sleeping their homes, all while the world remains silent.

So here are a few ways to help – by sponsoring an olive tree to replace those destroyed by settlers, or supporting families in replacing sheep stolen by settlers, and by learning more, staying informed, and continuing to push your elected officials to end military aid to Israel.

Thank you so much for your care for the people of Masafer Yatta in this terrible time,

Cassandra