An Israeli activist decided to spend his Yom Kippur in the South Hebron Hills, providing humanitarian and political support to Palestinian residents there who suffer daily from military occupation and settler violence, and who have also come under threat of being uprooted from their homes to make way for an IDF firing zone. As he told me, the morning after the holiest day of atonement (September 27), he found himself laying on the ground, after being blindfolded, mugged, beaten and threatened by three Israeli settlers outside the illegal outpost called “Avigail.” While he was pinned down and being beaten, they said…

On Saturday, a group of Israeli activists came under attack from masked settlers who used slingshots to hurl stones at them while they walked between Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills, close to the illegal outpost of Havat Maon. According to the Israeli Ta'ayush activist who filmed the video, they immediately called the police upon seeing the settlers, but in the meantime, an army jeep appeared, and did nothing. "The settlers were not intimidated at all by the arrival of the soldiers and the soldiers did not arrest them or even try to establish their identity," he said. The activists…

Palestinians call for the release of their relatives from Israeli jails, Al-Araqib residents recover from another demolition, and Occupy Wall Street marks its one-year anniversary. Activestills images tell the stories of the week. 

Demonstrations against the imprisonment of refugees and asylum seekers, protests in Ramallah over the high cost of living, an anti-war candlelight vigil, and more. Activestills images tell the stories of the week.    

Interior Minister Eli Yishai has said that he would make the lives of African refugees 'so miserable that they would want to leave.'  The recent lynching and firebombing against Palestinians prove to me that it is statements like these that instigate violence within Israeli society against minorities. Interior Minister Eli Yishai has said (Hebrew) that he wants to make the lives of African refugees miserable.  As Israel's Minister of Interior, he is responsible not only for Israeli citizens, but everyone else in the country: tourists, permanent residents, migrant workers and illegal residents. Anyone who makes the lives of those over whom they have…

Recent violent attacks on Palestinians by Jewish extremists highlight the deficient law enforcement and weak penalties imposed on perpetrators of similar past attacks Two recent incidents have brought attention to the issue of attacks on Palestinian civilians by Jewish extremists. On Thursday, a firebomb was thrown at a Palestinian taxi in the West Bank, injuring six people, one of them seriously. Later the same day, three Palestinian youth were assaulted in a “lynch” committed by dozens of Jewish youth in West Jerusalem, while hundreds stood by without intervening. Both incidents have sparked widespread condemnation; and the firebomb attack has been…

In an atypical move, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contacted, through an envoy, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Friday to express the severity of Thursday's firebomb attack on a Palestinian taxi cab that left six people, including two children, injured. According to Haaretz, the prime minister conveyed to Abbas that Israeli security forces would do everything in their power to track down whoever is responsible for the attack and bring them to justice. This is considered unusual behavior for the prime minister, who has in the past reacted to "price tag" attacks such as the torching of a mosque with a mere statement…

Ta'ayush activists found 10 mature olive trees mangled on Saturday in an olive grove belonging to Palestinians from the village of at-Tuwani, in the South Hebron Hills. The settlers are from the illegal outpost of Havat Maon, a place known for settler violence and harassment. This 3-minute video taken by an Israeli Ta'ayush activist speaks for itself. It surveys the devastation caused to an entire grove of olive trees, which constitutes the livelihood of the Palestinian residents of the area. Such an act is not only an intentional blow to their income and basic welfare, but a total lack of…

Israeli activists went to the Palestinian village to replace the vandalism committed by settlers with a message of nonviolence and solidarity - and were subsequently arrested for damaging property.  While tens of thousands of people were demonstrating last night (Saturday) in Tel Aviv for the mandatory military enlistment of all Israeli citizens, four other citizens were sitting in jail after being arrested for painting over hate speech graffitied on a rock by settlers in Susya and proceeding to write "Stop the Violence" and "Free Susya" next to it. The charge: damage to property. The four were brought Sunday morning before a Jerusalem…

Eyewitness report that a Palestinian who tried to put out a fire started by settlers in Urif was shot and injured.  Throughout the day, there were reports of settlers from Yitzhar trying to set fire to Palestinian olive groves near the village of Urif, south of Nablus in the West Bank. The entire area is know for its frequent confrontations between settlers and local farmers. A team from B'Tselem who arrived at the spot caught one of the attacks on camera; Sarit Michaeli, spokesperson for B'Tselem who filmed the video, told me she had a very clear view of the…

By Dana Golan Last Saturday, a B'Tselem video camera captured an incident of settler violence that began with rocks being thrown at Palestinians near the village of Asira al-Qibliya in the outskirts of Nablus, and ended with live shots fired by the settlers and a wounded Palestinian youth. Anyone who saw the video could easily make out the IDF soldiers standing next to the settlers, doing nothing to stop them. Those watching from the sidelines may have been surprised by the useless stance of the soldiers. But anyone who understands the reality in the Occupied Territories well knows that that…