activestills

The mosque in Dayr al-Shaykh, one of the last remaining structures in the destroyed Palestinian village, west of Jersualem, from "The Erasure of Palestine." (Ahmad Al-Bazz)

A Palestinian photographer’s ‘search for what remained’ from 1948

When Nablus-based journalist Ahmad Al-Bazz received an Israeli travel permit, he rushed to visit nearly 200 villages depopulated in the Nakba. Five years later, his new book offers a powerful visual archive of erasure.

By Yahel Gazit May 12, 2026

PODCAST: Documenting the settler takeover of the West Bank

Oren Ziv reflects on two decades of reporting on Palestinian displacement and resistance, and what Israeli and international solidarity can achieve today.

By +972 Magazine February 13, 2026

Owais Hammam, 18, was kidnapped and brutally assaulted by Israeli settlers with the assistance of the Israeli military, at the Palestine Medical Complex, in Ramallah, December 6, 2025. (Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Activestills)

Anatomy of a settler abduction

Ambushed, dragged to a hilltop outpost, beaten unconscious: Palestinian teen Owais Hammam recounts his brutal torture by Israeli settlers and soldiers.

By Faiz Abu Rmeleh December 10, 2025

Latest

MK Ayman Odeh lies wounded from sponge-tipped bullets next to Israeli police in the Bedouin village of Umm el-Hiran, Negev, January 18, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

New evidence backs Arab MK’s claims that police shot him

An investigation by a London-based research center shows MK Ayman Odeh was shot with a sponge-tipped bullet during clashes in Umm al-Hiran in 2017. Police repeatedly claimed he was hit by a stone thrown by one of the protesters. New evidence suggests Israeli police shot Palestinian Member of Knesset Ayman Odeh in the head with a sponge-tipped bullet during…

By Oren Ziv June 5, 2019

WATCH: Palestinians ‘Dare to Dream’ as Eurovision event in Israel nears

This year’s Eurovision slogan is ‘Dare to Dream.’ Activestills asked Palestinians what their dreams are. Israel will be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest this year, with some 200 million people expected to watch from around the world. The event, which will take place from May 14 to May 18 in Tel Aviv, falls around Nakba Day, during…

By Activestills May 10, 2019

Pictures of slain Palestinian demonstrators hang on barbed wire near the Gaza-Israel separation barrier. June 26, 2018. (Oren Ziv / Activestills.org)

Activists hang photos of Return March dead on Israel-Gaza fence

Answering a call from Palestinian civil society, Israeli activists hang pictures of 119 slain Palestinian demonstrators on barbed wire fence near the Gaza-Israel fence. By Oren Ziv Nearly three months after the Great Return March protests in Gaza began, Israeli and international activists hung pictures of 119 slain Palestinian demonstrators on the barbed wire fence…

By Oren Ziv June 26, 2018

The Gaza "Freedom Boat" in port in Gaza, before attempting to break Israel's naval blockade. (Mohammed Zaanoun/Activestills.org)

IDF intercepts Gaza boat trying to escape the blockade

Carrying 17 people, including university students, cancer patients, and protesters wounded by Israeli forces during the Great Return March, the Gaza boat was headed towards Cyprus before IDF gunboats intercepted it. By Meron Rapoport, Mohammed Zaanoun, and +972 Magazine Staff Israeli gunships intercepted a Palestinian boat attempting to break Israel’s naval siege of the Gaza…

By +972 Magazine May 29, 2018

Thousands hold a funeral for Yacoub Abu al-Qi'an in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran. Abu al-Qi'an was shot dead by police as security forces demolished homes in the village, January 24, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

State closes case on officers who killed Bedouin man in Umm al-Hiran

State attorney rules the police who shot and killed Yacob al-Qi’an in January 2017 did not commit a crime, says no conclusive evidence incident was a terror attack. By +972 Magazine Staff Israel’s State Attorney Shai Nitzan ruled Tuesday that the police officers who shot to death Yaqub Musa Abu al-Qi’an in the unrecognized Bedouin…

By +972 Magazine May 1, 2018

Nur Tamimi after her release from prison. (Activestills/Oren Ziv)

Nur Tamimi upon her release from prison: ‘I have no regrets’

Hours after she is released from military prison, Nur, who was arrested along with her cousin Ahed following the release of a now-viral video, speaks about her arrest, her time in prison, and why she isn’t deterred. By Oren Ziv “It’s normal, it happens every day in Palestine, that soldiers enter our village and our…

By Activestills January 7, 2018

Ein Al-Hilweh, Jordan Valley, November 16, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Hundreds of Palestinians on the brink of expulsion: ‘We just want to live’

Three hundred Palestinians have been ordered to leave their homes and take with them all their belongings within the next eight days. Where are they supposed to go? The military order provides no answers. In the meantime, they wait for the rain that refuses to come. By Keren Manor / Activestills.org They are about to…

By Activestills November 20, 2017

Israeli police arrest Activestills photographer Faiz Abu Rmeleh at the Lions Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, July 25, 2017. (Screenshot)

WATCH: Israeli police arrest, rough up Activestills photojournalist

Journalists were standing off to the side of a mass prayer action that devolved into light clashes when police charged at them, singling out Faiz Abu Rmeleh, later beating and harassing him, he says. By Oren Ziv and Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man Israeli police roughed up and detained Activestills photojournalist Faiz Abu Rmeleh Tuesday night while…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man July 26, 2017

Kibbutz Ma'ayan Baruch in the upper Galilee, 30 September 1949. Photo by Zoltan Kluger (GPO)

How Israeli photography creates a world without Palestinians

The myth of the land of Mandate Palestine as an untapped oasis waiting for Jewish habitation is still thriving on both sides of the Green Line. Photographs are a key tool for perpetuating — and challenging — that myth. David Rubinger, Israel’s most famous photographer, died on 1 March at the age of 92. His…

By Amjad Iraqi March 17, 2017

Screenshot of Al Jazeera footage showing that Yaqub Abu al-Qi’an was driving with his headlights on when police shot him.

Video contradicts more police claims in Umm el-Hiran killing

Police said Yaqub al-Qi’an’s headlights were switched off when police officers shot at his car. A video analysis by Forensic Architecture and Activestills appears to disprove that claim. By John Brown* Israeli police’s official version of the events that led to the death of two people — a Bedouin citizen of Israel and a police…

By +972 Magazine February 1, 2017