Civil Administration

Israeli settlers with grazing sheep near the Palestinian village of Ein al-Rashash. (Oren Ziv)

Palestinian village fears imminent expulsion as settler attacks escalate

Residents of Ein al-Rashash are calling on activists to help deter Israeli settler violence that has already forced neighboring communities to flee.

By Tash Lever August 31, 2023

The belongings and remains of homes of Palestinian families in Ein Samia, West Bank. (Oren Ziv)

‘It’s like 1948’: Israel cleanses vast West Bank region of nearly all Palestinians

In mere months, entire Palestinian communities between Ramallah and Jericho have been chased out by settler violence and state policies — paving the way for a total Israeli takeover of thousands of acres of land.

By Oren Ziv August 31, 2023

Palestinian woman using a water pipe in Masafer Yatta, in the West Bank, May 10, 2022. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

In hottest summer ever, Masafer Yatta sears from water apartheid

Across the West Bank, Palestinians and Israeli settlers have very different access to water resources — even when they live on the same hill.

By Basel Adra August 13, 2023

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Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during a discussion and vote on the state budget in the Knesset assembly hall, Jerusalem, May 23, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

While Israelis were in the streets, Smotrich unveiled his annexation plans

As protests escalated last week over the judicial overhaul, Israel's finance minister declared the end of the Oslo Accords in all but name.

By Roni Pelli July 27, 2023

Palestinians inspect the rubble of the elementary school in Jib al-Dib, an unrecognized village in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli authorities demolished it on May 7, 2023. (Flash90)

Palestinian school razed after campaign by gov’t-linked settler group

The residents of Jib al-Dib lost their years-long fight to save their elementary school, leaving dozens of children without proper access to education.

By Yuval Abraham May 8, 2023

Harun Abu Aram in his village of Al-Rakeez in Masafer Yatta, West Bank. (Emily Glick)

The theft of Harun Abu Aram’s body, home, and life

Harun was born into, paralyzed, and killed by Israel's colonial system. The struggle to dismantle it begins in the cave where he spent his final years.

By Yuval Abraham February 16, 2023

Religious Zionism Chairman Bezalel Smotrich stands above the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, West Bank, March 21, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Smotrich is about to become the West Bank’s overlord. Here’s what’s at stake

Under the new coalition agreement, millions of Palestinians are about to fall directly at the mercy of one of the most extreme figures in Israeli politics.

By Eliav Lieblich December 7, 2022

A Palestinian resident of An-Nabi Samwil, occupied West Bank, stands in front of the Tomb of Samuel, holding an old photo showing how the village looked before Israel demolished the Palestinians' houses in the vicinity in order to displace the residents and build a new luxury Jewish settlement, April 28, 2014. (Keren Manor/Activestills)

Israel destroyed Palestinian village for luxury settlement that was never built

Archives reveal Golda Meir's government expelled residents of An-Nabi Samwil in 1971 to house wealthy Israelis. The settlement was aborted, but the Palestinians remain dispossessed, meters from their original homes.

By Yuval Abraham August 30, 2022

Israeli authorities demolish a tent in the West Bank area of Masafer, near the city of Yatta in the South Hebron Hills, on November 25, 2020. (Wissam Hashlamon/Flash90)

This Israeli forbids Palestinians from building. He lives in an illegal outpost

Meet the inspector who prevents Palestinians in Masafer Yatta from building on their land while living in a home Israel says was built illegally.

By Yuval Abraham July 28, 2022

A child stands among the ruins of a house that was demolished in Al-Mirkez, Masafer Yatta, occupied West Bank, May 11, 2022. (Rachel Shor)

Armed with High Court expulsion order, Israel’s bulldozers arrive in Masafer Yatta

The Israeli army carried out the first demolitions in the area since last week’s court ruling, triggering fears of a mass deportation not seen in two decades.

By Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra May 12, 2022

Israeli army blocks the road for a Palestinian driving a tractor, during an olive planting action in the village of Deir Nizzam, Ramallah district, West Bank, December 15, 2009. (Keren Manor/Activestills)

The Israeli army is making millions by seizing Palestinian tractors

Data shows the military, with settler backing, is intensifying its confiscation of Palestinian agricultural equipment while profiting from release fees.

By Basel Adra and Oren Ziv May 1, 2022

Israeli settlers, accompanied by soldiers, throw stones at Palestinians and activists during the olive harvest, Huwwara, West Bank, October 7, 2020. (Heather Sharona Weiss/Activestills.org)

Israeli army blocking activists from calling ‘hotlines’ to report settler violence

Israeli activists accompanying Palestinian shepherds found their phones were blocked by army emergency centers while reporting settler attacks.

By Oren Ziv March 3, 2022

Israeli forces demolish a home in the village of Khalet al-Daba, South Hebron Hills, August 11, 2021.

A broken ankle, a demolished home, and a crushed water cistern

In one day last summer, three Palestinian brothers in the South Hebron Hills paid the price for Israeli forces’ entry into their village.

By Ali Awad February 15, 2022