South Hebron Hills

Palestinians return to the village of Zanuta following an Israeli High Court ruling, after settler violence forced residents out in the first weeks following October 7, Masafer Yatta, West Bank, August 21, 2024. (Oren Ziv)

After expulsion by settlers, Palestinians embrace precarious return to Zanuta

As residents trickled back into the destroyed West Bank village following a court ruling, fear of further attacks was outweighed by the joy of being home.

By Hamdan Ballal Al-Huraini September 9, 2024

Eid al-Hathaleen stands atop the rubble of his home after it was demolished by the Israeli Civil Administration, Umm al-Khair, occupied West Bank, July 7, 2024. (Emily Glick)

In Umm al-Khair, the occupation is damning us to multigenerational trauma

I saw the first bulldozers arrive in my village 17 years ago. Now, after the most brutal weeks in our history, my son will carry similarly painful memories.

By Awdah Hathaleen July 22, 2024

Shoug Al Adara in her home in At-Tuwani, December 2023. (Emily Glick)

A settler shot my husband. Then Israel bulldozed my childhood home

Zakariyah has suffered immensely since being wounded by an Israeli settler. Yet his attacker roams free, and demolitions continue to devastate our communities in Masafer Yatta.

By Shoug Al Adara June 20, 2024

Latest

Screening of ‘No Other Land’ in At-Tuwani, Masafer Yatta, occupied West Bank, March 14, 2024. (Oren Ziv)

In Masafer Yatta, our camera can be stronger than the bulldozer

At a screening in At-Tuwani, we realized our film isn’t just sharing our story with the world, but showing our people how we are fighting for change.

By Hamdan Ballal Al-Huraini March 29, 2024

Palestinian residents of Khirbet Zanuta pack their belongings and house materials as they flee their homes following a spike in Israeli settler violence during the Gaza war, West Bank, November 1, 2023. (Oren Ziv)

‘If you don’t leave, we’ll kill you’: Hundreds flee Israeli settler violence in Hebron area

Seeing the Gaza war as a golden hour to fulfill their West Bank ambitions, Israeli settlers have chased out entire Palestinian communities in Area C.

By Imad Abu Hawash November 22, 2023

Solidarity demonstration in the Palestinians village of Susiya, in the South Hebron Hills, West Bank, June 22, 2012. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills)

Settler-soldier militias threaten Susiya with death and displacement

Like other rural West Bank communities, Susiya is being subjected to escalating Israeli assaults aimed at chasing Palestinians out of their homes.

By Hamdan Ballal Al-Huraini October 31, 2023

Ashes of beehives belonging to Youssef Al-Sarha, burned by an Israeli settler in Khirbet Widadi near Hebron, July 2023. (Imad Abu Hawash)

Even bees can’t escape Israeli settler violence

Settlers began encroaching on Palestinian land where a beekeeper had placed a colony of bees. They burned 20 hives — and forced the residents to flee.

By Imad Abu Hawash August 30, 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

Qamar Elian, a Palestinian girl from the West Bank village of Umm Lasafa, in her home after an Israeli soldier kicked and broker her ankle while her family approached their private land. (Basil Adra)

She was walking toward her family’s land. A soldier broke her ankle

Qamar Aliyan, an 11-year-old Palestinian girl, was kicked by Israeli troops while settlers roamed on her family's property in Umm Lasafa.

By Basel Adra April 4, 2023

Illustrative photo of armed Israeli settlers during a protest of Palestinians in the South Hebron HIlls, June 10, 2022. (Oren Ziv)

Armed settlers break into Palestinian family home under cover of darkness

Settlers from a nearby grazing outpost entered the home, turned it upside down, and demanded the family 'stop bringing leftists' to the area.

By Yuval Abraham March 22, 2023

Residents of Masafer Yatta load their belongings onto trucks during the expulsion of 1999. (Nasrin Elian/B'Tselem)

The photos that once helped save Masafer Yatta from expulsion

In 1999, images of Palestinian lives being upended generated enough pressure to enable families to return home. Now, they live in fear of the next expulsion.

By Basel Adra March 21, 2023

Cassandra Auren seen following a settler attack in the village of Tuba in the South Hebron Hills, West Bank, March 7, 2023. (Courtesy)

‘Who hits a 64-year-old woman with a bat?’

Cassandra Auren, an American peace activist, was visiting the Palestinian village of Tuba when settlers attacked her with a bat and fractured her skull.

By Yuval Abraham March 13, 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