Susiya

Ahmad Nawajah holding the Oscar won by the film No Other Land, in Masafer Yatta, the occupied West Bank, March 25, 2025. (Courtesy of the family)

In Masafer Yatta, we need more than awards — we need protection

‘No Other Land’ exposed the world to our struggle. But as settlers and soldiers escalate their attacks after the Oscars, our existence hangs by a thread.

By Ahmad Nawajah April 8, 2025

Hamdan Ballal (center) and Basel Adra (left) speak to the media following Ballal's release from Israeli detention, Susiya, occupied West Bank, March 25, 2025. (Oren Ziv)

‘I felt they wanted to kill me’: Hamdan Ballal recounts settler-soldier assault

The Palestinian filmmaker describes being brutally beaten in front of his home in Susiya before experiencing further abuse in Israeli military detention.

By Oren Ziv March 26, 2025

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

Latest

Israeli soldiers push Jewish American activists during a demonstration against the expulsion of Masafer Yatta. (Emily Glick)

By staying silent on Masafer Yatta, Biden is green lighting forced population transfer

As American Jews, we must insist that the protection of Masafer Yatta is necessary for a thriving future for all between the river and the sea.

By Davida Ginsberg July 10, 2022

Palestinians protest the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin to the heritage site of ancient Susya, in Yatta, near the West Bank city of Hebron, March 14, 2021. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Why US lawmakers should witness the Israeli occupation firsthand

A visit by Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Mark Pocan to my Palestinian village affirmed the value of politicians learning about Israel's policies on the ground.

By Nasser Nawajah December 8, 2021

The Israeli army violently detained Palestinian, Israeli and international activists who were repairing an access road in the South Hebron Hills on May 3, 2019. (Ahmad al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

Israeli army arrests 17 activists, two journalists in South Hebron Hills

Hundreds of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists partnered together to repair a central access road in the South Hebron Hills. Israeli soldiers then declared the area a closed military zone, forcibly dispersing volunteers. By Arianna Skibell The Israeli army assaulted and forcibly arrested 17 people Friday after a group of more than 125 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists…

By +972 Magazine May 3, 2019

Students walk in the yard of the school in Khan al-Ahmar, February 23, 2017. (Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Activestills.org)

Israeli demolition of entire Palestinian village days away, villagers fear

Israeli security forces show up and survey homes in Khan al-Ahmar, which activists and residents fear is a sign of forced displacement of the entire village. Israel’s top court gave its approval to the demolition, an act rights groups say would constitute a war crime. By +972 Magazine Staff After getting the green light from…

By +972 Magazine July 1, 2018

A Palestinian family outside their tent home in the south Hebron Hills village of Susya (Photo: Activestills.org)

Hagai El-Ad talks war crimes, forced displacement, and int’l pressure

B’Tselem’s executive director speaks to +972 Magazine about his organization’s decision to describe the demolition and displacement of Palestinian villages as ‘war crimes,’ and the role of international pressure in changing Israeli policy in the West Bank. By Joshua Leifer and Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man The international diplomatic and human rights community often couches its criticism…

By Joshua Leifer February 6, 2018

Representatives of the Palestinian Authority and Bishop Atallah Hanna from the Greek Orthodox Church took part in the protest by residents of Jabal al Baba against their expulsion. November 23, 2017 (Oren Ziv/Activestills)

Palestinians in Jabal al-Baba protest Israeli expulsion order

The small village is located in E1, an area in which the U.S. and Europe have long demanded Israel not build new settlements, because doing so would cut the West Bank in two. Around 100 demonstrators joined the Palestinian community of Jabal al-Baba on Thursday, November 23, in the E1 area of the West Bank adjacent…

By Activestills November 24, 2017

Palestinians and Israeli activists attend a demonstration against the construction of Jewish settlements in the Jordan Valley, West Bank. November 17, 2016. (Flash90)

Israeli army to evict 300 Palestinians from Jordan Valley

So far this year, the IDF has demolished 349 structures, displacing 542 people and 302 children. Israeli human rights NGO B’Tselem warned in August that the expulsions would constitute a war crime. By +972 Magazine Staff The Israeli army ordered the eviction of 300 Palestinians from their homes in the northern Jordan Valley area of…

By +972 Magazine November 14, 2017

A Palestinian child looks out over his village, Susiya, October 2016. (Gili Getz). The village is under threat of demolition to make way for a neighboring Jewish settlement, also called Susiya.

Living on borrowed time: Palestinian village fights for its existence

Threatened with their village’s destruction, Palestinians in Susiya live in a political and psychological limbo. While working, studying and trying to lead a normal life, the residents are also fighting to stop their home from disappearing. By Max Schindler When asked what her family will do if the army demolishes her village, Soraya, 16, hesitates: “We’ll…

By +972 Magazine December 14, 2016

Activists with the Center for Jewish Non-Violence accompany Palestinian residents of Susya into the archeological site where the latter’s village once stood, South Hebron Hills, July 14, 2016. (Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man)

WATCH: A new brand of Jewish nonviolence in Palestine

What happens when dozens of Jewish American activists come to Palestine to practice civil disobedience alongside Palestinians struggling against the occupation? In the summer of 2016, dozens of Jews from the U.S. and other countries came to Palestine, at the request of Palestinian activists, to use nonviolence, civil disobedience, and their privilege as Jews to…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man November 30, 2016

A mural portraying Jesus is painted on the Israeli separation wall dividing the West Bank town of Bethlehem, July 28, 2010. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

No, Jesus would not be a settler — he’d practice solidarity

Former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren says Jesus would be considered a settler if he lived in Bethlehem today. Such talk obscures the nature of the settlement enterprise and slanders Jesus. Text and photos by Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org Former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren has been saying a lot of obnoxious things lately. His…

By Activestills July 27, 2015