Under the shadow of the genocide in Gaza, the situation in the West Bank is reaching a tipping point. 

Since October 2023, the Israeli army and settlers have killed over 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank. Entire Palestinian communities have been wiped off the map, with many more — including mine — living under imminent threat of displacement. The largest military operation in the territory for two decades has displaced tens of thousands of residents from refugee camps, while Israel continues to accelerate de facto annexation of Area C through legal, administrative, and military means. 

My home region of Masafer Yatta, in the southern West Bank, was thrust into the global spotlight this past year when “No Other Land,” the film I co-directed with Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor, won the Oscar for Best Documentary. But just weeks after the win, Hamdan was attacked by settlers in his village of Susiya and then violently arrested by the Israeli army. Last month, Israeli bulldozers razed another of Masafer Yatta’s villages to the ground. 

Along with my colleague Shatha Yaish, I’ve joined +972 Magazine as a West Bank reporter at a critical moment. As the only binational English-language magazine reporting directly from the ground, +972 offers a rare platform to expose injustices and amplify voices against the occupation, apartheid, and the ongoing war. I’m bringing my experience as a journalist, filmmaker, and activist to +972 in service of that mission — one that we can only continue with your help.

More than ever, Palestinians in the West Bank are facing relentless surveillance, arbitrary arrests, and torture, with Israel’s policies stripped of any pretense of advancing a political solution. Our movement is stifled by almost 1,000 checkpoints, gates, and roadblocks that Israeli settlers pass through with ease. Our communities are severed from one another, making basic tasks near impossible and driving economic ruin. 

This, of course, affects my work as a field journalist. I’ve been violently detained, arrested, and searched multiple times by soldiers, with the clear goal of preventing reporters like me from covering Israeli military operations or demolitions. On several occasions, soldiers searched my phone for photos of military personnel or political content — an increasingly common tactic used to incriminate and humiliate Palestinian residents. 

And yet we persist, because we believe this work is essential. We see it as our responsibility to expose the injustices Palestinians endure under the stranglehold of Israel’s apartheid system, and to hold those responsible to account. The world needs to know what’s happening here, and through that knowledge, readers like you can demand change.

Amid these extremely harsh conditions, our voices and our cameras are vital tools to document the crimes of the occupying army and its settlers. This work is only possible thanks to the generous donations of our readers who, like us, are committed to freedom, justice, and equality. We ask you to join our mission, and become a member today.