Israeli Settler Violence Is So Out of Control Even Western Activists Can’t Stop Them
On the ground in the West Bank, foreigners putting their bodies in the way of Israeli settlers told me protective presence activism is no longer enough to stop violent attacks against Palestinians.
MUKHMAS, the occupied West Bank – Only a few days after Israeli settlers killed 19-year-old Palestinian American Nasrallah Abu Siyam, they were once again wandering the hills of Mukhmas, holding clubs and intimidating Palestinian residents.
Youssef Abu Ali owns a chicken farm on the outskirts of Mukhmas, a Palestinian village with a significant American population, located just a few kilometers from Ramallah, the administrative center of the occupied West Bank.
His farm lies on the border between Area B, under Palestinian civil and Israeli military control per the Oslo Accords, and Area C, which is under the complete control of the Israeli military.
Because of this, Abu Ali’s farm has been repeatedly targeted by Israeli settlers as they seek to make living conditions so untenable that he is forced to evacuate. With the help of Israeli and international protective presence activists, he has remained. But as settlers become more violent, more brazen, and more emboldened, Abu Ali and the activists who help support him fear their tactics are no longer enough.