More than 1,000 Palestinians are under imminent threat of forcible displacement, a war crime under international law, yet much of the world has never heard their story.
Our video team recently traveled to Masafer Yatta to get the story straight from the residents there. In addition to being under constant threat of displacement, their homes are being demolished every day, they are being attacked by Israeli settlers seeking to take over their land, and they face daily violations by the Israeli military who maintains a constant presence there.
We spoke to local activists, the victims of home demolitions, and families whose lives have been torn apart and destroyed by the Israeli occupation. Every single person we spoke to pleaded with us to deliver their message to the world.
The Israeli Supreme Court, Israel’s highest purveyor of justice, has greenlit the mass expulsion of entire communities in Masafer Yatta, or the South Hebron Hills, in the occupied West Bank. The court is allowing the military to completely wipe eight villages off the map, so the army can use it as training grounds for their soldiers.
It’s one of the most grave injustices outlined under international law, and it’s happening as we speak.
The importance of our work was solidified when our crew was stopped and temporarily detained by the Israeli military while we were filming in Masafer Yatta. According to our local guide, it was not the first time journalists had been detained there by the military and prevented from doing their work. He said that Israel didn’t want the world to see what was happening.
The effort to #SaveMasafferYatta has been ongoing for more than 20 years, when the residents of the area began their legal battle in Israeli courts. But right now, the stakes are higher than ever.
As Majda Abu Sabha, a woman from Masafer Yatta whose home has been demolished three times since April, put it:
The world must know what is happening here, and the leaders like US President Biden must stop supporting Israel in its crimes against us.
As the residents of Masafer Yatta fight for their very existence, the role of journalists on the ground is more important than ever. We took our cameras to Masafer Yatta with the goal of showing the world what is happening there, and exposing Israeli Apartheid in action.
At the end of this month, we will be releasing an in-depth video report on the situation in Masafer Yatta and the tireless efforts of the residents there to save their homes.
