Despite being the victims of an attack on our own land, we now face the possibility of imprisonment. It’s not a normal way of life, but it has become the normalized reality under Israeli occupation.

Alison Russell was detained by Israeli forces while documenting home demolitions in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank. She was deported following a perfunctory hearing where Israeli police accused her of “supporting terrorism.”

Since October 7, Israeli settlers and military have been terrorizing Palestinian communities across the West Bank. At least 10 villages in the South Hebron Hills have been displaced through violence, and over 120 Palestinians have been killed.

With the start of the new school year, Palestinian children in Masafer Yatta defy Israeli army and settler harassment to go to class in tents, since Israel demolished their school last year.

Israel’s High Court evicted families from Masafer Yatta in May 2022 after declaring the area a “firing zone” for exclusive military use. Israeli settlers have since established herding outposts there on the army’s watch.

The Israeli army has redoubled its efforts to crack down on armed resistance in the West Bank, but its recent raid on Balata refugee camp ended in failure as the wanted resistance fighters evaded capture.

Members of the CJNV delegation to Palestine didn’t just come to observe and document. They engaged in direct actions, participating in shutting down highways and attending protests.

The Israeli assault on Palestinians continues to intensify as Israel has arrested at least 42 people across the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the last three days and carried out a military invasion of Ramallah.

In 2021, Harun Abu Aram was shot in his neck at point blank range by Israeli soldiers when he was trying to prevent the confiscation of a communal generator. He was left paralyzed from the neck down.

From banning the flag, to slaying Palestinians, to continuing colonization, the actions of the Israeli state are consistent with the spirit and origins of Zionist settler colonialism.