Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian primary school in the Masafer Yatta area of the southern occupied West Bank on Wednesday, under the pretext that the school was built “illegally” in an active Israeli military firing zone. 

Following the demolition, an Israeli army spokesperson claimed that the school itself was a hoax and that it was an unoccupied building being used as a publicity stunt. But Palestinians from Masafer Yatta say the school, which was built with funding from the Palestinian Authority and EU, was built to give much-needed education access to school children living in remote areas of the occupied West Bank.

The U.S. is enabling the ethnic cleansing of Masafer Yatta by providing Israel with military aid and supplying the weapons used to terrorize the Palestinians in the perpetually threatened region, in the South Hebron Hills.

To me Hafez’s story is the embodiment of Israeli apartheid, and the themes I’ve covered for so many years reporting on the ground in occupied Palestine. It’s a story of violence, injustice, inequity, and a yearning for freedom in a place where oppression reigns supreme. 

Mohammad Huraini was with his father, Hafez, when he was attacked by Israeli settlers as he attempted to work his land. Now, as Hafez sits in an Israeli prison, Mohammad writes about what happened that day and what it means for the ongoing struggle in Masafar Yatta. “Every day, we face this injustice and apartheid not only from the settlers, soldiers, or police, but from the entire system that uses violence to hurt us, steal our land and imprison us,” he writes. “We cannot stay silent, and we must let the world know what is happening.”

While he was working on his land, a group of Israeli settlers armed with sticks, metal pipes, and M16s attacked Hafez Huraini and his son Muhammad. Hafez was badly injured, and both of his arms were broken. When a Palestinian ambulance arrived to evacuate him, the settlers slashed the tires, but the Israeli soldiers arrested Huraini, claiming he had hurt one of the settlers.

The petition was filed to protect two schools and 32 other structures, including a health clinic, from demolition in the heart of Masafer Yatta. 

In May 2022 the Israeli Supreme Court ruled to expel the Palestinians living in the South Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank and hand their land over to the Israeli military. Meet the Palestinians fighting to stay in their homes and resist what rights groups are calling a war crime under international law.

President Biden has spoken clearly of his commitment to human rights and the residents of Masafar Yatta hoped he would acknowledge the threat we face during his recent visit to Palestine. However, when the Israeli army canceled live ammunition training in our villages in for the duration of the president’s visit, he chose to ignore what could soon become the largest forced displacement of Palestinians ever since 1967.

What we experienced is just a drop in the bucket of all the violations that journalists, primarily Palestinian journalists, face while working under occupation. Arbitrary detention and arrest seem mild when compared to the execution of our colleagues like Shireen Abu Akleh and Yaser Murtaja. 

According to the WCC’s governing body, the “occupation continues to contradict the equal human dignity and human rights of Palestinians while the response of the international community continues to reflect egregious double standards.”