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8 Jul, 6 tweets, 3 min read
Yesterday, a major Israeli news site, Ynet, broke a story about a special operation in the South Hebron Hills in which eight Palestinians were arrested for stealing water, leading to "frequent water shortages in the homes of the settlers in the Hebron Hills area".

~THREAD~ Image
The article included interviews with the leader of the local settler council, the council's infrastructure manager & the head of the Hebron DCO - a high-ranking IDF officer. None of them thought to ask what might bring a person to such a point that they're forced to steal water.
Describing life in the S.Hebron Hills, the first thing our Palestinian partners will often mention is the lack of water: entire villages cut off from pipelines, needing special permits to access cisterns, paying $7.5-$15/m³ while Israelis pay ~$2.15, etc. btselem.org/video/20201029…
Not to mention the Palestinians in the Jordan Valley community of Humsa, who were left homeless yesterday after the Civil Administration decided to confiscate their tents. Yesterday's temperature there was 38-40°C (100-104F) with very little shade.
haaretz.com/israel-news/.p…
The occupation is so deeply entrenched in our lives here that many, incl. journalists, don't even notice it. We're told about 'water thieves' but no one mentions the shortages, the entirely systemic reasons why they exist. No one talks about the policy.
ochaopt.org/content/demoli…
"If you don’t have a master plan—you don’t get water, you don’t get sewage, don’t get electricity..." (Ltn, Civil Administration. bit.ly/3yzLWSx)

Read our testimony booklet for more on the policies affecting day to day life in the S.Hebron Hills:
bit.ly/3AGKC20 Image

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More from @BtSIsrael

Breaking the Silence Profile picture
22 Jun
We're at the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, for a conference on the subject of "After 54 Years: Between Occupation and Apartheid," hosted by MKs @mossi_raz and @AidaTuma.
We'll be live-tweeting. Stay with us.
@mossi_raz @AidaTuma We've only just begun, and Jewish Supremacist MK Itamar Ben-Gvir is heckling in order to close down the debate, calling the hosts of the event "terrorists". Ben-Gvir is known for having hung a picture of the Israeli mass murderer Baruch Goldstein on his living room wall.
@mossi_raz @AidaTuma Guest speaker @OmarSShakir "There are over 600 checkpoints in the West Bank that can turn a routine day into a horrifying ordeal."
Omar, Israel and Palestine director at @HRW, joins us by video link after Israel refused to renew his visa.
Read 13 tweets
Breaking the Silence Profile picture
16 Jun
BIG NEWS:
Head of IDF Central Command ends the practice of 'mapping'—invasions into homes of innocent Palestinians in the oPt. Huge credit to @sfardm's petition on behalf of @YeshDin & @PHRIsrael and a report we co-authored w/ them which described exactly what mapping looks like.
Despite our many testimonies, many claimed there's no way soldiers enter homes of Palestinians who aren't suspected of anything. Now it's clear that this was part of the IDF's routine in the oPt. It's hard to underestimate the impact of this decision on the lives of Palestinians.
Clearly, the occupation is still very much with us: soldiers will still invade Palestinian homes for other reasons and we'll have to wait and see if this decision is actually implemented. life-exposed.com/eng/
Read 9 tweets
Breaking the Silence Profile picture
21 May
The ceasefire is of course good news, and we hope it will hold out for as long as possible. But it's only a matter of time until the next round of fighting; a question of when, not if. Because as long as we continue holding Palestinians under occupation, violence is inevitable.
We may no longer be dropping bombs on Gaza from the sky—for the time being—but today, like every day for years now, we control who enters/leaves the Strip, imports/exports, airspace & sea access. Gaza is still under our control not only during the operations but between them too.
Israel sees operations in Gaza as a necessary evil—having to periodically "mow the lawn" to keep the 2million people there under control. And every time, the red lines we crossed in the previous operation become the starting point of the next one. An endless spiral of violence.
Read 7 tweets
Breaking the Silence Profile picture
15 May
A lot has been said recently about the IDF spokesperson unit conveying misleading information for operational purposes. But another less talked about aspect is the use of different messages and even personas, depending on their targeted audience.

A few recent examples >>>
In English they said our strikes on Gaza are aimed solely at terror targets, and that great efforts are made to ensure civilians wouldn’t be hurt.

In Hebrew the strikes were "the furthest thing possible from 'surgical'" & are conducted even at the price of harming civilians.
The Unit's Instagram page in Hebrew features a 'before and after' graphic of a high-rise tower block in Gaza being destroyed.

They preferred not to invite their English-speaking followers to see that harsh contrast, by not uploading any such post.
Read 5 tweets
Breaking the Silence Profile picture
14 May
What's going on in Gaza is horrifying, but it didn't come out of nowhere. The flare-up comes after months of tension bubbling under the surface across Israel & the oPt that have translated into the riots we've seen over the last few days, alongside the assault on Gaza.

~THREAD~
Kahanists (Jewish supremacists) have been fanning the flames for a long time now. Of course, this does not absolve Palestinian rioters or Hamas of responsibility. But we don't hear enough in the media about Kahanists.
Reminder:
5 months ago, 100s of Kahanists attacked Palestinians & police officers in Jerusalem. 11 were injured. Of course, their political patrons Smotrich (a former minister) and Ben-Gvir weren't calling for the rioters to be shot as they are now.haaretz.com/israel-news/.p…
Read 10 tweets
Breaking the Silence Profile picture
24 Mar
Israel woke up this morning to the horrifying reality of Kahanists (Jewish Supremacists) being elected to parliament.
We were horrified, but not surprised. Anyone familiar with the reality in the city of Hebron could see this coming from miles away.
In February, Netanyahu brokered an agreement between Kahane's disciple Ben Gvir, and Smotrich, another settler extremist, to ensure they would make it into the Knesset. But the political legitimacy given to Kahanists began long before Netanyahu made sure to have them elected.
It began when Govt after Govt bowed to the Kahanists' demands in Hebron and throughout the oPt. It began when violence against Palestinians was met with no resistance and became the easiest way to occupy more and more land.
Read 8 tweets

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