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Breaking the Silence Profile picture
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5 Oct, 4 tweets, 2 min read
If only this were an isolated incident. But this kind of low-key settler violence and intimidation against Palestinians happens all the time, and it's designed to send a clear message: You will never be safe here.

Here are just a few examples soldiers have testified about: >>>
"...the settlers knew that he wanted to come cultivate and harvest, so they hung up a sign, 'Mohammad's a pig' and vandalized a few olive trees."
- Judea Regional Brigade, Hebron Area, 2012
bit.ly/3lcablU
"All the time they would come and cause friction with the guys from Ein Yabrud or Yabrud, cut down the trees, beat them up."
1st Sgt., Nahal 932nd Battalion, Ramallah area, 2012
bit.ly/3mro92B
"We were [there] during the olive harvest, when Palestinians come to harvest their olives and settlers tend to come and disturb them from harvesting and mess with their agricultural crops and trees."
- 1st Sgt, Paratroopers Reconnaissance Battalion, 2016
bit.ly/3kBEhzq

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More from @BtSIsrael

Breaking the Silence Profile picture
7 Oct
Remember the story of the settler documented taking a rifle from a soldier and using it to shoot at Palestinians? Now it turns out that the IDF identified the settler, but didn't report him and are refusing to share his name. haaretz.com/israel-news/.p…
They're also refusing to say whether action was taken against the masked soldier who was seen shooting at Palestinians in May, even though one of the Palestinians ended up dead that day. Image
If that wasn't enough, even though soldiers have for months been documented protecting settlers while the latter attack Palestinians, the IDF's Advocate General says that no disciplinary action has been taken against these soldiers. Image
Read 8 tweets
Breaking the Silence Profile picture
16 Jul
This open letter, signed by 100+ former soldiers who served in the oPt, incl. several BtS members & activists, was published today in one of Israel's leading newspapers. It calls on Israel's Defense and Internal Security ministers to act now against settler violence.
The letter describes routine destruction of property, stone throwing, and physical attacks against Palestinians and even members of Israel's own security forces by violent settlers. "We were the ones sent to protect [the settlers] but weren't given the tools to deal with them."
We've written here many times about how soldiers are often seen standing by or joining in incidents of settler violence (like the one revealed yesterday). We're proud of the soldiers who chose to break their silence and say - it doesn't have to be this way.
Read 4 tweets
Breaking the Silence Profile picture
15 Jul
This stunning must-read investigation by @mekomit/@theintercept reveals that, of the 11 Palestinians killed in the West Bank on May 14th, at least four were killed in what appears to be no less than a coordinated assault carried out jointly by settlers and soldiers.

~THREAD~
The article shows, among other things, IDF officers standing beside a masked attacker as he shoots with what appears to be a military rifle. In another incident, a Civilian Security Coordinator (settler in charge of 'security') is seen instructing soldiers what to do.
We've written many times—particularly since the beginning of the pandemic, a period in which cases have soared—about violence perpetrated by settlers while IDF soldiers are seen standing idly by, or clearly in a position to stop it but decline to do so.
Read 9 tweets
Breaking the Silence Profile picture
8 Jul
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…
Read 6 tweets
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

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