Breaking the Silence Profile picture
Nov 22, 2021 19 tweets 31 min read Read on X
Settler Violence has always been an integral part of the occupation, but has seen a drastic spike in recent months. We’re at the Knesset (parliament) today to demand it be dealt with.
Follow us here for a peek into the proceedings >>> Image
A good place to start is our recent soldiers’ testimony booklet on Settler Violence, “On Duty”:
breakingthesilence.org.il/inside/wp-cont…
Starting now >>> Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin Kahanist MK Ben Gvir, a settler himself goes off. @mossi_raz: No need to bring in data, settler violence is in this very room. Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz MK @IbtisamMaraana: There is no Jewish terrorism or Islamic terrorism or Palestinian terrorism. There is simply terrorism, and it must be stopped before it is too late. Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren: We have gathered today to hear testimonies from Israelis and Palestinians who have experienced violence first-hand, listen to long-time activists, hear data from civil society orgs, a discharged soldier, and of course MKs who deal with this issue every day. Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren MK @mossi_raz: I want to share in the grief of the family of Eli Kay who was murdered yesterday. I want to say that violence should always be condemned, especially when it is against civilians, though those who condemned yesterday's violence did not mention settler violence. Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren MK @mossi_raz: This is not a phenomenon of soldiers standing by, but the whole army standing by. The police stand by. The press stands by - in fact, this issue goes almost unreported. Violence is everywhere, in every society, and we regret to see this institutional cooperation. Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren Ron Zaidel, our Director of Research also recently wrote about the inescapable conclusion that settler violence is "an inseparable part of the occupation—very hard to separate from the violence perpetrated by the state itself."
haaretz.com/opinion/.premi…
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren MK @osamasaadi63: A 150% increase in Palestinian complaints against settler violence, and many Palestinians do not complain as they do not believe in the judicial system of the occupation. Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren @osamasaadi63 Minister @NitzanHorowitz: Thank you to for the courage to bring this reality to the attention of the public. Unfortunately, incidents of physical injury, stone-throwing, even shooting, have become common. This government is committed to making a change on this issue as well Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren @osamasaadi63 @NitzanHorowitz Minister @NitzanHorowitz: Terrorism and violence should be eradicated. This is a basic position that should unite us. Unfortunately, there are those who try to downplay its severity, or even deny its existence. I invite them to go see for themselves. This should be a consensus. Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren @osamasaadi63 @NitzanHorowitz MK @ShahadehAbou: Settlement is violence and used by the state to deepen the occupation. Therefore, the state is responsible. In most cases, violent settlers are defended by the army. The state is responsible for the crime of occupation and the violence of the settlers. Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren @osamasaadi63 @NitzanHorowitz @ShahadehAbou Activist @AliAwad98822522: I grew up in Tuba in the South Hebron Hills, under the threat of settlers my whole life. The military and settlers are working to steal our resources, rob us of our freedom, and take our land. There is full cooperation between the settlers and the army Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren @osamasaadi63 @NitzanHorowitz @ShahadehAbou @AliAwad98822522 Apart from the violence itself faced by Palestinians in the West Bank at the hands of settlers, having to report it to Israeli police who time an again treat the victims as suspects can itself be an insufferable ordeal, as Awad himself wrote recently:
972mag.com/settler-violen…
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren @osamasaadi63 @NitzanHorowitz @ShahadehAbou @AliAwad98822522 @AliAwad98822522 : The road that led to Yatta now passes through Maon Farm. The last time we tried to use it, settlers attacked us. The nearest school is in the nearby village of Tawani, and settlers are attacking children on the way to school.

Reminder:
haaretz.com/israel-news/.p…
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren @osamasaadi63 @NitzanHorowitz @ShahadehAbou @AliAwad98822522 .@shaqued_morag: Our new report found that Jewish violence has a very clear address and it is the illegal outposts. It is another tool in the toolbox for taking over land, and it is a very effective tool. We see that this violence is a tool for determining facts on the ground. Image
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren @osamasaadi63 @NitzanHorowitz @ShahadehAbou @AliAwad98822522 @shaqued_morag According to @peacenowisrael report on the connection between the illegal outposts and settler violence - 63% of the violence is near illegal outposts, where about 5% of the settlers live:

The new report in Hebrew: peacenow.org.il/wp-content/upl…
@peacenowisrael @YeshDin @mossi_raz @IbtisamMaraana @shachar_keren @osamasaadi63 @NitzanHorowitz @ShahadehAbou @AliAwad98822522 @shaqued_morag MK @Michal_Rozin: The whole occupation is violent. True. However, settler violence is the extreme of Jewish supremacy. There is a serious effort to keep this reality from the Israeli public while offering excessive forgiveness to the perpetrators. It's time to stop this terrorism Image

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More from @BtSIsrael

Mar 30
Friday morning, a mob of settlers descends on the small village of Jinba in Masafer Yatta, injuring 5 Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy and a 64-year-old man. The IDF quickly responded - arresting over 20 Palestinians.

From there, it got worse 🧵
Early Saturday morning, over 140 Israelis, soldiers and settlers alike, raided Jinba. They broke TVs, refrigerators, and toilets, ripped out faucets, and dumped large amounts of food onto the ground, preventing them from eating before the day’s fast.
The IDF excuse? “Looking for weapons.” No mention of finding any. And it doesn’t seem to matter. The residents have for years been suffering from IDF raids. In 2012, soldiers turned Jinba “upside down” while failing to find an alleged headquarters for smuggling “infiltrators.”
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Mar 26
The assault on Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal this week was horrifying, but it wasn’t a rarity. Similar assaults have become routine in Masafer Yatta. There have been at least 11 serious assaults by settlers on just the small village of Susiya in 2025 alone (!)

Let’s dive deeper 🧵 Image
Last week, another partner of ours, @btselem researcher Naser Nawaj’ah, was also assaulted in Susiya. Police were seen on video letting the assailants escape. At least one assailant was also identified by activists on Monday night as one of the settlers who assaulted Hamdan.
In this video from last August, a settler was seen telling Hamdan he’d like to take him to the infamous Sde Teiman detention facility, for some “rape by the will of god.” Back then, Hamdan’s film hadn’t yet won an Oscar, so this event didn’t make the news
Read 8 tweets
Mar 18
Last night, over 400 Palestinians were reportedly killed by IDF airstrikes. Many were civilians. Children, men, women - gone. A one-sided violation to bury the ceasefire deal.

Nothing justifies this. The usual excuse of “defeating Hamas” is remarkably unconvincing. Here’s why 🧵
First of all, Hamas’ manpower has reportedly bounced back to over 25,000 combatants, around the same as was estimated before October 7th. 15 months of all-out destruction, countless thousands of innocent deaths written off as “collateral damage” - but our government survived. Image
We say this since Netanyahu’s govt is in danger of dissolving. To stabilize his chances at political survival, he needed far-right messianic settler Itamar Ben-Gvir back in his coalition. And one of Ben Gvir’s conditions for this return was a renewal of fighting in Gaza. Image
Read 7 tweets
Mar 3
Those of us who served in the oPt know the reality in the South Hebron Hills. Last night, it was exposed to the whole world on the big screen—yet remains hidden and censored from those who live right next door to it and are extremely affected by it: Israelis. Image
In Israel, there is a deep fear of confronting this reality. Soldiers are sent to maintain the occupation, then silenced when they speak out about what they did. They are not allowed to talk about the immorality, violence, or oppression. But burying the truth doesn’t erase it.
Thanks to people like @basel_adra , @yuval_abraham, Rachel Szor and Hamdan Ballal, more and more eyes are being opened to this reality. Israelis are beginning to understand—if we want a different future for this land, we have no choice but to face the truth. Even when it hurts.
Read 6 tweets
Mar 2
Last Friday, we set out with five buses carrying nearly 200 Israelis and foreigners as part of a routine tour to Hebron. But the army and police worked together to prevent us from seeing the reality for ourselves &🧵 Image
A. We were denied entry for political reasons. While the army and police waved the magic wand of “security concerns” at us, settlers were free to come and go as they like. Those who joined us saw something fundamental about the occupation: it’s not about security.
B. As Israelis, we can never fully grasp the impact of these tactics on Palestinians—violence, restrictions, arbitrary arrests. If this is how citizens and tourists are treated, it’s terrifying to imagine what Palestinians endure every day across the occupied territories.
Read 6 tweets
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Today, in the West Bank, tying your shoes outside could be a death sentence.

The IDF has recently admitted multiple times to “mistakenly” killing innocent civilians in the West Bank. But these killings can be traced back to specific orders, all of which were imported from Gaza🧵
Central Command Chief Maj-Gen Avi Bluth recently decided to make a change to the IDF’s rules of engagement in the West Bank - issuing a shoot-to-kill order for anyone who “messes with the ground,” soldiers told @yanivkub of @haaretzcom. This had dire and immediate consequences. Image
Last week, a 7-year-old boy died of his wounds, 10 days after being shot by IDF forces, who said he was “handling something on the ground.” The IDF gave the same excuse last month after a drone strike killed the Bsharat cousins - ages 8, 10 and 21.

We’ve heard this order before: Image
Read 11 tweets

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