Standing Firm Against Settler Violence and Displacement

Photo Credit: Rabbis for Human Rights

In the South Hebron Hills and beyond, settler violence and home demolitions continue to escalate. The aim is clear: to drive Palestinians from their land and fracture the communities that remain. But our grantees are fighting back—holding the line against impunity, injustice, and the machinery of displacement.

The New Israel Fund’s approach in the West Bank is to “block” some of the worst and most violent excesses through protective presence, legal pressure, public campaigns, and international advocacy. Because our grantees are not deterred. They are determined.

In the South Hebron Hills area of Masafer Yatta, Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) is a frontline presence. On April 25, settlers—one dressed as a soldier—violently assaulted RHR volunteers. One volunteer was choked, thrown to the ground, and had his phone smashed. The attack, filmed and widely reported, was a grim reminder of the lawlessness in these zones. But RHR returned just days later, this time with Norwegian diplomats. Their refusal to back down sends a clear message: we are watching, and we are not going anywhere.

Meanwhile, Yesh Din is fighting to reshape how Israelis understand settler violence. Their “Pass it On” campaign worked with the power of Jewish tradition to break through some of the Israeli public’s complacency with–or desire to just not know–what happens in the West Bank. They are constantly confronting the falsehood that settler violence is rare, well-prosecuted, or outside of the IDF’s control.

Legal advocacy, too, remains a critical tool. In the village of Susiya, the legal aid organization Haqel is demanding the removal of illegal blockades and accountability for the daily settler attacks that aim to make life unlivable. Their legal team is relentless—pushing the state to uphold basic rights where it prefers to look away.

And in a joint report titled Displaced Communities, Forgotten People Yesh Din and Physicians for Human Rights—Israel (PHRI) laid out the full scope of the crisis: the forcible transfer of Palestinians in the West Bank, which is a war crime under international law. What’s more, the report’s findings make clear that, in some areas, Israeli policy amounts to ethnic cleansing—an allegation that cannot be ignored.

This is what it looks like to push back: to document, to stand between settlers and shepherds, to press for justice in courtrooms. We stand with those who push back against violence with honesty and compassion, but also with grit, clarity, and courage. Every day.