Historical context

Since the Oslo Accords, the West Bank has been divided into three zones: zone A, theoretically under total control of the Palestinian Authority, zone B, under Palestinian administrative and Israeli security control, and zone C, totally controlled by the Israeli authorities, which corresponds to 60% of the occupied territory and where the illegal settlements under international law are located.

• The village of Susya, a village in the Masafer Yatta region, is in zone C, very affected by occupation and colonization.
• Not far from the town, the Israeli army seized 3,000 hectares of land to make it a “restricted military zone”, called “918 firing zone”, where the movement of Palestinians is limited.
• And above all, the village adjoins an Israeli setttelment, also called Susya, established since 1983 by settlers with radical ideology.
• Although the Palestinian presence in Susya has been established since the beginning of the 19th century, the town is not recognized by the State of Israel. Since the 1980s, the village has been destroyed seven times. The last demolition dates from 2014. Three houses were razed. Each time, the residents rebuild, they don't want to leave.
• In 2012, the village first applied to enter the Israeli-administered master plan, which allows West Bank localities to be recognized for avoiding demolition and being connected to water and electricity networks.
• After two refusals, Susya launched a third request.
• In Susya, 300 Palestinians live in makeshift and precarious settlements. Building real houses leads to their destruction by the Israeli army. On the roofs of houses, residents installed tarpaulins to hide from Israeli drones. As Susya is not recognized by Israel, residents are prohibited from building new facilities. But families are growing.
• The size of the area designated for declaration is the largest since the Oslo Accords, and the year 2024 marks a peak in the extent of declarations of state land. Since the beginning of 2024, Israel has declared 23,700 dunams of the West Bank as State Lands.

Recurrent events

• Palestinian villagers face increasing violence and threats of expulsion from radical Israeli settlers and the Israeli army.
• Activists from Jewish Voice for Peace, documenting the incidents, report daily provocations by settlers who damage Palestinian farmlands by bringing their sheep to graze on them.
• Villages like Susya and At-Tuwani are heavily impacted. Despite being officially recognized by Israel, At-Tuwani's residents suffer attacks by settlers from nearby Israeli colonies. These attacks, including an incident where a local man, Zakaria Adra, was shot by a settler without any intervention by Israeli soldiers, are common.
• The UN has reported that the growing settler violence and expansion could amount to war crimes.

Consequences on the safety and livelihoods of Palestinians Farmers

• Crops destroyed by settlers, further worsening economic hardships.
• Despite reporting these incidents to Israeli authorities, there is little hope for justice.
• The situation has left the community feeling isolated, constantly under threat, and forced to patrol their lands to defend against further settler aggression. Despite the pressure, some villagers remain determined not to leave their land.

Chronology

• Since October 7, 2023, Israeli army restrictions and settler violence have increased south of Hebron, in the Masafer Yatta region of the West Bank. Palestinians are fighting to preserve their right to stay on their land.
• On October 16, 2023, Settlers attack Susya, block all its entrances with bulldozers, and destroy two water wells, fences, and areas planted with trees.
• On October 20, 2023, two weeks after the start of the war, the Israeli army closed access to my village, Susya, with huge blocks of stone. It has become inaccessible for those who have a small car.
• On October 29, 2023, settlers issued an ultimatum that if the villagers of Susya do not vacate in 24 hours they will return to kill residents.
• On February 3, 2024, Israeli forces beat a young Palestinian man and arrested him while he was with his family on their land near the village of Susya in Masafer Yatta.
• On March 17, 2024, Israeli extremists settlers attacked residents of Susya village. As well several shepherds has been chased by settlers in Massafer Yatta Israeli soliders confiscated a tractor for a farmer in Sheap al-Botom village.
• On April 2, 2024 : two different attacks in two different places. Israeli settlers attacked and harassed Palestinian shepherd and the international activists in susya an Al_Asayfer villages, adn injuring a young man.
• On May 23, 2024, activists staying with a threatened family discovered a fire in a nearby field started by a Molotov cocktail. The day before, Shem Tov Luski, from the "Susya Kaduma" outpost, visited the village with a young boy who threatened to kill a local resident. Although police were called to investigate, the responding officer, a settler from a nearby community, asked a few questions and quickly left without taking further action.
• On July 4, 2024,The Higher Planning Council (HPC) approved today and yesterday (3-4/7/24) the advancement of 5,255 housing units in dozens of settlements throughout the West Bank. The building plans include the expansion of settlements deep within the West Bank and the legalization of three outposts : Mahane Gadi, Givat Hanan (Susya East), and Kedem Arava as “neighborhoods” of existing settlements. Israeli Minister Strook described these months as 'like a time of miracles' in a recent recording where she spoke to Givat Hanan settlement residents near Susya about the increased construction in the occupied West Bank.
• Givat Hanan (Susya East) (Plan 513/5) – The approval of the plan for the deposit of 107 housing units in the Susya settlement is actually intended to legalize the Givat Hanan outpost, which was illegally established in 2019. The outpost is located across an intercity road, disconnected from the Susya settlement. However, to avoid the need to declare a new settlement, it was decided to consider it a “neighborhood” of Susya and plan the construction of a bridge over intercity Road 317 to connect the two settlements.
• On Augustus 4, 2024, masked Israeli settlers attacked foreign activists who were accompanying Palestinian farmers.

Source 1 Source 2, Palestine-Massafer Yatta. Activist &human right defender. Source 3 source 4