“We live each day fearing that we may be shot or killed, and in constant fear of being attacked and beaten.”
These are the stark words of Najwa, a Palestinian farmer in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, whose land, family and community are under daily attack.
Israeli settlers have stolen their livestock, trampled their crops, destroyed their greenhouses, broken into their home and attacked them with pepper spray. The relentless campaign of violence, harassment and intimidation has driven most of Najwa’s neighbours off their land; only a few families remain in the valley.
Today, settler violence in the occupied West Bank has soared to its highest level since UN monitoring began in 2006, with an average of six attacks recorded each day.
Settlers have shot and stabbed children, committed sexual violence, and set fire to mosques - yet they benefit from near-total impunity. Palestinian women and girls are at particular risk: not only do they face violence and harassment from settlers, but they are also often forced to stay at home for protection, cutting them off from education and reproductive healthcare.
