Israeli activist says only ‘intervention from outside’, possibly in the form of sanctions, could convince Israeli authorities to change approach to occupied territories
Sally Hayden in the South Hebron Hills, West Bank, Thu Aug 22 2024 – 15:50
Jibreen (62), a Palestinian shepherd in the South Hebron Hills, says the activities of Israeli settlers make it close to impossible for him to continue living and working in the area. Photograph: Sally Hayden
Jibreen remembers the first time he saw an Israeli settler near his home. It was the 1990s; the man turned up, seemingly out of nowhere, and erected a tent on a nearby hill.
“There were Palestinians living all around,” Jibreen recalls. The locals contacted the police and army saying they wanted the man to leave, but they were told he was having a fight with his wife and a hard time; he needed a day or two and would go away. “After two weeks more people came with another tent and there was the presence of the army to secure them,” he says.
From that point, this area in the South Hebron Hills became a flashpoint in a much broader struggle, one that would dominate Jibreen’s life. “Us Palestinians asked the police to help us, but the police said the settlers are crazy, they can’t control them, and the Palestinians should move further away to be safer,” Jibreen says. “Our life became impossible.”
