The Masafer Yatta region is known for its resilience and resistance to Israeli efforts to displace and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from the area. It is also known for the ferocity of attacks and pressure put on the communities to force them to leave their homes: settler violence, home demolitions, restrictions on movement, arrests, prevention of access to resources, and expanding land takeovers and seizures.

When shepherds are unjustly arrested — often on bogus charges levied by settlers — they must pay large bail fees in order to be released. Shepherds who are unable to shepherd their flocks due to settler harassment and violence are forced to purchase expensive feed, an unsustainable solution. When homes, cars, water tanks, solar panels, or trees are damaged or destroyed, communities must pay to rebuild, repair and, if necessary, purchase temporary shelters. Legal fees to fight for their land are expensive and unending. Medical expenses after settler-state attacks and violence pile up, including for animals that are attacked and injured. Unemployment is rampant as work in Israel, and in Palestinian cities, has been severely reduced. Nearly the entire livelihood of these communities has been suffocated and shut down.

Our friends at the Center for Jewish Nonviolence have launched a general fund for emergency costs incurred by settler-state violence in Masafer Yatta