Jean-Emile Jammine is pleased to welcome Eid Hathaleen, Palestinian artist, human rights activist and lifelong resident of the Bedouin village of Umm al-Kheir in Masafer Yatta, in the occupied West Bank. He describes for us the systematic normalisation of daily settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Drawing from personal loss and years of field research, he argues that what Palestinians in communities like his are experiencing is not random wanton violence, nor isolated confrontations, but what he describes as an organized structure of extreme intimidation designed to force out its inhabitants. Having lost members of his own family, having himself been interrogated by Israeli authorities, he takes us inside the mechanics of ruthless settler violence and relentless attacks, even targeting the most vulnerable, including children at school. He shares the daunting task of pursuing justice through a legal system he says routinely fails Palestinian communities, and the deeper political objective he believes underpins much of this violence: the forced displacement and expulsion of Palestinians from their land.
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Umm al-Kheir residents claim houses set on fire, brutality © france24
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