Masafer Yatta: Holding Ground Under Occupation
Article: Aidan Frere-Smith. Illustration: Celeste John-Wood
Masafer Yatta sits at the southern edge of the West Bank. Spread across multiple villages and hamlets, the rugged landscape, characterised by deep swaying valleys of limestone rock and topped with little vegetation, is home to just a few thousand Palestinians. As a rural community, many residents live off the land, relying on the produce they raise as farmers and shepherds. Olives, wheat, milk, and cheese are harvested for flour and olive oil production, while various vegetables are cultivated in small quantities. Chickens are also part of most households.
It is a modest way of life, but tough nonetheless. The labour-intensive work is worsened by unforgiving seasons, marked by bone-piercing cold throughout winter and relentless heat during the summer months, all of which is exacerbated by ongoing human-induced climate change. But there is another pressing threat to the residents' existence: living under military occupation.
A bleak history
Following the Six-Day War of 1967, Israeli military forces occupied the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, under Jordanian control at the time, and began to establish military training areas. Declared illegal under United Nations Resolution 242, the military forces were ordered to withdraw immediately. Instead, Israel ignored international law and established military courts, among other legal frameworks, to remain an occupying force.
This laid the foundations for the expansion of settlement developments in the West Bank, as outlined in Settlement in Judea and Samaria - Strategy, Policy and Plans, published in 1980 by the World Zionist Organisation's Settlement Division. Indeed, the then Israeli Agricultural Minister Ariel Sharon, later Prime Minister in 2001, made it clear by stating that the purpose of creating military zones was 'all intended for one purpose: to provide an opportunity for Jewish settlement in the area'.
Going further, Sharon specifically instructed military forces to establish training zones for the purpose of displacing Palestinian residents, as revealed in a published transcript of a joint government meeting with the World Zionist Organisation in 1981.
Masafer Yatta was no exception; it was declared Firing Zone 918 in 1980 and expanded the following year. And so the concerted campaign to displace the Palestinian residents took root. Although efforts were underway during the 1980s, it was the establishment of the Havat Ma'on settlement in 1991 that led to a significant escalation in oppression.
Harassment, intimidation and violence, as well as arbitrary arrest and imprisonment under false charges, were all methods that became more regular and severe. So too did the attack and outright destruction of homes, schools, property and crops, in addition to the infrastructure used for necessities. Indeed, no aspect of daily life went untouched.
1999 saw an even worse turning point; occupation forces expelled approximately 700 Palestinian residents by force, destroying 12 villages and hamlets. The community responded by petitioning the Israeli Court of Justice, resulting in an interim injunction allowing the residents to return. Though their homes and livelihoods were destroyed, they were strictly forbidden to rebuild.
During this two-decade legal challenge, oppression and violence from occupational forces and settlers continued. Additionally, Havat Ma'on expanded; other settlements were established, and other outposts erected, often consisting of live-in vehicles, tents or pop-up structures. Palestinian communities became separated from each other and subsequently more isolated and vulnerable.
In 2022, the Palestinian community in Masafer Yatta lost their appeal. Now given legal approval, occupational forces pressed ahead, intensifying their ethnic cleansing efforts, starting housing demolitions within days of the judgement, and continuing into the following year. One demolition alone left 13 families, including 44 children, homeless.
Then there was October 7th, 2023. As well as sparking a genocidal response towards the people of Gaza, referred to as 'the new Nakba', the Israeli state intensified its ethnic cleansing in the West Bank through military operations, including killings, arrests, indefinite 'administrative' detentions, and demolitions. Additionally, the Israeli state provided over 150,000 military-grade firearms to settlers and settler-militias, referred to by the state as settlement 'police' and 'rapid response teams'. Over 800 have formed since October 7th.
Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta and throughout the West Bank face all forms of oppression with ever more regularity and severity, from micro-aggressive tactics such as grazing close to homes, to full-blown attacks such as shooting residents with expanding bullets. The situation is undeniably bleak.
The future is unwritten.
Amidst this great hardship, however, the Palestinian residents remain. Their continued residency, aligned with their identity and connection to the land, acts as a form of resistance and is shared among the new generations, who retain their youth and innocence. Joy of Palestinians is in itself an insult to colonial power.
This is achieved through the cultural value and political strategy of Sumud, a Palestinian Arabic term meaning steadfastness, resilience and perseverance. The Palestinian plight and subsequent resistance, often vastly against the odds, has been witnessed the world over and has had a profound effect. Other movements draw comparisons to their own struggle and openly express solidarity from Chiapas, Chile, Ireland, Rojava, and Myanmar, to name a few. International activists have also taken it upon themselves to undertake solidarity work within Palestine. Though difficult to quantify, these efforts are viewed by the Israeli state as a hindrance to its campaign of annexation and ethnic cleansing. For example, far-right ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir dedicated a police unit in 2024 to crack down on 'anarchists' involved in solidarity. However, this categorisation is more for shock value than a reflection of the political ideology of all those on the ground; those engaged in Palestinian solidarity are a melting pot of different, sometimes opposing and contradicting, ideologies. Nevertheless, they are all unified by an opposition to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.
Solidarity work has its limitations, though. Problems of white-saviourism, the focus on acquiring social capital, conflicts of interest, and internal issues are all challenges faced by solidarity movements in Palestine. However, these issues are not unique to this struggle and can be mitigated through vetting and training processes. And it is the Palestinian community who ultimately dictates whether solidarity activists are meeting their wants and needs.
The residents of Masafer Yatta have fought against occupation from one generation to the next. The oppression inflicted on them by occupation forces and settlers has progressively worsened over time. Though life is still embraced, morale may be at its lowest. Members of the community, through social media and journalist platforms, continue to call for solidarity activists to join them in their determination to remain. It is not a question of whether our efforts have an impact; it is whether we value Palestinian voices enough when they say that it does. Solidarity also reaffirms that we refuse to forget or give up.
Not everyone is in a position to take action in this way, but many can. Numbers are needed more than ever. There is no justice, but there is us. And we can act in solidarity with Palestinians as they write their own future, in Masafer Yatta and beyond.
Aidan Frere-Smith is a London-based freelance journalist and photographer with a primary focus on issues surrounding humanitarianism, environmentalism, as well as activism and grassroots initiatives and has undertaken projects in aid of both localised and international causes.
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