The week began with reports of a shooting attack in the Kokhav Ya'ir area. Haim Klomity, 55, a member of the emergency response squad of Tzur Natan, was killed. Five others were wounded, two of them seriously. The shooter, a resident of Tayibe, was killed.
Other news: Trump alternated between threats and promises of a settlement, while restrained exchanges continued in the Gulf between Iran and the United States. The ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel remained fragile. The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes in Iran, and in response missiles were launched toward Israel on Monday. Shelter doors were opened once again, and the opening of Hebrew Book Week was postponed by a day.
In the Knesset, which is heading toward dissolution, Netanyahu's coalition continued its frenzy of anti-democratic legislation. On Thursday, Tel Aviv police prevented a woman from entering the Pride Parade because she was wearing a shirt bearing an anti–Ben-Gvir slogan.
Day after day, settlers attack Palestinian villages throughout the West Bank and harass farmers and drivers under the army's unwatchful eye—a routine that rarely receives news coverage. This week, Yotam Jacobson, an activist with Looking the Occupation in the Eye (Mistaclim LaKibush BaEinayim), took part in a protective presence activity in Khirbet a-Tawil. His account appears below.
"The days are growing longer and hotter. The fields are completely dry and dusty. The nights are still cool, with a pleasant breeze, but it seems that the hatred of the settler thugs is heating up just like the weather.
"The residents of the area hoped that with the departure of Yedidya, who was documented running over sheep, they might get some respite from the relentless harassment. But their hopes were dashed. The sheep-runner's place—his whereabouts known to us yet somehow invisible to the police—is being filled by other youths. Like their predecessors, they are learning how to intimidate, harm, and vandalize instead of studying core subjects in school.
"A few nights ago, settler thugs sneaked into the residential tent of Imad and his wife. They climbed up and removed the security camera, and with no footage being recorded, entered the tent and brutally beat the elderly couple as they slept. Imad suffered a head injury, and his wife sustained bruises.
"Imad says he knows exactly who assaulted him. He recounts that a few days earlier, Jackson, owner of the neighboring outpost, came and questioned him about the whereabouts of his children. One may reasonably assume that the villains did not choose Imad and his wife by chance. They always seek out the weakest links, and in Khirbet a-Tawil they are the only elderly couple living alone, without children.
"Following the attack, the couple called local residents and activists who were nearby. The police and the army were also summoned, but they never arrived. Perhaps they could not find the way in the darkness of the night.
"Today, shortly before sunset, two youths from Jackson's farm galloped toward one of the Palestinian shepherds. When they reached him, they claimed he had thrown stones at them and immediately called the army. And lo and behold—the army arrived at once. Two military vehicles packed with soldiers sped toward the illegal outpost. After what appeared to be an 'investigation,' they toured the area and one of the vehicles drove to the shepherd's home.
"The shepherd was not there, but his family was: his parents and brother. After a brief exchange, the soldiers put the father into the jeep and took him away. An arrest warrant? Grounds for arrest? Evidence justifying detention? Don't make me laugh.
"The family was left behind, watching the departing jeep with tears in their eyes. Venus and Jupiter shone in the sky, but neither beauty nor justice was present in the event. Time and again, it becomes clear that a mere tweet from a settler is enough to mobilize significant forces, while physical injuries, property damage, theft, and Palestinian testimony are treated as if they do not exist.
"The detained father was taken a few kilometers away to the Gitit Junction, where additional military forces were waiting. Ostensibly, they questioned him, though everyone understood it was a performance: nothing had happened, and there was nothing to ask about—certainly not of him, since he had not even been present at the alleged incident, which never occurred.
"Following pressure from various parties, he was released. They told him, 'Go home.' The father stood his ground and replied: 'You took me from my home, and you will return me there. I am not willing to pass alone by the illegal outpost, and do not expect me not to react if I am attacked.'
"Contrary to the common practice among the security forces, who often leave detainees wherever it suits them and expect them to find their own way home, they decided to drive him back.
"Later that night, we conducted a vehicle patrol to make sure no one was sneaking into Palestinian homes under cover of darkness, as happens again and again. The settler thugs spotted us and immediately chased after us in the Ranger vehicle that we finance for them, blinding us with powerful lights, seemingly intent on reminding us—as always—that they are the ones in charge.
"I invite you to hear more from me about what is happening on the ground, to join a tour, and of course to become part of the activist teams who refuse to stand by and allow this horror to unfold without trying to prevent it—or at least delay it. Come join us."
Also this week:
After a one-day delay, Hebrew Book Week opened on Wednesday. Below is an excerpt from Final Chapters, a book weaving together the writings of the late Talma Admon, a Mistaclim activist, published by Nine Souls Press (Tesha Neshamot).
"In dystopian films, this is the character of the exterminator who runs about annihilating the human race. A complete emotional numbness toward anyone outside his own group enables him to kill without hesitation. Pleas do not move him. No rational argument penetrates the armor of his robotic fanaticism.
"In the Israeli case, anyone who is not a settler is an enemy. It is important to understand this, because while the state bombs Hamas, it allows the exterminators within its midst to roam armed and bloodthirsty throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem. These people are bringing upon Israel its greatest and ultimate disaster.
"There is a direct connection between the unrestrained behavior of a police officer who feels authorized to pollute the public sphere with verbal abuse and beat demonstrators, and settlers who establish illegal outposts under divine authority and governmental approval. That close connection—woven masterfully from poisonous threads of total moral collapse and rings of ethical disintegration—has tightened and flourished in the shadow of the suffering of others: the residents of the Gaza border communities and the masses of Gazans."
.png)
