Humanitarian Guard will mobilise to confront West Bank settlers
Standing Together writes to supporters about plans for the movement’s Humanitarian Guard.
With the world’s attention on the war in Gaza, settlers are displacing Palestinians in the West Bank and taking over land at an accelerated rate. They are carrying out their project of ethnic cleansing and territorial expansion with the support of ministers in the Israeli government, including Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, and the tacit approval of the military.
Palestinians are now experiencing the most violent period in decades. Settler attacks are forcing whole communities to pack up and leave, reconfiguring the map of the West Bank.
As settlers displace communities, they’re using a clear strategy: They establish outposts surrounding Palestinian villages, then regularly restrict the movement of residents, assault them, and steal or attack their livestock until residents feel that they have no other option but to leave their land. Sometimes, the attacks are deadly, or include setting fire to entire villages.
This, along with the military’s ongoing operations and checkpoints and closures, has created an environment of hopelessness and despair for Palestinians. But we know that there’s another way. That’s why we’re determined to bring the Humanitarian Guard, our protective presence initiative, to more areas in the West Bank where Palestinians are increasingly vulnerable. Can you help us cover the costs of transportation to high-risk areas, training for activists, and protective gear?
The Humanitarian Guard intervenes to protect lives, and we’re also sending a loud message with our actions: Jews and Palestinians on the ground can fight extremism and uphold our shared humanity. We know that not only is this violence catastrophic for Palestinians in the West Bank, it doesn’t make any of us safer. The only way to ensure real safety for all of us, Jews and Palestinians, is through a just peace on this land.
Want to learn more about what’s happening in the West Bank? Join our free, virtual screening of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” to see what life is like for residents of Masafer Yatta who are fighting displacement and violence every day. Join us on Sunday, June 15th!
| >>> Watch the trailer here <<< |
Posted 12 June 2025