With so many eyes on Gaza after Hamas’ horrific attack on Israeli communities and the subsequent military bombardment and ground invasion of the Strip, very few are focused on what is going on in the West Bank. Israeli settlers, backed by the government and military, are taking advantage of the situation to threaten, attack, and kill Palestinians there nearly every day. Entire villages have been forced to leave their homes under threat of violence from these settlers. More than one hundred Palestinians have been murdered in the West Bank by the soldiers and settlers since October 7th, and nearly 1,000 have been displaced. 

NIF grantees including Yesh Din, Breaking the Silence, B’tselem, Physicians for Human Rights in Israel, Association for Civil Rights in Israel and many others issued a statement last week calling for the international community to open their eyes to what is happening, and demand an end to what they are calling “forcible transfer” as well as the murder of Palestinians in the West Bank. 

“With grave concern and with a clear understanding of the political landscape, we recognize that the only way to stop this forcible transfer in the West Bank is a clear, strong and direct intervention by the international community,” they write. “Now is the time to act.”