Opinion Analysis by Roa Daher, Featured Writer

July 16th, 2021

The story of #SaveBeita is not unlike the story of any area of stolen land within Palestine. #SaveSheikhJarrah, #SaveSilwan, and the countless other movements that have stirred up against the illegal israeli occupation in recent months, but also over recent decades, are all a part of one same narrative; israel was built atop stolen Palestinian land, and building illegal settlements has to stop and Palestinians must be given the Right to Return. Instead, settlements, backed by the government or built by settlers, are only proliferating in number. What is important to note here is that while illegal settlements are not always funded by the israeli government, the israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) will provide protection to settlers who build encampments, even though they are illegal under israeli and international law. The IOF exist to ‘protect’ all israelis and to oppress and kill Palestinians.

Beita is a Palestinian village within the Nablus governate in the northwest part of the occupied West Bank. On the outskirts of Beita, at the top of Jabal Sabih, israelis set up illegal outposts in May of 2021. In response, the Palestinians of Beita have shown resistance towards the settlers in the form of protests that have been violently met because of the IOF. Since these protests began, IOF soldiers have killed 5 Palestinians, the youngest of whom are 15 and 16, for the crime of protesting against the occupation of their rightful land. Hundreds of Palestinians have been injured by live ammunition during the course of these protests, which have occurred on a daily basis since the set-up of the illegal outpost of Evyatar at Jabal Sabih. Settlers from surrounding settlements moved to the Evyatar outpost and have been living in caravans and prefabricated homes. Even though it is illegal under israeli and international law, the israeli government has provided them with necessities like water, electricity, paved roads, and protection ‘from’ Palestinians by the IOF. Ironically, many of the settlers at Evyatar have come from surrounding settlements that house notoriously violent and cruel settlers.

The Palestinians of the surrounding villages have employed targeted tactics, called ‘night confusions’, in response to this brazen attempt at settler colonial expansion. By burning tires, using horns, laser pointers, and fireworks, the Palestinians created successful disturbances to show their opinion about the settlers’ set up. Despite the casualties and people suffering from injuries at the hand of the oppressive and violent IOF, the Palestinians of Beita, Yatma, and Qabalan, have been relentless in their resistance.

The Evyatar outpost got its name after a settler called Evyatar Borovski was killed at the Zaatara checkpoint after trying to take over that land for the first time in 2013. In late June of 2021, Benny Gantz and the settlers located in Evyatar agreed that the settlers would leave the outpost but the structures that they built would remain, with no input whatsoever from the Palestinians who are most affected by this. In fact, it was agreed upon that it would be converted into a Yeshiva school. However, the residents of Beita refuse anything other than a complete evacuation of settlers from the same land that Palestinians used to grow olives trees on for decades before israel was even a word to be said. Under Naftali Bennet’s right-wing government that is insistent on expanding settlements, shooting Palestinians to kill them, and continuing the policies of the occupation, it is unclear what will be the future of the Evyatar settlement, but what is certain is that the people of Beita will not cease resistance. It is their efforts that got settlers removed from Evyatar for the fourth time this decade, and it will be their efforts that will restore the olive groves of Jabal Sabih. Nothing but the persistent resistance of the Palestinian people will free them from the illegal occupation, from river to sea.