Since the early 1980s, this quiet land of shepherds has become
dotted with Israeli settlements. These settlements are built and
subsidized by the government of Israel in arrogant disregard for
international law, under which they are illegal. They are built on
Palestinian land confiscated by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF, the
army). Recently 100 families in the area were given eviction notices
by the IDF to make room for more settlements. Israelis living in
these settlements that look more like military camps than residential
communities are well armed and given free reign by the IDF to
terrorize the local Palestinians. For years the most infamous of
these settlers has been Dov Dribin. We have heard countless first
hand accounts of Dov's brutality, including two execution style
murders in which he tied the hands of his victims before shooting
them. Dov and the other settlers in this area have romantic visions
of themselves as cowboys, claiming the land for Israel and
exterminating the "savages" who inhabit it.

On April 19, Dov and several others blocked a group of unarmed
Palestinians who were trying to get to their fields. According to
eye witness accounts, Dov and one of the Palestinian farmers began to
struggle. Dov yelled to one of his settler friends, "Shoot him!
Shoot him!". The settler shot, missed the Palestinian and killed
Dov.

Since that time, the Israeli military has used the incident as a
pretext to crack down on the Palestinian population of the area. At
least 40 Palestinian men have been arrested although no settlers have
been detained. The families of these men do not know where they are
being held, or when they will be released. Israeli law allows
Palestinians to be held indefinitely without ever having charges
brought against them. The military is conducting nightly raids
against these families, searching houses, and even going so far as to
march pregnant women across the mountains for interrogation. A few
nights ago, they took a nine year old boy away by helicopter. They
let him go in the middle of the wilderness to find his own way home.

These people are living in complete isolation. They are having their
land systematically and forcefully taken from them. There is no one
to see what is happening to them and they have no voice to summon the
world's attention.