After two years of war in Gaza — a war rooted in decades of occupation — the West Bank is in the midst of an ethnic-cleansing campaign accompanied by settler violence, while the army and police stand by and even assist the lawbreakers. The remaining shepherding communities in the West Bank, those who have not yet been expelled, are experiencing distress and adversity greater than ever before. All of these — and more — are the result of Israel’s failed strategy in dealing with the ongoing occupation. We stay continuously in the occupied West Bank to defend and protect the local inhabitants.
We, the activists of “Looking the Occupation in the Eye,” are all volunteers committed to human rights and to the future of this country. We stand in opposition to the occupation and work to bring it to an end. For that purpose, we maintain a continuous protective presence on the ground, operating from a structure allocated to us in Ras Ein al-‘Auja, in the southern Jordan Valley. From there, we respond to every call for assistance and conduct regular patrols using our own vehicles and those of fellow volunteer activists.
We also organize house gatherings, deliver lectures in pre-military programs, and share — both in person and across social media — information about the daily realities beyond the Green Line, information that mainstream Israeli media too often conceals from the public.
Across the country, we make the occupation — and the resistance to the war — visible week after week. We strive to persuade others that the pursuit of a political solution must be placed at the top of the national agenda. Our activities rely on funding and are made possible thanks to donations from individuals and organizations, both in Israel and abroad.
Change begins slowly and spreads gradually. So too will the shift in consciousness that Israeli society has to undergo: from the mindset of an occupier to an aspiration for a solution that will allow Palestinians in the occupied territories to live and work with dignity, and to raise their children without fear and without the terror of settlers or the army.
We ask the public to take their heads out of the sand and observe the harsh reality without softening filters: Israel, the occupier, is committing acts that, under international law, are defined as war crimes. The damage to Israeli society is immense — moral and ethical decline, violence seeping into the social fabric, and psychological scars and traumas that follow soldiers who have served in the occupied territories. We aim to put an end to these injustices and to help steer Israel into the family of enlightened nations.
