Two weeks have passed since settlers invaded the area of Mughayyir al-Deir, establishing an illegal outpost near the homes of a Palestinian shepherd community. The settlers’ violent incursion was so severe that within five days, residents fled in fear. On Sunday, May 25, 2025, the agents of ethnic cleansing returned - this time to Ras al-Ein. But this time, they were met by a large group of Israeli activists, mobilized by “Looking the Occupation in the Eye.”

The activists came to prevent yet another violent expulsion - one that, if successful, would have resulted in the removal of yet another community from its land. When the activists already present on the ground called for support, over twenty volunteers dropped everything and rushed to the Southern Jordan Valley. Urgent appeals were made to Israeli and international media. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) sent an emergency letter to the region’s top military commanding general.

Meanwhile, settlers plowed the land that once served as Ras al-Ein’s soccer field. They drove iron rods into the soil and threw out residents’ belongings. When activists argued that the land was privately owned by Palestinians, representatives of the authorities dismissed their claims. But halfway through the day, the invaders were stopped when a representative of the civil authority (department in the Ministry of Defence) ordered them to stop and leave the area.

Since October 7, dozens of shepherd communities across the West Bank have been forcibly displaced in an ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing, facilitated by state-backed organizations and settler groups.

ACRI sent a letter to the top regional military commander - who, under international law, is recognized as the highest sovereign authority in the occupied territory - demanding immediate and effective protection for Ras al-Ein and the nearby village of Ma`arjat, both located close to the settlement of Yeitav. The letter, signed by attorney Tal Hassin, states: “Among other demands, we call for explicit restraint of settlers from the nearby outpost and any other outposts, forbidding them from approaching local residents, their homes, agricultural lands, and livestock enclosures.”

The letter identifies those responsible for the latest invasion and underscores the involvement of Israeli security forces: “A military force that arrived at the scene claimed the outpost had received approval. However, the targeted lands are privately owned by Palestinians (see attached map). Tellingly, despite repeated requests, the army failed to produce any documentation to substantiate its claim regarding the outpost’s approved status.”

What happens in the West Bank largely escapes the media’s attention - except in a few outlets like Haaretz or “Local Call” website. The broader Israeli public remains disengaged. Mainstream media tends to portray the occupied territories solely through a “security” lens, focusing on terror attacks and clashes. Rarely is there any coverage of settler violence or army brutality. The public, meanwhile, shrugs: “It’s over there, beyond the mountains of darkness.”

Even Israel’s war on Gaza - marked by indiscriminate killings of women and children and deliberate starvation - has failed to generate the necessary public outcry against war crimes. The Flag March in Jerusalem last week was a showcase of settler violence and incitement, with chants like “May your village burn,” “No school in Gaza, no children left,” and “No victory without another Nakba.” These slogans and those shouting them face no condemnation, not even from the feeble opposition led by Bennett, Gantz, and Lapid.

Still, the poisonous consequences of the occupation and the settlement enterprise - now deeply entrenched within the government and shaping its policies - are beginning to seep into the Israeli public consciousness. Yet the national discourse remains focused elsewhere: the struggle to free hostages, efforts to curb Netanyahu’s power grab over the security services, debates over military conscription for the ultra-Orthodox, and the spiraling cost of living. Meanwhile, the Smotrich-Netanyahu-Ben Gvir alliance presses ahead with its campaign of ethnic cleansing, shielded by a judicial and prosecutorial system - including the Supreme Court, and the Attorney General - that has abdicated its responsibilities under international law, effectively providing a “security blanket” for both the perpetrators and those who sent them. This institutional complicity not only prevents the campaign from being halted - it is precisely why it continues unchecked.

This campaign cannot and will not stop unless the Israeli public wakes up =- understanding the direct link between the occupation and the collapse of democracy, between the war crimes in Gaza and the exemption of ultra-Orthodox from national service and its socioeconomic toll. Only then might the downward spiral be halted - a spiral that is dragging Israel’s global standing, economy, and moral fabric into ruin.

One can only hope the “Just Not Bibi” camp wakes up to this reality soon. Otherwise, the reckoning will come too late - when the warnings turn into action, and the international community responds with sanctions against the state and its citizens.

First published on the “Zman Israel” website