Paletinians

On July 22, in the Palestinian village of Ibziq, bright lights pierced through the tent at 12:30 a.m., jolting Baltimore, Maryland-native Nikki Morse and a fellow activist awake. The activists, both from the United States, were confronted by a masked young man who declared in accented English: “Your time is almost up.” Behind him, three others waited on an ATV. His shirt read “Artzeinu” — Hebrew for “our land.” This encounter with Israeli settlers in Ibziq provides a glimpse into the daily reality for Palestinians under constant attack in the occupied West Bank. Since Oct. 7, 2023, B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, says settler violence has reached “unprecedented levels,” with entire communities forcibly displaced, their homes demolished or confiscated, and Palestinians subjected to collective punishment, killings and torture.