“On the earth there is that which deserves life.” - note on a door in Ramallah, from a poem by Palestinian author Mahmoud Darwish.
Passed the border to Jordan today, luckily without extensive interrogations or other problems.
It is a weird feeling to be leaving, it’s strange to be by myself again for the first time in three weeks. I already miss spending time with the families and the activists. And I sense that it might take me some time to properly arrive back home and make sense of everyday life again, so it’s probably good that I have another day in Amman before heading back to Berlin, leaving some space for the transition.
A part of me would just want to stay in Palestine and continue this work. Besides all the sadness and anger that I‘m taking home with me, it is first
and foremost the inspiring solidarity among the Palestinians that I want to remember, the incredible steadfastness, the willingness and determination to resist and to stay in their land and in their homes.
I hope to be back soon.
Thank you all for your support over the past weeks and the interest and thought you’re putting into this.
--
April 29th, 2026
With little time left until I‘m leaving Masafer Yatta, I feel my heart becoming heavier and heavier. It will be sad to say goodbye to my friends and all the dear people I’ve met and gotten to know in the past weeks. I so much appreciate every single one of them, and I sense that all these experiences and encounters will take some time to sink in and will stay with me.
Last night we were at the home of a family that is now surrounded by a watchtower and a new outpost of the nearby illegal settlement. These outposts are often the first sign of a further expansion of an illegal settlement, and the settlers that stay in these outposts are often the ones to harass and attack the nearby families, trying to scare them and wear them out and eventually lead them to give up and leave their homes. Upon our arrival yesterday, three settler teenagers were up close to the family‘s home. In the days prior the settlers had built roadblocks and chased people, in addition to burning the family‘s car and throwing rocks at the house, destroying almost all windows.
They left soon after our arrival and luckily also didn’t come back during the night this time.
Instead we had plenty of time to spend with the many kids of the family, playing football and other little games, teaching each other magic tricks, drawing, sitting together in a big room with the whole family, talking to each other.
Israeli settler, looking at us, harassing a Palestinian family, letting his goats destroy their plants and property.
Unfortunately though, the following day wasn’t as peaceful, as one of the settlers from the illegal outpost decided to enter the Palestinian family’s property with his goats, letting them graze through their garden, getting them to destroy all kinds of plants and eat from olive trees, while coming up close to us, trying to threaten both the family and us activists. The family called the police which never came, but after three hours the settler eventually left the property with his goats, stealing the football that we had played with with the kids the night before.
This group of young settlers though seems to be particularly aggressive and violent – when we were picked up in the evening and swapped for other activists that would stay with the family for the night, the settlers picked up stones, masked themselves and came running from their outpost towards the car, trying to attack us. Since this had happened a few times before, we were luckily prepared and could quickly escape through another road.
In general, the violence and attacks seem to be increasing again these days. Last night, the Israeli army raided a family‘s home in one of the nearby villages with no apparent reason.
Yesterday, we saw heavy demolition vehicles transported through the area, that today went to demolish Palestinian houses and a well in a village nearby.
This morning, in one of the places I had been in the first days of my time here, the Israeli army arrested two Palestinians, basically because a settler told them to.
In another village, an Israeli settler attacked a Palestinian father and his son, who are now in a hospital while the settler is back in his home.
The Israeli army closed the gate at the entrance to Tuwani, adding Israel flags to both sides of it.
This occupation, the ethnic cleansing and this system of racist apartheid, as described in a recent report by the UN, are no longer just something that I read as a news report from far away, they are what I’ve witnessed here over the past weeks, they are the daily reality of the dear people that I’ve gotten to know here, people that have shared their story with me, welcomed me to their homes and lives, people with whom we shared meals, witnessed and appreciated each others presence, people that hold a place in my heart now.
These people are the ones that face this daily reality of violence, harassment and provocation from the Israeli settlers, the Israeli army and police. They are the people that live under a different (military) law than the ones that occupy their land, they are the ones whose children are being shot by settlers or the army, or held in jail without reason or a court case, they are the ones whose freedom of movement is heavily restricted or not existent at all, they are the ones whose children can‘t go to school because the settlers and army blocked their path with a fence of razor- barbed wire. These people are the ones whose towns are closed off with a gate whenever the Israeli army wants to (just like it happened the other night in Tuwani, with the army also adding several Israel flags to the gate, just like they can be seen all along the main road here, reminding Palestinians of the occupation wherever they look and go).
They are the ones whose homes are being demolished, they are the ones seeing new settler outposts being set up closer and closer to their homes. They are the ones that hear the sound of machine guns at night, not sure if it’s from the Israeli army‘s training/firing zone or if it is an attack on Palestinians.
The Palestinians that I’ve met here are the people who, when being attacked by settlers, see that the Israeli army and police don’t care about them but instead protect their perpetrators and arrest the victims, or simply side with the settlers and join them in their attack.
I‘ll leave with a heavy heart.
--
April 28th, 2026
Flock of sheep, and the cutest donkey.
Just got back from spending a day with a shepherd and his lovely family, accompanying them in their daily routine of shepherding their flock of sheep and goats, and manually harvesting wheat.
We started with a long walk through the area, from their home to the grazing grounds, and there are moments like these where I face the beauty of this land and ask myself the naïve question how people like the settlers can be as violent and hateful when being surrounded by the humbling presence of nature and landscapes like these around them.
Being out and about was a welcome change of scenery since most days are about staying put in a specific location, waiting, not being able to move much.
Quite often the shepherds here get attacked by settlers, that try to threaten or assault them or steal their sheep. Luckily all went well and no settlers showed up today, and instead we got to spend a good time outside in the sun together, including a lot of sweet tea and a lovely meal for lunch that the mother and the kids brought.
Breakfast at one of the families that we stayed with.
Tea and food play a big role in feeling welcome here, I got to drink so much tea and share many delicious meals with the families over the past weeks, tasted the best za’atar, local olive oil and home-baked bread.
Being in one of the most rural areas of Palestine means that we as activists (who mostly come from urban areas in the privileged and so called western world) try our best to be sensitive and mindful of local culture and ways of being, regarding the way we behave and dress, staying away from imposing our own standards and conventions on people here. I often wonder what it must be like for the families to have another pair of activists from far away countries coming to their home each day, which makes me even more appreciate the way we’re being welcomed here and get to be a part of their everyday life.
I’ve come to really enjoy the togetherness and being around people all the time, and it might feel quite strange to spend time by myself again soon.
Also at night we often sleep in the same room with the whole family, sometimes separated by perceived gender, and by now I’ve gotten used to bright lights staying on all the time, people smoking inside or scrolling through loud videos half of the night.
Being a light sleeper isn’t very handy here, and I’ll come home with a pretty massive lack of sleep (often it’s not more than 3-5 hours per night), mostly though because we try to stay alert to noises from outside, figuring out if the dogs are just barking at each other or if they are barking because settlers are approaching the property – just like it happened the other night, when three armed settlers/soldiers showed up and raided a shed with farming equipment of the Palestinian family that we were staying with. They left somewhat soon after we headed out, and it was unclear what they were planning or looking for, but it for sure left all of us with an uncomfortable feeling.
Armed Israeli settlers & soldiers raiding a Palestinian family’s property at night.
--
April 26th, 2026
Last night we stayed in Susya, one of the many villages in the Masafer Yatta area. With each day I get a better understanding of the geography here, learning the routes and names of places, knowing which family lives where, and also understanding the different locations of the many illegal settlements that the Israeli government has installed here over the last decades, as well as the closed military zones and firing zones, that have been established in order to expel Palestinians from their homes.
The place we stayed at last night is home to a kind elderly couple that is terrified after a recent incident, in which settlers had stolen a car from Palestinians and set it on fire right in front of the home of the elderly couple.
Thankfully, last night was quiet and I was happy that I also got to meet my friend Hamdan, who lives close by and came over for a tea. He told me more about the brutal attack by settlers and army last year, which leaves not only him but also his young daughter traumatized to this day, after she had to see her father being assaulted, beaten up and abducted right in front of her. Just recently there was another attack on the home of Hamdan‘s family, this time targeting Hamdan‘s brother.
One of the notorious illegal settlers with his sheep
The things we witnessed and documented in the past two days have been similar to the days before: harassment and provocation from the settlers, trespassing Palestinian land, threatening families, several times a day.
All of what I‘ve been seeing here so far though can be considered as relatively quiet days, compared to what it‘s like here usually, or compared to the news from other parts of the West Bank these days.
One of the families that was recently attacked was the one that I stayed with the other day, where we played hide-and-seek with the children. Two days later, during daytime, when no activists were present at his home, the father of the family was assaulted and pepper-sprayed by Israeli settlers.
Hearing and experiencing all of this hits so much harder after getting to know all these people personally, forming connections, feeling so welcomed here.
It‘s hard to grasp that all of this is people‘s reality here, and that the world just seems to be standing by.
--
April 24th, 2026
Time’s passing by quickly here, now it’s only a bit more than a week until I’m starting the trip back home again.
In between time with the families it has been really good to also get to spend time with my friend Basel, catching up, hearing how he is doing and how he views the current situation. Besides activism, journalism and all the other things he’s doing, he’s busy preparing for the upcoming local elections here in the villages, which will be held tomorrow. Together with a group of friends they decided to run for village council, aiming to represent the younger generation’s voices.
My head is full of impressions, the many encounters with people, the Palestinian families, and also all the other international activists.
Right now we’re around 6-8 people from ISM here, a group of kind and lovely people from different parts of the world, with diverse backgrounds in age, activism and personality. One of us is an endearing retired professor in their 70’s. I find it very inspiring that they decided to use their time to come here and be in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Apart from us there are also other activist groups here that do Solidarity Presence, a group of Italian activists, and a larger group of Israeli activists as well. Since we don’t have a functioning car at the moment, they’re kindly helping us out with giving us rides to and from the different locations. All of the groups are constantly communicating with each other, be it about an urgent call for presence somewhere, about who is going to which family in the evening or who’s going to spend time with people while shepherding or harvesting during the day and documenting what is happening in which location. There’s a group of Palestinian coordinators that determine the different needs and requests of the families and then makes the decisions and assignments based on the number of activists that are here. Since the war on Iran, the number of activists on the ground has unfortunately been lower than usual, while the demand for presence has only increased.
I carry a lot of love for each person that decides to be or come here and dedicate their time and show up in solidarity.
– and above all I feel a lot of love and admiration for the Palestinians and their solidarity among each other, trying to help each other out, having been in this struggle for generations now. Like Basel’s cousin said the other day: Every Palestinian that lives and decides to stay here is an activist, resisting the occupation through their steadfastness and the unwillingness to give up.
--
April 22nd, 2026
In the midst of all the daily violence and cruelty that the occupation forces on to people, there are also moments of joy and togetherness, essential to all resistance.
One of the other dear activists and me are asked to stay with a family that has recently been facing more and more settler activity close to their property, with settlers staying in a tent very close to the family’s house for a long period now already, possibly marking an attempt to create a new illegal outpost.
The family that we’re staying with is welcoming us with incredible kindness, just like so many other families here have done before as well, and especially the kids of the family seem to be curious to meet yet another two activist ajanebs (foreigners), just as much as we’re happy to get to know them, exchanging and teaching each other new words in arabic and english.
From when we arrive, a settler shepherd and his sheep can be seen grazing on the family’s property, the settler pointing at all of us, making obscene and threatening gestures.
After he finally leaves, the kids and us celebrate with racing around the house and playing hide-and-seek for a long while until it’s dark.
It’s encouraging and admirable that despite of it all, there seems to be an incredible steadfastness (sumud), an unbreakable will to resist the occupation and not let that take all joy away.
Later on, in a lengthy conversation with the family’s father, he tells us that his two eldest sons have been in administrative detention (military jail) for a long time already now, unclear when they’ll return. Administrative detention is a commonly used tool by the Israeli army, holding people in jail without a trial, without them even having committed an offense, solely on the ground of the person potentially breaking the law in the future (you can find a more detailed definition here).
Meanwhile, in the village of al-Mughayyir, close to Ramallah, two young men were killed in an attack by settlers and Israeli army yesterday (here’s an article by the BBC), once again reminding us of the grim reality that people are facing here.
--
April 20th, 2026
Settler with his flock on Palestinian property. If the poor sheep only knew what they’re being misused for.
Another two days where I witness, now with my own eyes, the common, daily forms of provocation and harassment: A shepherd from an illegal Israeli settlement is walking his flock of sheep through the garden and property of the Palestinian family that we‘re staying with, walking up close to us, trying to seem menacing, and letting his sheep graze the grass and plants on the property.
Later on, a couple of similar incidents happen, including a settler on an ATV driving through the property, chasing animals, trying to look threatening.
Israeli settler in an ATV in the garden of a Palestinian family.
It is hard and upsetting to just stand by and only document what happens. It is even harder to imagine that this is people‘s daily reality, provocation and harassment, and always having to fear that worse things and attacks might happen at any time during the day and night.
And the incident from the day before shows that calling the police or hoping for a justice system often doesn’t seem to be a viable option, when it is the victim that gets persecuted, while the perpetrators are being protected.
With this in mind, it also becomes clearer to me why it is so important that we stick to what the Palestinians that we’re here with ask from us, and why holding on to a strict principle of (also verbal) non-violence is not only a personal belief, but also an important strategy: Anything else might lead to even more severe repercussions for the people that we‘re here for and in solidarity with.
Protest agains the razor-barbed wire that’s blocking the children’s path to their school.
Meanwhile, in the early morning, in another location close by there is a demonstration where kids protest against a razor-barbed wire fence, that was recently installed by the Israeli army and now blocks the path that the kids used to walk to school each day. This basically makes it impossible for the children from this particular village to reach their school, since the land of an illegal Israeli settlement and its outpost begin exactly at the end of both sides of the barbed wire, marked with big Israel flags. Removing the fence or stepping onto this land would near immediately result in settler attacks or the army being called to the site (when they’re not anyway already policing the fence on-site), which means that the kids won’t be able to go to school for the foreseeable time.
It is a very literal example that shows how restricted access to education is a cruel and commonly used tool as part of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank.
Somehow these days I’ve often found myself thinking of my beloved nieces, nephews and the kids of my friends back home. I fail to imagine what it would be like if it was them growing up in conditions like these.
--
April 18th, 2026
During the day three of us went to Al-Khalil (Hebron) yesterday, where we documented the situation around the friday prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque. The city is one of many shocking examples of the illegal settlement politics here, where settlers have created an illegal settlement and outposts right within the old city of Hebron, slowly pushing out the Palestinians from their city.
Right in front of the entrance to the Ibrahimi Mosque the Israeli army has installed a checkpoint, that Palestinians have to go through to visit the Mosque, often facing restrictions and harassment from the Israeli soldiers, leading to a decline of people that visit the Mosque (more on all of that here).
Back in Masafer Yatta two of us spent another night at another very friendly family, that invited us to their home, sharing their food and hospitality with us. We’re always sleeping fully dressed, in case something comes up at night. Luckily it was a quiet night again, but then in the morning we caught sight of a shepherd from a nearby illegal settlement who was letting his sheep graze on the Palestinian family’s land. It is a very common provocation that the family already seems used to, in this case deciding to not tell him to leave, in order to avoid even bigger trouble.
In another area of Masafer Yatta a similar situation yesterday led to an abduction of a Palestinian man by the Israeli army. The man had asked a settler to leave the land of the Palestinian family that he was grazing his flock of sheep on, but the Israeli soldiers that arrived soon after didn’t enforce the departure of the settler but instead handcuffed, blindfolded and abducted the Palestinian man. These unlawful detentions present a recent new form of harassment which has been on the rise in the past weeks and months (see the following article).
In yet another location nearby a group of settlers spent the whole day attacking and harassing Palestinian women and men on their property, and stealing a huge amount of wheat from their field.
Incidents like these seem to be the sad and shocking daily reality.
--
April 17th, 2026
The outpost of a settlement, viewed from the palestinian family’s home.
After a long trip to Masafer Yatta, I almost right away went on to one of the families in the area to provide solidarity presence for the evening and night, together with another activist. We always go everywhere at least two of us together.
The family we stayed with is facing an illegal settlement and its outpost right opposite from their home. After the settlers had demolished the family’s home, stolen their animals and greenhouse, burnt their car and poisoned their well, the family had already temporarily left their place, but then decided to come back and rebuild, asking activists to try and offer day and night presence while the settlers continue their harassment.
Luckily, this time everything was quiet. We sat outside together for a while, and I got to try and use my few words of Arabic, talking to the family. Sleep wasn’t too good, but I’d rather be kept awake by mosquitos and barking dogs than by attacking settlers.
In times where the settlers are seemingly less and less fazed by the presence of internationals, we wondered if it was just a lucky break, or if our presence does perhaps sometimes make a difference after all.
More importantly, as long as the family keeps asking for activists’ support and presence, this is what we do.
--
April 16th, 2026
View from the minibus station in Ramallah
Today I’m on my way to Masafer Yatta, leaving Ramallah. Looking forward to visit and see my two filmmaker friends again, and being with people and families in the area, in solidarity and support.
I’m in one of the yellow mini busses (“service”) which are some sort of communal taxis. Travelling in between towns shows how severely restricted and obstructed travel and movement is for Palestinians in the West Bank: Numerous checkpoints, roadblocks, the over 700km long separation wall, a segregated road system with plenty of roads that the palestinian cars with their green license plates can’t use, make it incredibly difficult to travel, requiring massive detours, lengthening trips by hours.
Meanwhile the expanding system of bypass roads that are only for the use of the yellow plate israeli-licensed cars, connecting the illegal settlements, is further cutting off palestinian towns and roads from each other, cementing a de-facto annexation.
Further reads on the topic: A recent article by The Guardian, a report by the UN, and a helpful overview with maps by Al-Jazeera.
--
April 14th, 2026
Spending a couple of days in Ramallah, preparing for Solidarity Presence and the time on the ground which will start on thursday.
Good to meet and get to know some of the other ISM activists that I’ll be spending that time with. Read more about ISM and its principles (Palestinian-led, non-violent, consensus-based, anti-oppression) here.
When it comes to personal and sensitive information, names and exact locations, things here will unfortunately have to stay somewhat vague and anonymous, given the high amount of repercussions that Palestinians and activists have to fear from illegal settlers, Israeli army and government these days.
Always feel free to message me if there are specific things you want to learn more about.
--
April 12th, 2026
Got up early to cross the border at King Hussein Bridge this morning.
The crossing itself took two and a half hours, which seems to be very little in comparison to what others and mostly Palestinians have to endure there.
After passing the jordanian checkpoint, one boards a shuttle bus to the israeli checkpoint, where people face another security screening and plenty of intense questioning about the reasons for wanting to enter the country. I was interrogated by three different Israeli border guards, luckily without being denied entry at the end.
(Read more about the increasing numbers of activists being denied entry, deported or getting their ETA revoked)
Crossing so many borders in so few days, I get reminded of what an inhumane and deeply racist concept borders and passports represent to me(and this one in particular), and how much privilege I carry with me that I got to pass them.
I highly recommend reading this article on the humiliating restrictions that Palestinians face when crossing that very same border: https:// www.972mag.com/allenby-bridge-west-bank-ordeal/
--
April 11th 2026
Arrived in Amman, both the flight and the entry to the country were very easy, uncomplicated and friendly.
It always remains a weird feeling how quick airplanes transport our bodies from one place to another, far away from where we started.
My body has arrived, everything else hopefully follows soon.
From the airplane window, somewhere above Syria.