Israel declares Palestinian activist's home a 'military zone' after complaints of Hebron settler violence

The Israeli army has declared the home of a prominent Palestinian human rights activist a closed military zone after he repeatedly complained of settler violence, Haaretz reported.

Nobody is allowed to enter the home of Issa Amro or its surrounding areas which is situated in Hebron, a city that has witnessed repeated settler violence against Palestinians.

The order was issued by Israeli army official Yehuda Yishai Rozolio, according to Haaretz.

Amro recently set up an office for the Youth Against Settlements activist group and had complained of repeated harassment and attacks by settlers.

His lawyer, Michael Sfard, requested a criminal investigation of Rozolio over the order to bar anyone from entering, claiming that the commander was abusing his authority, Haaretz said.

Sfard said: "[The order is] so arbitrary that there is no doubt that [it was not the product of] good faith or a mistake in judgment but rather signed with the knowledge that it was not directed at the person who has been disturbing the peace and was meant to satisfy the thugs who had initiated the attacks and 'friction'."

"The Shuafat refugee camp symbolises an oppressed people who had to leave their towns and homes."

Life in Shuafat: A Palestinian refugee camp under siege

✍ @husseiniibrahim https://t.co/nxDcEk6McA

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) October 30, 2022

A number of settler attacks have been caught on video and after approaching the Hebron police three times, Amro was told each time there were no police investigators to look into his complaints.

"They don't want me to speak to foreign and Israeli audiences about the apartheid and the Israeli occupation," Amro told Haaretz.

He is now left alone in his house and is afraid to leave it due to threats he has received.

There are as many as 700,000 settlers living in the occupied West Bank, which is seen as part of Israel's attempts to annex the Palestinian territory.

The occupied territory has witnessed its deadliest period in years, with near-daily Israeli army raids and an increase in clashes between soldiers and Palestinians.

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed, wounded, and arrested.

It came in the run-up to the fifth Israeli elections in four years, which saw former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claim victory in the polls. He is poised to form a government with extreme-right groups.