Khirbet Susiya, South Hebron Hills: Soldiers known to locals as settlers drive Palestinian shepherds and Israeli activists out of pastureland at gunpoint

On Thursday morning, 29 Feb. 2024, two soldiers that residents recognize as area settlers entered pastureland northwest of Susiya while several village residents were grazing flocks there, escorted by Israeli activists. One of the soldiers shouted at the shepherds, aimed a gun at them, demanded to see the activists’ ID cards and refused to reveal his own identity. He also ordered the shepherds and activists to leave the area, claiming it was a closed military zone declared by a military order reissued monthly, yet refused to present the order. One of the soldiers pushed one of the shepherds and called the activists “terrorist supporters” and “antisemites”. Both soldiers threatened the Palestinians and told them they would all be gone in a month, as Khirbet Susiya would be entirely demolished in a “nakba” like the one in Gaza. One of the activists called the police and sent them a location, but no police officers arrived, despite a patrol car passing by. When the activists called the police again, an officer informed them the police would not come as there were soldiers there. The soldiers eventually left.

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