WRITE A MESSAGE
Lieutenant General
Eyal
Zamir
Israeli military
Lieutenant General Zamir, I am writing to demand the immediate return of the forcibly displaced residents of Zanuta to their village in the South Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank, as per your obligations under both international law and the orders of Israel’s Supreme Court. Between 27 October and 1 November 2023, the entire community of Zanuta, home to 250 Palestinians, including 100 children, were forced to pack up their belongings and flee the village where their ancestors had lived since the 19th century, as a result of recurrent violent raids and attacks by Israeli settlers from a nearby illegal outpost. Nearly three years on, the community remains displaced and fragmented and unable to return to its homes, despite numerous attempts to go home. On 29 July 2024, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the Israeli police and the military to facilitate the safe return of Zanuta's residents and protect them from settler violence. On 3 February 2025, the Court reaffirmed this obligation, ordering the same authorities to facilitate the community's return, remove trespassers, and allow residents to rebuild structures that were destroyed since their displacement. Two years from the first Supreme Court ruling, Israeli authorities are yet to enforce these orders, and the village of Zanuta risks permanent erasure. As an occupying power, Israel has the obligations to protect the lives and livelihoods of the Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including those of Zanuta, and to prevent settler violence and investigate and prosecute those responsible for offences against them. The presence of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law and as such Israeli settlements and outposts, which are also illegal under Israeli law, must be removed. I therefore urge you to act swiftly to immediately ensure the safe return of the Palestinians of Zanuta to their lands, protect them from any form of violence by settlers, provide effective remedy and reparations for the harm caused by settlers, and the Israeli authorities’ failure to prevent attacks by settlers and to secure residents’ return to their homes, as ordered by the Supreme Court. I call on you to ensure that Palestinians from Zanuta are, allowed to rebuild their homes, livelihoods, and community infrastructure, including the village's elementary school, and that the illegal outposts established in its proximity, including Meitarim Farm are urgently dismantled. Yours sincerely, An Amnesty International South Africa Supporter
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