Since 2002, volunteers from Operation Dove have been present in Palestine, first in the Gaza Strip, in Al Qarara (Khan Younis), then since 2004 in the West Bank, in the village of At-Tuwani (hills south of Hebron). During these years, however, the connection with the people known in Gaza has never been broken. Currently, with the tragic situation they are experiencing, we continue to maintain contact with those people and try to support in the ways we can.

In At-Tuwani, in Area C according to the Oslo Accords (under Israeli civilian and military control), the lives of Palestinians have always faced continuous injustices. Since Oct. 7, 2023, with the start of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, the situation in Masafer Yatta has further deteriorated as well. The settlers, supported by the Israeli government, which has equipped them with more weapons, operate as a kind of local militia, which arrogates the right to carry out arrests, raids and evacuations of entire villages: hundreds of Palestinians have already been forced to abandon their homes to save their lives. Moreover, in recent years, the expansion of illegal Israeli colonies and outposts has grown enormously, taking more and more land from the Palestinian population.

Operation Dove's presence is very important: volunteers live alongside the Palestinian population in the area every day, often staying overnight to sleep in the most exposed villages that frequently suffer nighttime attacks, thus reassuring families; accompanying farmers and shepherds on their own land abutting colonies and outposts; and monitoring and reporting on the constant check-points, arrests, military training, and demolitions that take place in the area, thanks to constant photo and video recording.

As of Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli army has also revoked the military escort that for 20 years somehow ensured that the boys and girls of Tuba and Maghayir al Abeed could access the school in At-Tuwani without being subjected to constant attacks by settlers. The students, after missing last school year entirely, began attending the school in Al Fakhit in August 2024, which is farther away and reachable only by car and located inside a military training area, thus at risk of demolition. Operation Dove began monitoring the accessibility of this school, with the intention of protecting and supporting the Right to Education of these children.

In recent years, the creation of groups of young Palestinian activists who have become involved in monitoring, denouncing and accompanying activities (also together with Israeli activists), has enabled Operation Dove volunteers to take their support and nonviolent action to other areas of Palestine as well.

Today, more than ever, the presence of Operation Dove, which has stood alongside Palestinian nonviolent resistance for more than 20 years, is essential to protect the Rights and safety of Palestinian residents in the area, whose only desire is to live in peace on their own land.

For 12 years I felt safe going to school because there were ajaneb (international). The residents of Tuba, Um Zaytouna and Kharrouba, and even the goats who live in these valleys, all together, we say "Thank you Doves."

Ali, young Palestinian.