Following Jummah prayers on August 9, 2024, Israeli occupation forces shot Amado Sison, an American citizen, during a demonstration in Beita village.
This incident, which marks the sixth consecutive week of violence and repression by the Israeli occupation forces in Beita, saw Sison struck in the back of his right thigh, with a significant exit wound indicating he was walking away from the soldiers. The people of Beita once again displayed immense bravery in their ongoing struggle against the theft of their land by Israeli settlers. They, along with international and anti-Zionist Israeli volunteers, carried Sison over 500 meters to safety as Israeli occupation forces continued their attack, preventing an ambulance from reaching him. Sison was ultimately transported on the back of a Palestinian truck to an emergency medical clinic. Despite his serious injury, he was seen smiling and giving a thumbs up while being transferred into an ambulance.
On the way to Rafidia Surgical Hospital in Nablus, Israeli occupation forces blocked the ambulance, forcing it through two checkpoints where soldiers demanded to see Sison each time, significantly delaying his access to further medical care.
The violence in Beita and neighboring villages is part of a broader pattern of aggressive tactics used by Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers against the town’s residents. Since June, when the Israeli security cabinet approved the so-called “legalization” of the Evyatar outpost on Sabih Mountain, Beita has been at the center of weekly demonstrations resisting further land appropriation by Israeli settlers. The Israeli occupation forces have responded to these peaceful protests with increasing brutality, using tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, and live ammunition.
Beita’s residents have a long history of resisting colonization efforts and remain steadfast. Despite repeated attempts by settlers to seize land—first in 2013, then in 2018, and most recently in 2021—Beita’s resistance has protected its people. The current establishment of the Evyatar outpost and the ensuing violence represent a significant escalation in the ongoing violence by the Israeli occupation state.
To date, Beita has mourned 17 martyrs since 2020 alone, with thousands more suffering injuries. The strategic location of Jabel Sabih, the site of the current clashes, is crucial for maintaining a contiguous path between Israeli settlements, thus aiding apartheid and severely impacting the ability of native Palestinian villages to thrive.
Ten months into Israel’s US-funded genocide under the guise of war in Gaza, we stand in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian resistance and the popular resistance in Beita. We call on the international community to condemn this brutal violence and support the rights of indigenous Palestinians to resist land theft by illegal settlers backed by the settler-colonial state of Israel. The shooting of Amado Sison and the broader repression of Beita’s residents represent grave violations of international law that demand urgent attention and action.
