Israeli settler threats on Palestinian climbers

armed settlers and IDF soldiers on the top of burqa crag threatening palestinian climbers to not come here for no reason, 19 February 2023

Before and after October 7th

Today, Palestinians tell their stories with 'before and after October 7th', in an attempt to counteract the most powerful Israeli campaign since the Nakba in 1948. Israel has been using the October 7th event to portray itself as the only victim, trying to hide their long history of brutal oppression and justify their crimes for the past 76 years. In this article, we will tell a story about armed settlers who threat and attack our climbing area, Burqa.

Zionists never had legitimate or legal claim to create Israel. Instead, they employed a variety of propaganda tools to massacre and ethnically cleanse the Palestinians from their homes and lands. Here are some examples;

• Palestine was a desert and unliveable place;

• There was no civilization in this land;

• Palestine is a land without people for a people without land;

• There is no such thing called Palestinians;

• Palestine is a word used by the British Mandate;

• This land was exclusively Jewish;

• Arabs hate jews;

• The Holocaust can allow us take Palestinian lands; and so on.
  
  These allegations are completely false. Historic Palestine had been known as a civilized, peaceful holy land that gathered all Christians, Muslims, Jews and other religions. Since the Nakba in 1948 until today, there is an ongoing colonization that cannot be justified or accepted by any human-being, religious or non-religious.

After October 7th, 2023, Israel is continuously invoking this event to justify their crimes and inhumane treatment against Palestinians. For instance, the occupation and the blockade they imposed on Gaza since 2007 created a place, which is called the world's largest open-air prison, with conditions akin to concentration camps or Ghetto.

17 years of blockade later, we are watching a genocide live-streamed in Gaza, more than 40000 civilians were killed, almost half of them are women and children. According to the world's leading medical journal LANCET, Israel is thought to have been directly or indirectly responsible for over 186,000 deaths since the war. While in the West Bank, we are witnessing an increase in land theft, home demolitions, illegal arrests without charges (administrative detention), torture of captives, settlers violence, invasions and assassinations on a daily basis.

During the war, the occupation authority approved the construction of additional settlements (colonies) in the occupied West Bank. In 1979, the UN declared that these settlements were illegal and a violation of international law. in 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) reaffirmed the UN position and ordered Israel to end the occupation, evacuate the settlements and pay reparations. However, Israel has not stopped and nothing has changed until today.

What is happening in Burqa ?

As Palestinian climbers, we confront everyday movement restrictions, limited access to our land, and suffocation caused by the apartheid wall, illegal settlements, and violent settlers. As a result, we started looking for crags where we could bolt and climb without being restricted.

IDF soldiers kicking wadi climbing team out of Burqa crag

15 April 2022

That is why we were thrilled when we found Burqa crags. Unfortunately, we were unprepared to deal with Israeli settlers who wanted to steal the land, and commit crimes. Since we started to bolt there, we were frequently confronted by them, with the support of the IDF.

young Settlers shouting; This land is only for Jews!

disturbing our climbing activity from the top of the crags

Since the 1980s, Burqa lands are being stolen on a daily basis, even though they belong to Palestinians. Many settlements were established there, such as Psagot, Kokhav Ya'akov, Giv'at Asaf, and Magron.

Essentially, Burqa is more than just a climbing destination. Historically, it served as a secure path to Jerusalem. Despite the daily horror of settlers and the Israeli government's checkpoints, Burqas’ residents nowadays are trying to use the remaining lands for farming and cattle.

a settler was trying to stop us from bolting 15 april, 2022.

We tried to speak with soldiers in different languages, such as English and Hebrew. ‘We have documents proving that this land is a Palestinian property, what are your claims?’ the only response the soldiers ever had, 'This is an order, you must leave’. Conversely, when we asked the settlers, they only say, "God gave us this land!" When asked if they have documents, they only refer to the holy books as a reference! click the video

In these kind of incidents we have these questions regarding their claims!

• Is it justified to ethnically cleanse and destroy an entire nation for religious reasons?

• Are other nations allowed to colonize a country in the name of the religion? Or granting citizenship based on having religious ancestors?

• How can you create a jewish country while being secular at the same time?

• What if people faked their documents to prove they have jewish ancestry to be allowed to settle in Palestine?

• How do you know your religious ancestors from 3000 years ago? What if people changed their religion during the time?

• How come converted jews can become inhabitants to this land, while christians from Bethlehem cannot come back to their ancestral homeland after they were expelled in 1948?

• Why are criminals invited to have Israeli citizenship and have more rights than us - more rights than the Palestinian refugees who have been living in the diaspora?
  
  
  At the end, we use climbing to run away from these questions!

Wadi Climbing hosting 40 people to climb in Burqa 1st April, 2023

Despite receiving threats from armed settlers and soldiers, we didn’t find it reasonable to stop bolting or climbing in Burqa. We finished the project and had over 17 routes. We invited locals and internationals from all over the world, believing that climbing is not a crime, neither roaming on our land.

Why are we writing this story at this time?

Since October 7th, we are witnessing theft of thousands of kilometers of our lands in the West Bank, which was approved by the Israeli government. While Gaza is being bombed and with the world being silent, there is no focus on the increasing abuse of international law and human rights in the West Bank.

Burqa crag is one of the lands under threat of being stolen. Besides, it has been under attack by armed Israeli settlers, who committed serious crimes in August 2023, killing an unarmed innocent teenager named Qusai Matan from Burqa village. The suspects were discharched by the Israeli court after one week. In comparison, if a Palestinian minor was accused of throwing stones not murder, it will take months for them to be released from the Israeli court. Same system, different standards!

The settler who murdered Qusai in Burqa was released one week after his trial.

“A Jew who defends himself and others against the murder of Palestinians is not a murder suspect, but a hero who will receive my full support,”. 

Ben-Gvir on the settler arrest.
6th August 2023

APNEWs article

This is what we are dealing with! The Israeli court released them, giving them the green light to continue attacking and threatening the climbers, and the entire village with the support of the IDF soldiers. Further attacks include making a full closure on the village and creating daily checkpoints on the village entrance in order to humiliate those who enter and exit.

settlers attacking civilians in burqa village supported by IDF soldiers

Burqa village

6th June 2023