HEBRON, West Bank / PNN / Palestinian human rights defender Imad Abu Shamsiyeh says years of documenting alleged Israeli military and settler abuses in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron have made him and his family targets of repeated attacks, threats and arrests.
Abu Shamsiyeh, a resident of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and a member of the Human Rights Defenders Group in Hebron, said he began his activism in 2009 as a way to protect his family and defend what he described as Palestinians’ basic rights to live freely and safely in their own community.
“My journey started with defending myself, my family and our right to normal civilian life,” Abu Shamsiyeh said. “But that did not please the occupation authorities.”
Since then, he said, he has documented incidents involving Israeli soldiers and settlers in Hebron, particularly in Tel Rumeida and the nearby Old City, filming alleged assaults against Palestinian residents, including women and children, and sharing the footage with local and international media outlets and on social media platforms.
Abu Shamsiyeh said his work has exposed him to what he described as hundreds of violations and attacks by Israeli forces and settlers. He said settlers had set fire to his home, while Israeli forces repeatedly raided and searched his house late at night. He also said he had been assaulted, arrested and targeted in online incitement campaigns by Israeli extremists calling for his expulsion, imprisonment or killing.
“I was subjected to repeated attacks simply because I chose to carry a camera and document violations,” he said.
Abu Shamsiyeh described the camera as his “only weapon” in defending himself and exposing what Palestinians experience in Hebron.
“The camera shows the real picture of what is happening to Palestinian women, children and young people,” he said.
Despite the threats, Abu Shamsiyeh said he remains committed to documenting events in Hebron, arguing that international law guarantees the right to defend human rights and expose abuses.
He also described worsening movement restrictions in Tel Rumeida and the nearby Shuhada Street area, where Israeli military checkpoints and closures have heavily restricted Palestinian movement for years.
He said Palestinian activists are often forced to use rough alternative routes to avoid confrontations with soldiers and settlers while attempting to document incidents in the area.
Abu Shamsiyeh said the restrictions and attacks motivated him to help establish a local Human Rights Defenders Group aimed at continuing documentation efforts and supporting Palestinians facing displacement and violence. He called on international human rights organizations to provide greater protection for Palestinian rights defenders working in areas under Israeli military control.
“Being a human rights activist in Palestine means being exposed every day to harassment, attacks and threats,” he said. “But we will continue documenting and exposing what is happening.”
Human rights organizations have repeatedly raised concerns over what they describe as increasing Israeli restrictions and attacks targeting Palestinian human rights defenders and journalists, particularly in areas affected by settlement expansion and military operations in the occupied West Bank.
Local and international rights groups say Palestinian activists and reporters frequently face arrests, movement restrictions, equipment confiscation and physical assaults while documenting events on the ground. This report was produced as part of the “Investing in Human Rights” project implemented by Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society in cooperation with Palestine News Network (PNN) and supported by ASTM.