Skip Navigation

“Leave or Die” An account from a Palestinian in the West Bank.

slate.com I’m a Palestinian in the West Bank. When a Settler With a Bulldozer Arrived, I Knew What Was Coming.

“In the end, their message is always the same: ‘You have 24 hours to flee or we will shoot you.’ ”

I’m a Palestinian in the West Bank. When a Settler With a Bulldozer Arrived, I Knew What Was Coming.

This as-told-to essay is an account from Nasser Nawaj’ah—a West Bank resident and field researcher for B’Tselem, a human rights organization in Israel—of the ongoing attacks by Israeli settlers amid the war in Gaza. It’s been transcribed, translated from Arabic, and edited by Aymann Ismail.

The settlers look like soldiers. They come at night, but sometimes during the day, wearing army uniforms. They execute operations against Palestinians, beating us, taking our phones and smashing them to prevent us from documenting their terror. The settlers steal things from our homes and take our money. And in the end, their message is always the same: “You have 24 hours to flee, or we will shoot you.”

1