In the fourth episode of the International Solidarity Movement podcast we speak to Hafez Hurreini, a veteran organiser from the village of At-Tuwani. Hafez is the father of Sami, who we interviewed in episode three.

When we did our interview, Hafez had a metal pin in his arm after a brutal attack by settlers in September 2022. His attackers had claimed that it was Hafez that attacked them, and he was arrested and imprisoned. It was only because of footage of the attack taken by international volunteers proving what really happened that Hafez escaped a long prison sentence.

We asked Hafez about the work of the Popular Resistance Committee of the South Hebron Hills, and about the successes they have had in their struggle. Hafez was also involved in founding the Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee, and he talks about that too. 

View the episode transcript here

Links:

• Reimagining Liberation through the Popular Committees - by Layth Hanbali for Al Shabaka
• Armed settlers assaulted a Palestinian man. Guess who’s in jail? - by Oren Ziv for 972 Magazine
• Masafer Yatta - communities Israel is trying to drive out - by Btselem
• Save Masafer Yatta website
• International Solidarity Movement call to action - Masafer Yatta

If you would like an explanation of the terms used in this podcast, you can find a useful glossary on pages 140-154 of Shoal Collective's Ebook Interviews with Radical Palestinian Women.

Supported by Shoal Collective.

Hey, welcome to international solidarity

movement podcast [followed by Arabic translation]

Hello and welcome to episode four of the

International Solidarity Movement podcast. In the last

episode we heard from Sami Hurreini, about the

anti-colonial struggle of young people. In this episode, we'll

hear from his father - Hafez Hurreini.

omomWhen we did our interview, Hafez had a metal pin in his arm

after a brutal attack by settlers in September 2022. His

attackers had claimed that it was Hafez that attacked them,

and he was arrested and imprisoned. It was only because

of footage of the attack taken by international volunteers

proving what really happened that Hafez escaped a long

sentence. Hafez is a veteran organiser, who helped to

establish the popular resistance committee of the South Hebron

hills in the early 2000s.

Popular Committees as a method of resistance have a long

history in Palestine, going back to the late 1970s, and we've

included a historical article about these committees as part

of our show notes.

We asked Hafez about the work of the Popular Resistance Committee

of the South Hebron Hills, and about the successes they have

had in their struggle. Years later, Hafez was also involved

in founding the Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee, and

he'll talk about that too. Right now International

Solidarity Movement is calling for volunteers to come and

support the struggle in Masafer Yatta and the South Hebron

Hills. You can find out how by taking a look at the ISM website

at palsolidarity.org

We hope you enjoy the interview:

Okay, so we're here with Hafez Hurreini in At-Tuwani in the

South Hebron Hills. And we're going to talk about the history

of the struggle here in the South Hebron Hills. I wanted to

start off by asking about what it was like growing up. And

first of all, did you grow up in this area? And what was it like

growing up for you?

Yes. I was born and I grew up in the village of

At-Tuwani. Now I am 51 years old. Yeah, when, when I was

growing up and when I opened my eyes, around, you know. I

start[ed] like seeing all these injustices around by, you know,

[them] stealing our land and establishing settlements,

settlers attacks against us, all these things, you know. You

know, as a child at night that this is like kind of occupation,

and colonization or whatever. But, you know, little by little,

I thought, like, knowing about this. This is an occupation.

This is an apartheid. This is an ethnic cleansing against our

people and injustices in this area.

Can you tell me when was - when did you first start to be

active and to organize against the occupation and the

settlements in the area?

Practically, I started the end of 1999 and in 2000.

After the eviction crime that coincided with Israeli

occupation of evicting Masafer Yata villages, which in the area

that [was] declared by the Israeli authority as a Firing

Zone Area, and I remember that. Like it was in November 1999,

that big Israeli military forces raided these villages with big

military trucks and bulldozers. And they started just like

destroying tents, caves, wells for the water, and then they

just put the Palestinian families’ things on these

military trucks, and they threw them to the other side of [the

road] Route 317. that they consider it as kind of broader

way to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians, the big

Palestinian town here. So at that time, I started like my

activism, and by you know, involving, in bringing media

attention and bringing solidarity for the area, and

just to - you know - try to resist that crime at the time,

the eviction. Yeah, and then I started like, involving [myself]

with more Palestinian activist[s] in the area, and you

know, we manage to create, like, a body for the area to resist

the occupation and the settlements around. Activists

from all over the South Hebron Hills. And we founded the

Popular Committee of the South Hebron Hills. Yeah, at that

time, and according to what was happening around, it was

completely clear that all the Palestinian human rights [was]

violated under this occupation by the Israeli forces and by the

settlers, it means we must like defend our rights.

But at the same time, we have to think deeply about - about which

[what] is like an effective way to resist that? According to our

experience and our knowledge, that [the] occupation has the

power - I mean, internally inside the Israeli society, and

outside, that, you know, they control the media and they show

the Israelis and the internationals that the

Palestinians always like kind of terrorist – yeah, like terrorist

people. And they want just like, you know, to convince the

Israelis. It means you – we have to like switch the way of the

resistance, you know, we shouldn't like follow our anger

and just like to respond in a violent way. And it means we

have to organize our own selves to go through non-violent means

at that time. Yeah. And then we started our activities in

non-violent means. I mean demonstrations, actions all over

the area.

And then, at the same time, we, we also - we fighted them by

their own law and their own rules. So back to the eviction -

we contacted like Israeli lawyers, Palestinians,

internationals, and we managed like to raise the issue of

eviction to the Israeli Supreme Court. So after about three

months of eviction, there was like, this decision that said

that the Palestinians can get back to their villages. But at

the same time, you know, the case is still open, like, kind

of negotiation between the Palestinians. And the resistance

of Masafer Yatta and the military administration, you

know, to find some kind of a solution. So since 2000, until

last May 2022 there was like the final decision, that the Supreme

Court gave the army the green light to evict again, and to

destroy again, Masafer Yatta.

You mentioned around 20 years ago, the formation of the

Popular Committee in the South Hebron Hills. So can you explain

the idea of a Popular Committee? And where this idea comes from?

Is it an idea that existed already in Palestine? Were you

organizing with, with other popular committees in other

So, South Hebron Hills and Masafer Yatta is [an]

areas?

integral part of the whole West Bank and integral part of the

Palestinian villages, that they are resisting in Area C,

according to [the] Oslo Accords. When we started, like organizing

So, in general, all the Palestinians, they are

resistance from South Hebron Hills under this kind of

principle, you know. We have to defend our own rights, like by

non-violent means. It means we have like to achieve a progress

on the ground, you know, and we have, and we must, like, share

resisting. But you know, we took the responsibility, how to

the reality here. So I mean, in this way, because, you know,

all the Palestinians, you know, [are] under threat of the

occupation. And even if they are like silent, if they - if they

don't resist. But already, it's, it's kind of, you know, the

daily resistance of the Palestinians, you know, for

example, freedom of movement, you know, usually, and almost

unify, I mean, this resistance, by creating this body that

every day, we have like checkpoints, or harassment, and

between the villages... We talk about the confiscation of the

land under different excuses, you know. So the Palestinians go

to defend their rights. I mean, to stop the stealing of the

Palestinian land, usually they've got arrested and, you

represents all the villages in Masafer Yatta, and how to keep

know. The Palestinians, even when they go to cultivate, to

work on their land, you know, they end up [with] threat of

being, you know, attacked by settlers, or being arrested.

And, you know, the children when they go to their school, you

know, the same story. We have the struggle with children until

today, you know, that Palestinian children, you know,

going and defending our own rights.

And me personally, I am one of the founder[s] of the PSCC,

they can't like reach their schools safely. They have to be

which is like the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

that [was] established in 2009. And I am a board member of this

committee that represents the Palestinian popular committees

in the whole West Bank. And we still going and, you know,

recently, because, you know, like, we are getting old and you

escorted by Israeli soldiers, you know, to protect them from

know how to keep the resistance and defending of the Palestinian

rights alive. So, me personally, I am the founder of the Youth of

Sumud group that, you know. They are continuing to struggle, I

mean, because, you know, all the younger generation, you know,

the settlers.

they are following the way.

And you mentioned that the Popular Committee was like

helping to organize resistance for all the villages of Masafer

Yatta. And I wondered how would you organize? Would there be

representatives from each of the communities who would take part

in the Popular Committee? I wondered how that how that was.

As I said before, like, the Palestinians, they are

struggling and resisting in their daily life, but when

there's like a big action that, you know, to respond [to], for

example, for stealing Palestinian land under you know,

[the] military, army, [or] whatever. So, we invite

everyone, you know, just to come. Because, you know,

actually, there exists on the ground a big resistance. This is

like, additional things to do it. So, it's like, an open for

everyone. So, is it free, you know, to join that. And most of

the Palestinians here, like, you know, they are involved and we

are like, you know, activists in this, because - if they today,

if they steal your own land, tomorrow, they will steal mine.

It means, you know, we have to be together in order to just

stop that, you know.

And has the resistance organized by the popular

committees, has it been open for men and women to take part?

Yeah, we have a very long experience with that. So we can

say, in 2006, the occupation army started like establishing a

wall to separate the whole area. I mean, establishing this wall

along the bypass Route 317. It was completely clear for us,

like, you know [if] they succeed, like to build this

wall, it means they will cut the movement. And they will prevent

the Palestinians to move from the [one to the] other side of

the road. Okay. So, at that time, we started, like

organizing weekly demonstrations, and the

Men, women, young, old, you know -

even children, you know. They participated in that. So we used

to go down to the roads, to sit down and block the road.

Okay, so for about more than one and a half years for that, I

mean, weekly demonstrations. Okay. At the same time, they

keep, like, you know, working on that, which was along, about, 41

kilometers in the south in one way [direction]. And really they

finished that, but at the same time, you as I said before,

usually we go through - we fight them through their own law.

Because, you know, the army, they were like saying “this is

for security reasons, you know, [that] we are building that

wall”, which it is completely not, okay.

And then by lawyers, you know, there was like another decision

by the Supreme Court that said that the wall was illegal.

Building that wall was illegal. It said it should be dismantled,

okay. But as usual, you know, that was like a decision. If we,

if we didn't continue, you know, demonstrating against that

[wall] they will never dismantle the wall. So we demonstrated

until, you know, we forced them to dismantle and remove that

wall. That was one of the big successes for the non-violent

resistance and, you know, the participants. Everyone

participated, you know, so the role of the women in particular,

it was, you know, completely clear for everyone.

And you said that the formation of the Popular

Struggle Coordination Committee, it was a way to kind of work

together with other Popular Committees around around the

West Bank?

Yes, yes. Well, you know, when we thought about like

founding like this committee, the main goal was to unify the

non-violent resistance all over the West Bank, so we succeeded

to do it. I mean, if there's like a demonstration for them in

Bil’In Okay, so all of the committees, you know, they join

or they participate in the demonstration there. So if we

had demonstrations in Kafr Qaddum, or Nabi Salih, or in

Jordan Valley, or here, there is something for everyone, everyone

is joining.

And you and your comrades in the popular committees, do

you have like a shared vision for what you're working towards,

amongst yourselves?

Actually, you know, we are struggling. And mainly we

are work[ing as] human rights defenders, and, you know, we

defend our basic human rights, you know. That's like, you know,

we are activists, but you know. We must like keep this alive,

because we are fighting a state, okay? And [it is a] colonizing

state, you know, that, you know, [they are] working day and

night, just, you know, to ethnically cleanse all of us,

you know. It means that, you know, we must do our best, I

mean, to continue the struggle and never give up, you know. If

we give up and stop for a day, you know, it means we will die,

and we will leave soon.

So, yeah, that's why, you know, we are thinking about, you know,

how to keep this choice of the resistance to keep it alive

through the, like, the new generation, I mean, let people

to keep going with that. But at the same time, you know, the

site, you know, we trust, like our determination, you know, but

also we ask in everyone who believe in the human rights and

to the whole world – just to take part and to be part of this

struggle,

Okay. And one of the concepts that you've talked

about in the interview so far is the concept of sumud or

steadfastness and that's a term that we hear very often here in

Palestine, when people talk about their resistance, but the

people listening outside of Palestine might not be so

familiar with this idea. So could you just explain kind of

what it means to you here in Palestine?

You know, sumud became like, kind of a very deep

meaning for the Palestinian life itself, that [is] present [in]

the Palestinian life itself. For example, in here, I mean, being

- or living in - in this situation, if you can imagine.

That all your basic human rights is violated every single day,

okay. And if it's like violated, it means [either] to defend your

rights, or to give up and you know, to help [to] let the

occupation to reach their goal. But as the people, you know,

believe in their own rights, and they know, well, that the goal

of the occupation with all these aggressive tools, all these

violations, with all these attacks, their main goal is to

kick you out. So practicing your life, defending your own rights

under this such situation, it's like the resistance and this,

like this is the sumud itself. This became kind of part of our

own culture, that sumud is being connected to the land, defending

your rights, whatever the price is. So that's why you know, you

can see the Palestinians for, for example: me myself, you

know, my mother, many times got attacked by settlers, like, on

our own land. She was hospitalised, she got fractured

in her jaw, in her leg, in her head, okay. But she never

thought about [to] give up and to go away from the land.

And what happened also with me, myself, [I have] been attacked

so many times, and you know. Just like three months ago, [on]

September 12 [2022] I also got attacked, you know, I fractured

my two arms, and I [got] arrested and so on. But even so,

whatever happened and whatever will happen to me: I never, I

never will leave my land. Because you know it’s completely

clear what they do. It's like, pushing me to leave my land, but

I never do it. And this is, you know, practicing my life. Okay.

Under all these, you know, violations. Under all these

crimes, under all these attacks, this is the real sumud, this is

like, for me surely, it's like the the meaning for sumud.

Thank you. Is there anything else you'd like to say

to people listening from from outside?

Yeah, for sure. You know, like, it's kind of a message for

everyone who believe in human rights, who believes in peace,

who believes in dignity. [They] must like take steps in that.

That's like, you know, all the people all over the world. They

have like their own government, but maybe most of them will see

and they never trust like those governments. Because you know,

they are under pressure by the global policy. We can say, that

[will] never be on our side, but you know, we are calling every

human being who believes in peace and dignity and believes

in human rights – [they] must stand with us to get our rights,

So this is my message, you know, you have to act and you have to

you know.

Finally, would you like to see more international

be part of our own struggle against, like, the Israeli

occupation and against apartheid, and the ethnic

volunteers coming here to join the struggle in Masafer Yatta?

cleansing that we are facing..

So, really, I invite everyone to come down and to be

part of our own struggle here, you know. We feel that you know,

we can breathe through like all these activists who are coming

from all over - around the world - just like to, I mean, to join

us and to be with us like on the ground. Because I said before,

we are fighting in our daily life. Yani

to survive and to defend our rights. And the basic human

rights is really violated every single day. That's why, you

know, I am calling everyone to and invit[ing] everyone just

like to come down and to be part of, to be with us in our

struggle.

Thank you very much Hafez, and yeah, if people want to

learn more about the struggle in Masafer Yatta you can take a

look at the Save Masafer Yatta website. And to learn about

joining the struggle as an internationalist you can, you

can look at the International Solidarity Movement website,

which is palsolidarity.org. But thanks so much for, for talking,

talking to me this evening. Yeah, thanks so much. And, yeah,

we wish you victory in the struggle and we wish for a free