Key facts
- New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof visited Palestinian villages in the West Bank.
- Kristof stated that settlers attacked families and blocked his attempts to interview them.
- He described the demolition of a Palestinian village as 'ethnic cleansing'.
- The demolition of Khirbat al-Tabban in Masafer Yatta was shown in a video posted by Yehuda Shaul.
- Shaul warned of further destruction of Palestinian communities without international pushback.
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has characterized the demolition of a Palestinian village in the West Bank as 'ethnic cleansing.' Kristof recounted his visit to the area in the spring, where he stated that Israeli settlers had attacked families and blocked his attempts to conduct interviews.
Kristof's comments were in response to a video shared by Yehuda Shaul, co-director of the Ofek Center and co-founder of Breaking the Silence. The video depicted the demolition of the Palestinian village of Khirbat al-Tabban in Masafer Yatta by Israeli authorities.
Shaul warned that without significant international intervention, the political agenda of Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich could lead to the destruction of additional Palestinian communities in the region. Masafer Yatta, a collection of Palestinian hamlets in the South Hebron Hills, has been subjected to a prolonged Israeli military campaign aimed at displacing residents, ostensibly for use as a firing range.