On September 30, representatives of the Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII (APG23) took part in the general debate during the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council on the “human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied territories,” which highlighted grave and systematic human rights violations.
Read more: https://www.semprenews.it/news/Gaza-dichiarazione-Nazioni-Unite.html

A difficult month to recount in person, even more so to report in a few lines, but I will try. Never would I have thought to be saying things like “it’s a situation where you just had to be there”, but now I know that it’s true; you need to live through the occupation to understand it.

Since 2004, Operazione Colomba has been involved in monitoring - and accompanying to ensure access - the Right to Education of Palestinian students in Masafer Yatta (South Hebron Hills, West Bank). Since 7 October 2023, the Right to Education of Palestinians in the area has been impeded by continuous attacks by settlers and abuses by Israeli soldiers. The boys and girls of the village of Tuba have had to find alternative ways to not completely abandon the course of studies undertaken.

Wires with lighted bulbs swing suspended over the neat rows of chairs where all the guests are taking their seats. Some of them are very elegant, some in flip-flops, one man arrives on the back of a donkey, and another parks his tractor next to the cars. The atmosphere reminds that of a village festival, men greet each other, some faces are familiar to all, the ladies and younger boys and girls sit to one side, all well-dressed for the occasion. In front of everyone stands a banner celebrating the presence of Operazione Colomba in the area: 20 years of solidarity and continuous support in defending Human Rights in the South Hebron Hills.

There are five of us here - four adults and a little girl - representing dozens and dozens of volunteers who over these 20 years have accompanied and protected the Palestinian communities of Masafer Yatta from the violence of the Israeli occupation, from the prevarication of settlers and soldiers who unfortunately continue to besiege the area. I feel the incredible privilege of participating in this celebration, I am the newest arrived here, and nevertheless I enjoy the unconditional affection and gratitude that others before me have obtained through years of nonviolent accompaniment of shepherds under the scorching sun and nights spent awake on the rooftop of the house closest to the Havat Ma'on outpost. I am very lucky to be here, and I also feel a little out of place, as if I am usurping the place of those who would be more entitled than me to receive all this gratitude.