Several hundreds of Jews and Arabs gathered at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square on Thursday, April 16, in a mass protest against settler violence in the occupied West Bank, urging Israelis to join protective presence initiatives alongside Palestinians, speak out and act.
In the protest, organized by the Partnership for Peace initiative participated members from Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel, Looking the Occupation in the Eyes, Jordan Valley activists, Standing Together, Rabbis for Human Rights and other rights and peace movements.
Several individuals and activists injured in the West Bank violence spoke at the protest. Tour guide Oded Paporisch, an Israeli activist injured in the village of Qusra last month, emphasized at the protest that settler violence “relies on the understanding that Israel’s law enforcement will always stand by their side.” Settlers attack unarmed individuals, Paporisch went on, noting that if there had been any actual far-right government action, “those who attacked us would have been behind bars yesterday, or at the very least would not have returned to the outpost and continued their violence at this very moment.”
Several hundreds of Jews and Arabs gathered at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square in a mass protest against settler violence in the occupied West Bank, Thursday, April 16, 2026 (Photo: Hadash)
Adi Cohen, a retiree and volunteer with the Protective Presence organization, who was also injured in Qusra, added that there is “no justification for such violence, not against us [Israeli activists] and not against Palestinians. Not against any human being.” “The settler terror that harmed us, and that harms many people every single day, must be stopped.”
“These hilltop farms terrorists are not ‘weeds’ or ‘fringe youth’ – this terror is an inseparable part of the settlement enterprise,” said Oded Yedaya, principal of Minshar School of Art in Tel Aviv, an army veteran and Protective Presence activist, who was injured in an attack in the village of Beita near Nablus. “They receive backing, budgets, and weapons from the state and its authorities.” “And when something happens, the police will always arrest us and not them, and the courts will always favor the rioter’s version, even without conducting an investigation.”
Settler violence “must be addressed at every level,” added Yael Levkowitz, a teacher from Tel-Aviv and volunteer with Protective Presence, also injured in Kusra. “From the violent youth to the settlers and the willfully blind public, all the way to the authorities who enable them.” If the state and the occupation army are “unwilling or unable” to address the ongoing violence, then those, “whose duty to future generations is not to stand aside and stay silent, will continue to protest and act against it,” she went on.
MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash), who took part in the protest at Habima Square, stated last night: “I participated tonight in the large demonstration in Tel Aviv against settler terrorism, together with hundreds of Jews and Arabs who came to Habima Square to say enough. I had the honor of meeting Adi Cohen and Oded Paporisch, heroes who were brutally attacked by settlers in the village of Qusra last February. Despite everything, they came and spoke at the demonstration, and I wish them both a continued speedy recovery.”
He further emphasized: “I want to thank from the bottom of my heart the hundreds of activists from dozens of organizations who go out every day to accompany and protect Palestinians in the occupied territories. This is holy work. Together, Jews and Arabs, human beings—we will end the occupation and bring peace.”
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=33381
