In April, outraging images started to take over social media: Israeli settlers attacking aid convoys heading to Gaza. Very often, footage showed the police standing by and not intervening while trucks were looted and food parcels destroyed. Extremist right-wing activists claim that no aid should reach Gaza while Israeli hostages are still held there. However, hundreds of Israeli peace activists are working to ensure that these trucks have safe passage to deliver aid to the people in Gaza.
In May, Standing Together organised a Humanitarian Guard to offer protective presence in the region of the Tarqumiyah checkpoint, in the southern West Bank. Tarqumiyah is a border crossing that vehicles and people use to enter Israel from the occupied Palestinian territory. It is the main route for all aid convoys from Jordan to Gaza.
More than 2.000 people registered to be volunteers at the Humanitarian Guard. Every day for two weeks, Standing Together volunteers showed up every morning to prevent settlers from attacking the truck drivers and their cargo. Tension was high at times, but with the Humanitarian Guard present, the Israeli police intervened to avoid escalation. “We want the police to come and do their job. We have already seen videos of trucks being attacked with police seen in the background doing nothing. By being here, we essentially compel the police to act and put an end to the acts of violence”, said Suf Patishi, a member of Standing Together.
“Each of these trucks could be the lifeline that saves the life of a 5-year-old child, or at least buys them a bit more time until Israel stops its ugly war”, stated one of the Humanitarian Guard volunteers. “I feel very empowered. All these 7, 8 months of war and killing of Gazans. Now finally I have something to do to help these people who are starving”, said another volunteer.
After two weeks of relentless work from Standing Together, a group that was organising attacks to aid convoys declared that they would stop their activities. On June 2, Alon-Lee Green, one of the founders of Standing Together, said on social media:
“I say this message with caution, but firmly. It seems that we defeated the settlers at the checkpoints, the same settlers who tried to block aid trucks and attack them. Every day that we arrived at the checkpoints, all the trucks succeeded in crossing, from the first to the last on their way to Gaza delivering food and aid to the hungry people there. We were there and forced the police to act. And now that we have won, this message is for the settlers: if you go back to blocking, we will be back to blocking you. You will try to attack the aid trucks? The Humanitarian Guard with more than one thousand volunteers will return to the checkpoints and ensure that people are receiving aid and food. For us it is not a game, it is really an effort to protect the truck drivers, to keep people safe, to preserve people’s ability to eat. It is also a struggle for our society and the question of what kind of society we will be. We choose a society that does not glorify death but cares about preserving life.”
In the aftermath of October 7, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a “complete siege” of Gaza, blocking the delivery of water, food, and fuel. As a result of mounting international pressure, the passage of humanitarian convoys was gradually resumed. However, it is still below the necessary to feed millions of people and provide access to medical and sanitation supplies as well. Humanitarian organisations do not have safe conditions to operate, and more than 200 aid workers have been killed in Gaza. Before the current war, 80% of the population of Gaza already relied on humanitarian aid to survive. Therefore, halting humanitarian operations means increased food insecurity for an already vulnerable population.