Dear Anthony Blinken,

Israel is right now in the midst of carrying out its largest forced expulsion of Palestinians in decades. The eight Palestinian Bedouin communities in Masafer Yatta have been under threat of demolition and forcible transfer for decades, but on May 4, Israel’s High Court made its final ruling that the Israeli military could force the over 1,000 Palestinian residents of Masafer yatta from their homes on the grounds that Israel has declared the area a military firing zone. The home demolitions, which have been underway for a number of weeks now, are illegal under international law.

“We had 30 minutes to get out what we could,” said Masafer Yatta resident Yusara al-Najjar of the demolition of her home. “It took no time and our house was gone, again.” Al-Najjar and many of the Masafer Yatta families were already sleeping in tents due to their houses having been demolished previously. “The soldiers came and searched for the tent,” al-Najjar said. “They went into the cave, took the tent, and put it in front of the bulldozer, which drove over it until it was destroyed.” The soldiers then covered the collapsed tents with sand and rocks so that they couldn’t be fixed.

The Biden administration must intervene to ensure that Israel immediately freezes all home demolitions, cease using occupied Palestinian land as firing zones for their military, and issue permits for the long-term stability, health, and safety of the communities.

There’s already momentum. A letter organized by J Street and signed by 81 members of Congress urged the Biden administration to “immediately engage with the Israeli government to prevent these evictions and further military training exercises in the area,” and a letter initiated by Cori Bush and signed by 15 progressive Democrats in the House also called for action and named the forced evictions what they are: war crimes!

We the undersigned, ask that you intervene immediately to save Masafer Yatta!