LONDON: Palestinian activist and community leader Issa Amro has reported months of harassment and threats from Israeli settlers and soldiers following his appearance in a documentary highlighting the harsh realities faced by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Amro, who was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and named among Time magazine’s Time100 Next list for 2025, featured prominently in Louis Theroux’s BBC documentary “The Settlers,” which aired in May to spotlight conditions under occupation.
Since the documentary’s release, Amro — who has lived in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron for almost 20 years — says he has become a frequent target of settler retaliation, with Israeli soldiers allegedly aiding or turning a blind eye to attacks against him.
“It’s a zoo now,” he said. “They’re acting as wild as possible. I don’t feel safe in my own house.”
He added that his harassment has intensified to a point where he experiences “nightmares that they (settlers) will come into my house and shoot me.
“They started hating me more after I appeared in the BBC documentary with Louis Theroux. They hated me much more since then.”
Amro recounted experiencing multiple attacks over recent months, including three over the preceding 12 hours. One episode in October involved Israeli soldiers forcibly entering his home and arresting a friend who was caring for the property in his absence. The friend was subsequently barred from returning.
He described this as part of a broader strategy by Israeli authorities to isolate him from his community and undermine his activism.
Other incidents include settlers surrounding his home, taunting him about the death of his brother, and an occasion where a settler climbed the wall of Amro’s house to remove a security camera in the presence of a soldier.
Following this, after rocks were thrown at his home, soldiers entered the house and arrested him, accusing him of the rock-throwing.
In another incident in late October, friends and neighbors of Amro were ordered to leave his home after it was declared a “closed military zone.” Maps shown to Amro reveal his residence is effectively an island surrounded by a military area.
The Israeli Defense Forces, when approached for comment, denied Amro’s allegations, saying he “is permitted to host people within the framework of the law.”
Activists argue these actions form part of a wider campaign of intimidation designed to silence Amro’s vocal nonviolent advocacy.
The occupied West Bank’s security situation is deteriorating rapidly, with settler attacks — many reportedly aided by Israeli soldiers — increasing in frequency and severity.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, more settler attacks were recorded in October than in any month since 2006 — more than 260.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, until November 13, 2025, Israeli security forces and settlers have killed at least 1,017 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Among the victims were 221 children.
