Aliyah is Hebrew, meaning "ascent," which has two primary meanings: the act of immigrating to Israel and the religious honor of being called up to read from the Torah. Modern aliyah refers to the immigration of Jews to Israel, a concept central to Zionism, which grants Jewish people the right to move to Israel and gain citizenship under the Law of Return. The term originally referred to the pilgrimage of Jews to Jerusalem for festivals, and in a synagogue, it still means being called up to the "bimah" to recite blessings during a Torah reading. 

International law prohibits recruiting foreigners to migrate to occupied territory, as this is considered a violation of the law of occupation. Such actions are viewed as an attempt by the occupying power to alter the territory's demographic composition, which is illegal. The Fourth Geneva Convention, in particular, forbids the transfer of a population from an occupied territory or the deportation or transfer of parts of its own population into occupied territory. Recruiting foreign civilians to migrate there is a form of this prohibited population transfer, especially when it is done with the intent to settle them in the occupied territory. 

• When acts and or activities by the Israeli annexing belligerent targeting the colonized people are systematic, and or are on a large scale, we consider these acts and activities as shown in the 'breadcrumbs'. This does not include violations, as they refer to resorting to breaches of rules and international law.

  • You are viewing a selection from our huge archives, but it is representative of the situation, which has been in the West Bank for years, but currently in an escalated form of exploiting the "war" in Gaza. 
  • Dates refer to the day when a video or photo was posted on the account of a social media user, or published by a source in the public domain, when it concerns a publication.
  • Credit: photographers, videographers, reporters, and journalists in the West Bank, news agencies, and other sources.