On July 2, Khaled Azem was pulled from his car at a checkpoint in the northern occupied West Bank, he tells Al Jazeera.

Israeli soldiers beat and humiliated him, forcing him to say: “I love Israel”, while filming him on his phone, then posting it to his social media.

Azem, 25, and his brother-in-law had just left the Azem home in Sebastia, a village to the northwest of Nablus, to work on a construction site.

That’s when he fell victim to one of the increasing attacks that villagers say are part of Israel’s plan to drive Palestinians out.

Israel has been eyeing Sebastia’s significant archaeological site, which dates back to the Iron Age, since 2023, wanting to turn the area into a national park and tourism hub.

The baby of the family

On a hot afternoon in late July, Azem is sitting on

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