Issa Amro

Issa Amro is a prominent human rights defender in Hebron, Palestine. He became OHCHR human rights defender of the year in Palestine 2010 and won the One World media award in 2009 for his involvement in B’Tselem’s “Shooting Back” project. In 2013 he was declared a Human Right Defender by the European Union.

Issa Amro is founder and coordinator of Youth Against Settlements (YAS) which works to strengthen the Hebron community’s steadfastness against the expansion of illegal settlements and document Israeli human right violations. YAS educates young Palestinians in nonviolent resistance through nonviolent action, media, and advocacy work and regularly receives groups of local and international activists, observers, and diplomats.

Through various resilience campaigns YAS encourages Palestinian families to be steadfast and remain in their homes despite increasing restrictions, settler violence, and other difficulties of occupation. The organization's main flagship campaign is its annual Open Shuhada Street Campaign, which is implemented both in Palestine and around the world. Open Shuhada Street is a nonviolent direct action and edication campaign that seeks to reopen Hebron's main thoroughfare and marketplace closed to Palestinians since 1994.