Article written by Hannah Maza
The Bethlehem Shelter provides a lifeline for hundreds of vulnerable animals who have nowhere else to turn. With funding under pressure and resources stretched thin, Diana Babish is an animal hero working against the odds to keep the shelter running.
Plea for help as funding and resources are strained
Every day, hundreds of calls come into the only registered animal shelter in the West Bank. Each one is about an animal in need of help. The Animal and Environment Association (AEA) Bethlehem Shelter has been run by Diana Babish since 2016. Her goal is to help end animal suffering and their poor treatment. She’s already rescued and cured over 6,000 animals.
“What keeps me going on this rescue mission is my passion toward animals. I love them so much and my heart is always feeling pain because of what they suffer living on the streets and the abusive people. They suffer from hunger, ticks, illness, and dirty food from dirty garbage. I am still fighting for their rights. I approached governments to prepare a draft of laws to protect animals and punish the abusive people. I approached all kinds of organizations to find a way to monitor vets, pet stores, and force municipalities to adopt TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release) projects.” – Diana Babish
As the only registered animal charity in the West Bank, the AEA Bethlehem Shelter faces immense demand for help. With every call that comes in about an animal, the shelter takes on all of the costs for transporting, treating, and caring for them. The shelter has nearly 200 animals, including 17 cats and 180 dogs. This is in addition to the 31 animals Diana has brought home to care for.
Caring for this many animals isn’t easy. Many of the animals in the shelter require special care because they were found neglected and abused. In the shelter right now, there is a dog with a broken spine who cannot walk and constantly has to stay on pads, one is blind, one has bullets in her lungs, and another has nerve problems that make her movements unsteady.
And with the conflict lasting for years with no end in sight, Diana’s need to help animals is limited by resources. She depends on international donations to keep her shelter running. Without continued support, the shelter’s future remains uncertain and Diana fears it may not be able to continue caring for the animals who depend on it.
The shelter’s existence is constantly under pressure
Outside of the financial and resource challenges, the shelter’s existence is often under pressure from the municipality and political challenges.
The shelter sits on 200 square meters of land. The municipality who once gave permission for the shelter to operate on the land, no longer offers any support. Especially as the conflict has intensified and become more political. Requests to expand their land have been repeatedly denied. For the number of dogs that live in the shelter, this is not enough space. But the dogs have nowhere else that will care for them.
Diana has also not been deterred by municipality actions to push the shelter out. The mayor cut their access to water? She persevered by buying and transporting water for the past 6 years. The shelter received an eviction order because a complaint came from the municipality? Diana fought against this because she knows if this shelter disappears, the situation for the animals will become more dire.
In recent months, the shelter’s challenges have continued to escalate. The shelter is located in Area C near an Israeli control tower occupied by soldiers and homes with settlers. This close proximity has already resulted in several run-ins where settlers came with weapons to threaten the animal shelter. Only after speaking directly with Israeli animal associations and the Israeli government did the threatening visits from the settlers stop.
When an animal needs help, Diana is there
Diana raises awareness about animal welfare at a school
“When I see how the lives of these animals change since the day of rescue till the day when they become healthy and have a better chance to be adopted…This makes me happy to see how happy they become.” – Diana Babish
Diana is out on the streets every day to feed the stray cats and dogs. When animals are sick or injured, she takes care of them and even takes the more severe cases to vets for medical care.
Like most shelters, their goal is to rescue and care for as many animals as possible. But it doesn’t end with animal care. Diana works on everything from advocacy and education, to rescue and rehabilitation. Animals in the shelter are provided vaccines, microchips, food, surgeries, and sometimes even a new forever home.
With the growing number of stray animals, the local authorities resort to poisoning and shooting stray dogs to control the population. Diana is looking to change that. Last month, she and volunteers from the shelter met with Walid Abu Halawah from the Ministry of Local Governance. They pushed for more humane measures to control the stray animal population. For instance, Diana cares for the local dog population through their Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) program. It’s regarded as an effective and long term measure to control population growth.
How you can help Diana in the West Bank
The Bethlehem Shelter depends on international donations to continue rescuing and caring for vulnerable dogs and cats in the West Bank. With no government funding, every meal, medical treatment, and safe place to sleep is made possible through the compassion of people around the world. Without this support, the shelter would struggle to provide even the most basic care for these animals.
But these donations have decreased. It’s not because the need or compassion isn’t there. Diana believes political tension has made it harder for international donors to send donations to Palestinian NGOs. Even European organizations the shelter could once rely on have decreased their support due to the complicated politics of the conflict in Gaza. According to Diana, the grant was denied because it was based in Palestine, despite being fully accredited and having the approved documents and forms.
The reality is that the shelter cannot pause its work when funding becomes scarce. These animals continue to need food, treatment, and safety every day.
Animal Heroes founder, Esther Kef, with Diana in the West Bank
Today, nearly 200 animals rely on the shelter. Your donation directly helps provide food, shelter, veterinary care, and emergency support for the animals under Diana’s protection. For instance, a 25 euro donation can help cover one vaccination, one tick pill, or 24 cans of wet food. Even a small contribution can make a meaningful difference in the lives of animals who have already endured so much.
Diana is just one of many animal heroes around the world saving animals. Read about more animal heroes like Ellie Lukenge in Uganda, Mohammad Abualrob in Jenin, or our veterinarians in Gaza.
