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Showing Original Post only (View all)Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank - visualized [View all]
International attention is on Gaza but attacks by Israelis who live on Palestinian land have been increasing
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/22/israel-settlers-violence-against-palestine-west-bank
While international attention has been turned toward Gaza, violence against Palestinians has increased in the West Bank too. Israeli settler attacks have become more frequent. Settlers are Israeli citizens who live on Palestinian land. In most cases, this happens because Palestinians are prevented from accessing their land and are physically attacked by settlers. In a third of cases, Palestinian property is damaged by settlers. These findings come from a UN report published in September 2023 that showed a years-long rise in settler violence against Palestinians. Because of these numbers, the UN has noted that settler-driven displacement did not start with Hamass deadly attack.
snip
The Israeli government routinely acknowledges these colonies as part of the Israeli state despite the fact that they are illegal under international law. For decades, the United States has publicly condemned settlements while continuing to provide billions of dollars to Israel. But this longstanding policy was reversed by the Trump administration in November 2019 when it stated that it didnt consider settlements to be a violation of international law per se. In fact, article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention prohibits the individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory.
Bidens administration had been relatively quiet on this point until tensions with Israel rose in February and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, stated: New settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace. Blinken, who was responding to a reporters question about Israeli plans to build 3,300 new homes in West Bank settlements, added: Theyre also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion and in our judgment this only weakens, it doesnt strengthen, Israels security. Settlements have been one of the main sticking points in peace negotiations, since the rapid growth of these outposts could in effect eliminate hopes for a Palestinian state. About 40% of the West Bank is currently under the control of settlements. The numbers displayed here are incomplete. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which collects this data, notes that cases of harassment, trespass, and intimidation are not included in these statistics when they do not result in damage or casualties, although they too increase the pressure on Palestinians to leave. Settler violence is unlikely to slow down. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, leads a coalition government that includes several religious Zionist parties that support further annexation of the West Bank. The Israeli human rights group BTselem has found that as a rule, the military prefers to remove Palestinians from their own farmland or pastureland rather than confront settlers.
This has also been the case in recent months, when Israeli forces have accompanied or supported settler attacks in almost half of all incidents, according to the UN. In over a third of the incidents reported since October, settlers threatened Palestinians with firearms, including by opening fire. The thousands of Palestinians who have been forced from their homes have little recourse to justice. In four out of every five cases, Israeli police failed in the investigation of Israelis who harmed Palestinians and their property. This finding comes from Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group that has investigated the way Israeli law enforcement treats these settler attacks. It found that between 2005 and 2021, just 3% of ideologically motivated cases resulted in a conviction. Demolition is also a key part of settlement. Israeli authorities regularly destroy and confiscate Palestinian-owned property. They also prohibit construction by Palestinians while issuing permits to Israelis. About 24,300 housing units for Israeli settlements in the West Bank were advanced last year. In March 2024, after plans to build a further 3,476 settler homes were announced, the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, condemned the move, stating that the constructions fly in the face of international law.
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Israel has used the distraction of the Gaza war to ramp up settler violence in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Lonestarblue
Apr 23
#1
The New York Review of Books May 9 issue also has an article on the violence in the West Bank
Jim__
Apr 23
#2
Oh, that last graph is So sad. Besides injuries, deaths, burnt homes, etc...
electric_blue68
Apr 23
#3