#West Bank Settlements

[b-0-ngripper]

ANYONE THAT CAN, SHOW UP AND DISRUPT THE EVENTS

[kp777]

By Jake Johnson

Common Dreams

Sept. 3, 2024

"Apartheid Israel is targeting Gaza and the West Bank simultaneously, as part of an overall process of elimination, replacement, and territorial expansion," said United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

An independent United Nations expert warned Monday that "Israel's genocidal violence risks leaking out of Gaza and into the occupied Palestinian territory as a whole" as Western governments, corporations, and other institutions keep up their support for the Israeli military, which stands accused of grave war crimes in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories, said in a statement that "there is mounting evidence that no Palestinian is safe under Israel's unfettered control."

"The writing is on the wall, and we cannot continue to ignore it," said Albanese, who released a detailed report in May concluding that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza.

Albanese's new statement came as the Israeli military's largest assault on the West Bank in decades continued into its second week. At least 29 Palestinians have been killed during the series of military raids, according toAl Jazeera, including at least five children.

"Apartheid Israel is targeting Gaza and the West Bank simultaneously, as part of an overall process of elimination, replacement, and territorial expansion," Albanese said Tuesday. "The longstanding impunity granted to Israel is enabling the de-Palestinization of the occupied territory, leaving Palestinians at the mercy of the forces pursuing their elimination as a national group."

"The international community, made of both states and non-state actors, including companies and financial institutions, must do everything it can to immediately end the risk of genocide against the Palestinian people under Israel's occupation, ensure accountability, and ultimately end Israel's colonization of Palestinian territory," Albanese added.

Defense for Children International–Palestine noted Monday that "dozens of Israeli military vehicles" have "stormed" the West Bank city of Jenin over the past week as "Israeli forces deployed across the targeted refugee camps, seizing Palestinian homes to use as military bases and stationing snipers on the roofs of buildings, subjecting their residents to field investigations."

"The military bulldozers began destroying the civil infrastructure in Jenin city and camp, which led to the destruction of the main water networks and power outage in several neighborhoods in Jenin and surrounding villages," the group said. "Israeli forces besieged several hospitals in Jenin and impeded the movement of ambulances and paramedics."

Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed more than 620 people in the occupied West Bank since October 7, on top of the roughly 40,800 killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

Unlawful Israeli land seizures have also surged in the West Bank as settlers and soldiers wipe out entire Palestinian communities. The BBCreported Monday that, according to its own analysis, there are "currently at least 196 across the West Bank, and 29 were set up last year—more than in any previous year."

Israel's multi-day attack on the West Bank that began last week has intensified fears that unless there's a permanent cease-fire, the assault on Gaza could expand to the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories and throughout the Middle East.

David Hearst, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye, wrote Monday that "even with the obvious reluctance of Hezbollah and Iran to get involved, all the ingredients are there for a much larger conflagration."

"An Israel in the grip of an ultra-nationalist, religious, settler insurgency; a U.S. president who allows his signature policy to be flouted by his chief ally, even at the risk of losing a crucial election; resistance that will not surrender; Palestinians in Gaza who will not flee; Palestinians in the West Bank who are now stepping up to the front line; Jordan, the second country to recognize Israel, feeling under existential threat," Hearst wrote.

For U.S. President Joe Biden or Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, he added, "the message is so clear, it is flashing in neon lights: The regional costs of not standing up to Netanyahu could rapidly outweigh the domestic benefits of being dragged along by him."

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, similarly argued Tuesday that "the U.S. must reverse course—and do so dramatically."

"A long-overdue cut-off of U.S. arms to Israel and recognition of the Palestinian right to self-determination would provide exactly the shock to the system that is needed," Zogby wrote. "It would force an internal debate in Israel, empowering those who want peace. It might also serve to send a message to the Palestinian people that their plight and rights are understood."

These actions, especially if followed up with determination and concrete steps, won't end the conflict tomorrow," Zogby continued, "but they would surely put the region on a more productive path towards peace than the one it is on now."

[boreal-sea]

This is good, in my opinion. I'm fully against the expansion of the West Bank settlements. No one has a right to start a "settlement" in a country that is not theirs - and the West Bank is not Israel. On top of that, there's the extreme Islamophobic violence happening in and around these settlements, with Israelis in some cases burning Palestinian schools to the ground in an attempt to force Palestinians out of their homes.

[trailofstardust]

Supporting the west bank settlements is a new low for "liberal" zionists.

No, the historical presence of jews on the land and whatever happened does not justify stripping an entire people of freedom, autonomy and self-determination, enforcing on them a military occupation where crimes against them go unpunished.

[ivygorgon]

AN OPEN LETTER to THE PRESIDENT & U.S. CONGRESS

Petition Against Israel's Forced Displacement and Threats of Violence

13 so far! Help us get to 25 signers!

Dear President Biden and Members of Congress,

We, the undersigned, express our deep concern and condemnation of Israel's ongoing acts of forced displacement and threats of violence against those who seek to return home.

The forced displacement of individuals from their homes is a violation of fundamental human rights and international law. It leads to immense suffering, loss of livelihoods, and perpetuates cycles of poverty and instability.

Furthermore, the threats of violence against those who seek to return home are reprehensible and undermine the basic principles of safety and security for all individuals, regardless of their background or beliefs.

We call upon the international community to take immediate and decisive action to pressure Israel to cease these illegal and inhumane practices. We urge governments, international organizations, and civil society to:

1. Condemn Israel's actions in the strongest terms possible and demand an immediate halt to all forced displacement and threats of violence.

2. Provide support and assistance to those affected by forced displacement, including access to shelter, healthcare, and legal aid.

3. Ensure accountability for those responsible for perpetrating and enabling these violations of human rights and international law.

4. Work towards a just and lasting solution based on the principles of equality, justice, and respect for human rights.

We stand in solidarity with the victims of forced displacement and violence and call for justice and accountability for all those affected.

▶ Created on April 16 by Fatima

📱 Text SIGN PUIESK to 50409

🤯 Liked it? Text FOLLOW FREEPALESTINE to 50409

Source

[chinesegal]

Supporting west bank settlements is one of the loss I didnt expect "liberal" zionists to sink to, but here we are.

No, whether Jews have lived there for thousands of years has nothing to do with the fact that its wrong to strip people of their autonomy and freedom, creating a world where they can be assaulted, harassed and humiliated with impunity.

Sources: https://www.tumblr.com/7amaspayrollmanager/738624020872855553/unsafe-in-own-home-israeli-settlers-spread?source=share

[odinsblog]

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in over three decades, a settlement tracking group said Wednesday, a move that is likely to worsen already soaring tensions linked to the war in Gaza.

Israel’s aggressive expansion in the West Bank reflects the settler community’s strong influence in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the most religious and nationalist in the country’s history. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler himself, has turbocharged the policy of expansion, seizing new authorities over settlement development and saying he aims to solidify Israel’s hold on the territory and prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.

Authorities recently approved the appropriation of 12.7 square kilometers (nearly 5 square miles) of land in the Jordan Valley, according to a copy of the order obtained by The Associated Press. Data from Peace Now, the tracking group, indicate it was the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo accords at the start of the peace process.

Settlement monitors said the land grab connects Israeli settlements along a key corridor bordering Jordan, a move they said undermines the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian state.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric called it “a step in the wrong direction,” adding that “the direction we want to be heading is to find a negotiated two-state solution.”

The newly seized land is in an area of the West Bank where, even before the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, settler violence was displacing communities of Palestinians. That violence has only surged since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack ignited the war in Gaza. Settlers have carried out more than 1,000 attacks on Palestinians since October in the West Bank, causing deaths and damaging property, according to the U.N.

The land seizure, which was approved late last month but only publicized on Wednesday, comes after the seizure of 8 square kilometers (roughly 3 square miles) of land in the West Bank in March and 2.6 square kilometers (1 square mile) in February.

That makes 2024 by far the peak year for Israeli land seizure in the West Bank, Peace Now said.

By declaring them state lands, the government opens them up to being leased to Israelis and prohibits private Palestinian ownership.

(continue reading)

[alwaysbewoke]

[architectureandfilmblog]

"Settlement" housing surveys and dominates the landscape, West Bank, Palestine

THE ARCHITECTURE OF VIOLENCE (2014)

It feels like an important time to revisit this short documentary. Part of the Rebel Architecture series, the film examines, clearly and concisely, the use of design as a weapon of intimidation and subjugation within the Palestine Israel conflict.  One element it focuses on is Palestine's 'architecture of occupation': the way the built environment, even in the form of suburban 'settlement' housing (in which tracts of Israeli homes have been built in occupied territories like the West Bank), has been deliberately shaped to intimidate, surveil, segregate, and even dehumanise.

"Settlements are built on hilltops, overlooking Palestinian valleys, to dominate. They're laid out to create a suburban-scale optical device that can survey the territory. The bright red roofs of the houses are mandated by law... to allow military to understand what's friend and foe: where to bomb and where not to."

"...When you put Israeli colonies on highways, you accelerate Israeli movement through the space. In the same way, with every twist and turn of terrain, Palestinians encounter a checkpoint, a border, a fence, a valley they cannot cross..."

It's important for architects and urban designers everywhere to understand that our craft has the potential to be weaponised. It's important that, no matter whom the client, we think about how a project will impact everyone whose life it touches.  But sadly, as essential as these considerations are, they're of no immediate help to civilians from both sides who are suffering in Gaza and the rest of Palestine and Israel right now. So, it seems worth sharing:

Some ways that we can help:

1. Speak up. Send an email to your elected representative. Sign petitions. Stand up in any forum you can against human rights violations, and against both islamaphobic and antisemitic behaviour.

2. Contribute to a trusted aid organisation working in Gaza, such as Unicef or the British Red Cross. Sites like  charitynavigator and charitychecker can be used to check it's a group who'll use it well.

3. Understand the context. Short videos here and here provide a clear introduction/overview.

4. Boycott companies that are directly profiting from the illegal occupation, and from human rights violations.

(Images: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters via Guardian, Léopold Lambert/Funambulist)

[gastromancer]

@the.andrey.x, 25 june 2024

[agentfascinateur]

Six-year-old Mohammed Naeem al-Najar has died of starvation at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

[claraameliapond]

Palestinian child narrowly escapes Israeli bullets in Gaza

This is absolute madness

Ceasefire Now

Decolonise Palestine

[i-am-aprl]

Tell me again that Israel is not illegally annexing more land and ethnically cleansing the native Palestinian people. ‼️

Tell me again there was a “ceasefire” before Oct. 7 ‼️

Tell me that Israel is not a settler colonial state. ‼️

Don’t wait to tell me when 100,000 Palestinians are confirmed killed by Israel in Gaza whether through bombs, bullets, starvation or disease.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Akbar Shahid Ahmed at HuffPost:

The United Nations’ top court on Friday said Israel is illegally occupying the Palestinian regions it has controlled since 1967 and must end its presence in them — a landmark statement that boosts momentum for a change in Israeli policy.

The court found that Israel is committing major violations of international law, including “de facto annexation” of occupied land and breaking the global prohibition against racial discrimination and apartheid. It concluded that Israel should take steps like evacuating settlers and making reparations to affected Palestinians. It also emphasized Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and said other countries are obliged to cease support for Israel’s occupation and to help end the policy “as rapidly as possible.” The advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice covers Israeli practices in the occupied West Bank, in East Jerusalem (which Israel claims as its own territory) and in the Gaza Strip. The opinion from the panel of 15 judges from around the world, selected by the U.N. General Assembly, is non-binding and has no immediate consequences. The ICJ previously issued an opinion in 2004 saying Israel’s construction of a “separation wall” in the West Bank was illegal, yet the wall is still standing 20 years later.

[...] Meanwhile, the ICJ has found that various ongoing Israeli practices, from demolishing Palestinian homes to imposing “a regime of comprehensive restriction” on Palestinian movement, hinder the chances of Palestinian statehood ― which could bolster the argument that the longer the current situation persists, the less likely peace becomes.

[...] On Thursday, Israel’s parliament voted against the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state, backing a resolution that called the prospect “an existential danger to the State of Israel.” Many members of Israel’s security establishment and supporters of the country abroad argue the opposite: that reaching an agreement is the only way to lower tensions and respect Israel’s stated identity as a Jewish and democratic state.

[...] The court’s consideration of the Israeli occupation is separate from the case it is considering between South Africa and Israel, in which the former argues the latter may be committing genocide against Palestinians through its ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip. The court has said there is a “plausible” risk of genocide, and issued three orders requiring Israel to change its conduct to do more to shield civilians. Those orders, known as provisional measures, are meant to be binding, but Israel has largely maintained the policies the court criticized, such as limits on the provision of aid to Gaza. The Friday opinion is also distinct from the action that another body, the International Criminal Court, is considering in relation to Israel-Palestine. The ICC’s top prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister and defense minister and three leaders of the Palestinian militant faction Hamas for alleged war crimes during the Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s military response in Gaza since.

The International Court of Justice issued a nonbinding ruling that Israel Apartheid State is breaching international law by illegally occupying Palestinian territory in East Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza.

This come on the heels of the Knesset in Israel voting to reject recognition for a Palestinian state.

See Also:

Sky News: ICJ rules Israel settlement policy in occupied Palestinian territories in breach of international law

[capybaracorn]

Land Day: What happened in Palestine in 1976?

Every year on March 30, Palestinians hold protests and vigils and plant olive trees to reaffirm their connection to the land.

(30th of March 2024)

Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza joined the Land Day protests near the eastern Gaza borders, March 30, 2022 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Every year on March 30, Palestinians observe Land Day, or Yom al-Ard, recalling the events of March 30, 1976, when six unarmed Palestinians were killed and more than 100 injured by Israeli forces during protests against Israel’s confiscation of Palestinian land.

How much land did Israel confiscate?

Israel ordered the confiscation of 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) of land belonging to Palestinian citizens of Israel in the Galilee. These plans were part of Israeli state policy to Judaise Galilee following the creation of the state of Israel.

The confiscated land is roughly the size of 3,000 football pitches or the area from the tip of Manhattan to Central Park in New York, US.

What do Palestinians do on Land Day?

Palestinians, both inside Israel and across the occupied territory, mark this day by holding protests and vigils and planting olive trees to reaffirm their connection to the land. The protests are often met with brutal use of force by Israel.

Um Ahmad al-Banna was wounded in the protests of March of Return and joined Land Day commemorations in Gaza in 2022 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Is Israel still seizing land?

Yes, Israel has continued to seize large swaths of Palestinian land, designating them as military zones, state land and other labels.

Most recently, on March 22, 2024, Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared Israel was seizing 800 hectares (1,977 acres) in the occupied West Bank, in a move that would facilitate building more illegal settlements.

“While there are those in Israel and in the world who seek to undermine our right to Judea and Samaria and the country in general, we promote settlement through hard work and in a strategic manner all over the country,” Smotrich said, using Biblical names for the area that are commonly heard in Israel.

Settlements – illegal under international law – are Jewish-only communities built on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

On March 6, Israel’s settlement-planning authority announced it had approved the construction of some 3,500 new housing units in Maale Adumim, Kedar and Efrat within the occupied West Bank.

From November 1, 2022 to October 31, 2023, Israel has approved at least 24,000 illegal housing units to be built on Palestinian land.

Earlier this month, the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said settlements had expanded by a record amount and risked eliminating any possibility of a Palestinian state.

[ivygorgon]

AN OPEN LETTER to THE PRESIDENT & U.S. CONGRESS

The United States must uphold universal values of fairness and equality

50 so far! Help us get to 100 signers!

President Biden, Ladies and gentlemen of Congress,

I rise today deeply troubled by the ongoing atrocities committed by Israeli soldiers, which include acts of rape, theft, murder, mutilation, torture, starvation, kidnapping, occupation, and terrorism. These actions, while perpetrated under the guise of self-defense, cannot be ignored or excused.

For far too long, Israel has played the victim on the international stage while simultaneously rejecting international law and engaging in egregious human rights violations. This pattern of behavior has persisted for nearly a century, and it is time for us to acknowledge the truth and take a stand for justice.

As representatives of a nation that claims to uphold universal values of fairness and equality, we cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of innocent civilians at the hands of Israeli forces. Our unwavering support for Israel must not come at the expense of ignoring the injustices inflicted upon the Palestinian people.

It is incumbent upon us to hold Israel accountable for its actions, to demand adherence to international law, and to advocate for a just and peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We cannot claim to champion justice while defending such grave injustices.

America must demand an immediate end to Israel's genocide of Palestinians and the ecocide of their land. We must enact laws that grant Palestinians freedom from occupation, starting with a permanent ceasefire, dismantling apartheid policies, divesting funds and arms, and implementing sanctions against Israel.

The weaponization of starvation by Israel cannot be tolerated. America must ensure that humanitarian aid flows freely into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of innocent civilians trapped in this conflict.

It is time for us to take meaningful action to address these grave injustices and work towards a just and peaceful resolution for all parties involved.

Your immediate attention to address my each concern is needed without delay. I look forward to your response.

▶ Created on April 5 by Fatima

📱 Text SIGN PXTMTA to 50409

🤯 Liked it? Text FOLLOW FREEPALESTINE to 50409

[Sources]