المكتب الوطني للدفاع عن الارض ومقاومة الاستيطان منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية
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The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that on 16 Sept. 2024, the State Attorney’s Office in the Occupation State submitted indictments to the Central Court in Lod against 3 settlers for their involvement in attacks on Palestinians in villages near the Nablus city. The indictments indicate that the settlers were involved in terrorist attacks in the Awarta village, southeast of Nablus, onthree Palestinians’ vehicles while passing on the roads near the Burin village, south of the city of Nabluslast month, resulted in damaging the vehicles, as well as beating a driver with a stick on his head and shoulders, and another sustained damage to his right eye after a shard of glass from the shattered car window entered his eye’.
According to the indictment, the extremist settlers came from the nearby Itamar settlement, after carrying out their terrorist acts and the Palestinian passengers managed to escape from the scene, settlers got into the car and drove towards the aforementioned settlement, and on their way back, the army arrested them, searched the vehicle and asked them to wait, but they ignored the soldiers’ order and fled the scene and reached an open area near the settlement.
M.K. Limor Son Har-Melech of the Jewish Power Party, headed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir didn’t hesitate during a meeting of the Knesset Constitution and Law Committee, which coincided with the terrorist attack to express her support for the terrorist attack on the four women and the child from Rahat, ‘This is not an Israeli family. An innocent event like this could be an espionage operation, aimed at gathering information. This cannot be ignored.’ She did not hesitate to lie as well, ‘When you enter a car with a non-Israeli license plate, there are no compromises,’ knowing that the women are from Rahat, i.e. a family with Israeli citizenship, and were in a car with yellow, i.e. Israeli license plate.
Settler terrorism this year has crossed the line. The brutal war on Gaza on the one hand, and the alliance of interests between Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, which was reflected in the agreements to form the most extremist and fascist government in Israel, provided them with reasons, cover and protection. The terrorist acts carried out by the settlers of ‘Itamar” and Givat Ronen’ are not isolated acts, but rather part of a continuous series of terrorist acts.
After ‘Itamar and Givat Ronen’, it was the turn of the ‘Shilo’ terror and its settlement outposts in the Qariot village, which targeted a thirteen-year-old girl, and the ‘Avitar’ terror in the Beita town, which targeted an American activist of Turkish origin. The army came and inspected the crime scene and apologized before leaving the village without providing a minimum commitment to provide protection to the residents from the settlers’ terrorism. In Beita, the American Administration is still waiting for clarifications about the terrorist act, even though President Biden exempted the state and the occupation army from the mission, claiming that Aisha was not directly targeted.
Why the Israeli Public Prosecution resort to such selective measures, but knowing before anyone else are merely formal! The answer is clear, it is trying to circumvent international accountability for the occupying state for its ongoing crimes of described terrorism, under the pretext that it is a state of law, even though settler terrorism continues and roams unabated throughout the various areas of the West Bank, where not a day goes by without attacks on Palestinian citizens and their property with the participation, in most cases, of the occupation forces and under the protection of the so-called law enforcement agencies, which, under instructions from Ben Gvir prevent any attacks on those who practice this terrorism.
Daily evidence is present in a quick inventory of the past week, starting with Khirbet Zanouta east of Adh Dhahiriya in the Hebron Governorate, when settlers, under the protection of the occupation police, attacked Khirbet Zanouta east of Adh Dhahiriya last week, and detained livestock and forced their owners to pay a fine while awaiting court, and the provocative march on St. 90 near the village of Al-Jiftlik, which is considered a main artery for movement between Jericho and the central and northern Jordan Valley, and throwing stones at citizens’ vehicles near the village of Burin south of Nablus.
Inaddition, setting fire to its lands again and attacking citizens’ property, the water pipeline and the roofs of caves in Masafer Yatta south of Hebron, and vandalizing water pipes, tanks and roofs of caves with the aim of displacing citizens from their lands in favor of colonial expansion in this area, and raiding citizens’ homes in the village of Yatma south of Nablus and setting fire to its surroundings and citizens’ homes in the Khalayel Al-Loz area southeast of Bethlehem, which caused a state of panic and fear among children and women.
Settlers’terrorism has even reached levels that have exceeded the norm, with the death of a number of sheep after they were poisoned in the Arab al-Malihat community, northwest of the city of Jericho, in deviant practices targeting pastoral communities with the aim of pressuring citizens to displace them from their camps, and storming the ‘Ein Jaryut’ area in the town of Betonia, west of Ramallah, which is considered one of the largest springs in the area, and its water doesn’t stop throughout the year, and is surrounded by an archaeological area, and its water collects in a pond that a number of farmers benefit from in irrigating their neighboring fields, and attacking the lands of the village of Beit Imrin, west of Nablus, cutting down a number of olive trees, destroying two agricultural rooms, water tanks, and stone chains surrounding the lands of citizens in the Jaba’ village, south of Jenin, and uprooting trees as an extension of the policy of returning settlers to ‘Homesh’ after evacuating it in 2005, and returning to attacking citizens’ homes in the village of Um Safa, northwest of Ramallah, and firing live bullets at their homes after they were stationed at Jabal al-Ras and Jabal Abu Tantur, where the area has been witnessing extensive bulldozing operations for several weeks.
Over the week, settlers continued their attacks on students and teaching staff at Arab al-Ka’abneh Elementary School in the Ma’arjat area northwest of Jericho, they arrested the school principal and one of the students’ parents. Medical teams dealt with seven injuries that were transferred to the hospital, including 4 teachers, in addition to the attacks on citizens’ lands in the Beita town, south of Nablus, and the storming of the ‘Yatmawi’ area under the protection of occupation soldiers.
Moreover, armed settlers attacked shepherds in the al-Maleh area and in Khirbet al-Farisiya in the northern Jordan Valley. They stormed the Khirbet Sha’b al-Batm and Khallet al-Daba’ in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. They known to be wearing an occupation army uniform, and the village of al-Mughayyir in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, which was also a target of settlers’ crimes. The village was subjected to several attacks by settlers, the most serious of which was about three months ago, when they burned several homes and vehicles.
The Palestinians, based on their experience, don’t expect anything positive from the Israeli Public Prosecution filing indictments against the settlers, who according to the Public Prosecution, commit violations based on national and ideological grounds. Many files were closed even after indictments were filed, as was the case with an American citizen of Palestinian origin. The investigation file was closed with the Israeli soldiers involved in the crime of abuse that citizen Omar Abdul Majeed Asa’d was subjected to, which resulted in his martyrdom last year. As for those who assaulted the four women of Rahat, they were released and transferred to house arrest under the pretext of transferring evidence to Ben Gvir’s police.
Moreover, repeated Israeli reports have revealed that the Israeli occupation police ignore the vast majority of settler attacks targeting Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli organization ‘Yesh Din – There is Law’ confirms that 93% of investigation files against settlers ended without indictments being filed and with the assault being recorded as an unknown perpetrator, and that out of 1,597 attacks by settlers from 2005 until the end of 2022, an investigation was opened in 7% of them, and indictments were filed that did not result in anything noteworthy in only 107 files, while 81% of the files were closed.
Dataindicates that the police ignore Palestinian complaints at a time when it opens an investigation and files indictments against the majority of Palestinians against whom complaints were filed by settlers. The report also showed that only 3% of the indictments filed ended with the conviction of settlers, while Amnesty International said in one of its reports that the release of 6 settlers who committed the attack on Palestinians in the Huwara town, south of Nablus, confirms that impunity is the prevailing approach for settler perpetrators of violence.
In parallel with the military orders to seize Palestinian lands, the Ministry of Construction and Settlement, in cooperation with the occupation municipality in Jerusalem, approved a plan to build a 34-story settlement tower in the Gilo settlement south of occupied Jerusalem, as part of the so-called ‘city renewal project’. According to estimates, scores of the projects are being pushed forward in areas C after the settlements’ influence has been extended to about 40% of the total area of the West Bank.
Within this context, director of the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights i.e, B’Tselem, Yuli Novak, said that work and encouragement are continuing with the current government coalition to increase the number of settlers in the settlements of the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem to one million settlers distributed across 176 settlements and 195 settlement outposts that are being legalized in the coming months.
‘B’Tselem’ explained that settlement outposts and farms have become over the past decade, one of the main methods used by the occupation authorities to seize lands in the West Bank and to expel the Palestinian communities living on them. Unlike the formal steps taken to establish settlements, the establishment of outposts can be carried out quickly and requires relatively few resources and manpower. Moreover, the seizure of land through outposts and pastoral farms allows the occupying state to evade responsibility for the seizure of the land and for the violent and illegal practices committed by the settlers, who seizes it, even though it supports those outposts in various ways.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Demolishing a house containing a private garden and a swimming pool, belonging to citizen Wael Al-Saifi, in the Biddu town. They also demolished 3 shops, along with their equipment and contents, in addition to demolishing a 150-meter-long retaining wall belonging to citizen Bajis Al-Sheikh, under the pretext of not having a license. They also demolished agricultural rooms and stone chains, swept away water lines, and uprooted trees from agricultural land belonging to a number of families in the Al-Issawiya town.
- Assaulting the young man, Dawod Wissam Hamoda while in his way to workplace in Jerusalem, causing him injuries and bruises in various parts of his body. He was also electrocuted and found unconscious.
- Seizing a residential apartment and a plot of land on Al-Khalwa Street in the At-Tur town, and put locks on their doors, placed barbed wire around them, and installed monitoring cameras.
- Forcing the Jerusalemite citizen, Ahmad Alian to demolish his own house under the pretext of building without a license in Beit Safafa town. They also forced the citizen Rami Musa Hijazi to demolish his house under construction in the town of Jabal al-Mukaber, south of occupied Jerusalem, under the same pretext.
- Notifying the demolition of 37 houses and commercial facilities in the Silwan town, to pave a settlement road ‘the American Street’.
Hebron:
- Storming the Old City of Hebron and organized a provocative march that started from the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque and reached the Osama bin Munqidh School that the occupation forces seized and turned into an ‘institute’ for rabbis and named it ‘Beit Romano’. Settlers roamed the streets and alleys of the Old City and chanted racist slogans against Arabs, including ‘Death to Arabs’.
- Preventing citizens in the Old City from reaching their homes and closed a number of roads leading to the town, assaulted a number of citizens by beating them in the ‘Jourat al-Jamal’ area, southeast of Yata., resulted in the injury of a female citizen with wounds and bruises, and she was admitted to the hospital.
- Seizing a number of vehicles in the ‘al-Fakhar’” area in the al-Karmel village, and arrested citizen Moh’d al-Harini from Masafer Yatta while he was trying to confront the settlers who tried to seize his land.
- Demolishing a house in Area B, which is under construction in the Beit Awa town, west of the city of Dura, belonging to the family of Moh’d Musa Suwaiti, under the pretext of building without a license, and close to the racist separation wall.
Bethlehem:
- Attacking the Al-Jab’a Boys’ Elementary School and Al-Tawafuq Mixed Secondary School with stones. The teaching staff at the two schools evacuated the students who were in panic and secured their arrival to their homes.
- Bulldozing agricultural lands planted with olive trees in the ‘Wadi Al-Ghuit area’ located between the towns of Nahalin and Husan, the area is about 6 dunams, belonging to citizens from different families in the village.
Nablus:
- Bulldozing a street in the Al-Shaqara Neighborhood in the Duma village, south of Nablus, with the aim of closing it.
- Attacking citizens’ vehicles near the Burin village, south of Nablus, and threw stones at them on the road near the ‘Yitzhar” settlement.’
Salfeet:
- Notifying the demolition of 3 poultry farms in the Deir Ballut town, west of Salfeet, in the Al-Mureij area, belonging to Ibrahim Abdul Jawad. The workers on the farms were informed to evacuate them in preparation for their demolition, although the farm owner had received a notice to stop work and construction about a year ago.
- Handing over 6 stop work construction orders in the Rafat village, west of Salfeet, targeting a commercial store, three inhabited houses, an artificial stone factory, and a building materials store.
- Uprooting 25 olive trees belonging to citizen Moh’d Ayoub Ali al-Ahmad on a-4 dunams in the northern area of the town called ‘Rajeh Garden’ and close to the ‘Bruchin’ settlement built on the village’s lands.
- Bulldozing roads leading to the waste dump in the vIskaka village and closed them with earthen mounds in to prevent access to the area.
Tulkarm:
- Demolishing 2 inhabited houses in the Khirbet Jbara village, south of Tulkarm Governorate, adjacent to the racist Separation Wall, belonging to citizens Moh’d Jbara and Awni Jbara. It is worth noting that citizens Jbara have proof of title deeds ‘Tabu’, and were notified about a month ago of the eviction and demolition. From the first moment, they made efforts with lawyers to take legal procedures, but they were surprised by the occupation bulldozers that began the demolition process before the expiry of the notification period, and without giving them a deadline to evacuate their contents.
Jordan Valley:
- Organizing a provocative march on st. 90 near the Al-Jiftlik village, north of Jericho, under heavy protection from the occupation forces, which closed the road to citizens and prevented them from passing, which obstructed their movement and prevented farmers from reaching their lands.
- Poisoning a number of sheep. It is reported that the poison was put in the water that the sheep were drinking from, which caused the death of more than 50 of them, belonging to the brothers Suleiman and Moh’d Ali Malihat.
- Storming the Arab Al-Kaabneh Elementary School in the Al-Mu’arjat area, northwest of Jericho, assaulted students and the school’s teaching staff.
