Yves here. We have to admit that because of the many big stories that are going on so as not to give much attention to an important aspect of Israel’s ongoing campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians: that of the escalation of violence against the Palestinian people in the West Bank. The conflict in Gaza, the successful Houthi attack on ships, Israel’s continued attack on Lebanon, the sham (so far) of peace talks, all have served, whether by accident or design, to serve as a cover for the continued Israeli occupation. violation of West Bank rights.
By Jake Johnson, staff writer at Common Dreams. Originally published on Common Dreams
A coalition of aid organizations on Friday called on the international community to take strong and punitive measures against the Israeli government and settlers after the number of attacks on immigrants in the West Bank since October 7 exceeded 1,000.
The Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), which is a group of international organizations working in the Palestinian territories, said in a statement that the rate of attacks on Palestinian immigrants in the West Bank has doubled since the same time last year, from an average. two a day to four.
“At least 10 people, including two children, have died during this attack, and 234 have been injured, including 20 children. Since 7 October, 1,260 people, including 600 children, have been forcibly displaced amid resident violence and movement restrictions. The displaced households are from 20 pastoral and Bedouin communities throughout Area C of the West Bank. As one survivor of settler violence explained, ‘There is no safe place here.’”
“The attackers’ violence is pre-planned and orchestrated by organized groups from rural areas and settlements, with the support of the Israeli government, including local and regional councils,” the group added, noting the limited sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. settlers “failed to reduce the frequency of attacks.”
“While a few people have been arrested, no civilian or soldier has been prosecuted in connection with these 1,000 attacks,” AIDA said. “Reports indicate that some illegal foreign farms operated by permitted settlers—many of whom have been reported to be among the most violent incidents—have received material support worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture. Settlement, the Settlement Administration in the Ministry of Defence, and the local and regional settlement councils. “
AIDA urged the international community to “take new preventive measures that go beyond individual residents to target identified organizations and state entities that promote violence and/or participate in attacks on Palestinian civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
The group also said the far-right Israeli government “must respond to repeated and evidence-based allegations that the military and other state authorities tolerate, condone, and sometimes participate in the violence of the invaders.”
A report by Human Rights Watch published in April found that the Israeli army “participated or did not protect the Palestinian people from attacks by violent settlers in the West Bank who have driven people from 20 communities and have completely destroyed at least seven communities” since October 7. .
AIDA’s statement came days after the Israeli government announced that it would seize nearly five square miles of land in the West Bank—Israel’s largest expropriation of land in the occupied Palestinian territory in more than three decades.
Sally Abi Khalil, director of Oxfam International-a member of AIDA, said on Friday that the attacks on settlers in the West Bank had reached a “disturbing level.”
“In a situation where foreign legalization is quickly followed, and Israel steals a lot of land,” said Khalil, “foreign governments must take action now to stop this illegal theft by taking reasonable steps to hold the Israeli government and the perpetrators of these attacks to account. “
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