2024-04-22 14:55:37
“The alarming increase in violence by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian population in the occupied West Bank in recent days highlights the urgent need to dismantle illegal settlements and end Israel’s occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). and its prolonged apartheid system”, declared Amnesty International.
Between April 12 and 16, hundreds of Israeli settlers launched a wave of deadly violent attacks against Palestinian villages in the West Bank, including Al Mughayyir, Duma, Deir Dibwan, Beitin and Aqraba. In these attacks, in which settlers burned homes, trees and vehicles, settlers or Israeli forces killed at least four Palestinians, including 17-year-old Omar Hamed near Ramallah, and two men — Abdulrahman Bani Fadel Mohammed Bani Jami’—shot dead near Nablus. In the most recent act of violence, a Palestinian paramedic was shot dead in the village of Al Sawiya, south of Nablus, on April 20.
Videos verified by Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Program Testing Laboratory show that Israeli forces present did not intervene during settler attacks in Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah. Witness testimonies collected by the organization also indicate that members of the Israeli army joined the attacks or remained on the sidelines, without preventing the violence, in Aqraba, southeast of Nablus, and Kufr Malik, northeast of Ramallah.
“The horrific rise in settler violence against Palestinians in recent days is part of a decades-long, state-backed campaign to dispossess, displace and oppress Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, under the Israeli apartheid. “Israeli forces have a history of fueling settler violence and it is outrageous that once again these forces stood by and, in some cases, participated in these brutal attacks,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for Middle East and North Africa.
“Establishing Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime. Violence is an integral part of the establishment and expansion of these settlements and the maintenance of apartheid. It is time for the world to recognize this and pressure the Israeli authorities to respect international law by immediately suspending settlement expansion and eliminating all existing settlements.”
Over the past six months, settler violence has increased dramatically, but the most recent increase in attacks came after the disappearance of a 14-year-old Israeli boy, Binyamin Ahimeir, from the illegal settlement of Mal’achei Hashalom, northeast of Ramallah, who was found dead the next day.
State-backed settler violence
Videotaped incidents in Deir Dibwan on 13 April and verified by Amnesty International show Israeli soldiers standing by while Israeli settlers destroy Palestinian property. Images of video surveillance cameras from the Israeli NGO Yesh Din show two people entering a garage and setting a car on fire, while two Israeli soldiers stand by. The soldiers also refrain from intervening and watch when the Israeli settlers they set fire to a barricade thus blocking the main road that leads to the town. Another video shows Palestinian civilians throwing stones at the military while sounds probably of gunshots are heard.
In another incident, settlers opened fire on two young men — Abd al Rahman Bani Fadel and Mohammed Bani Jami’ — and killed them in the village of Khirbet Twayyil, near Aqraba, south of Nablus, according to Aqraba Mayor Salah Bani. Jaber. In a statement posted on social media, Israeli forces stated that a preliminary investigation indicated that their forces had not been responsible for the deaths. Verified video footage confirms that the Israeli army was on the scene during the incident and shows groups of Palestinians fleeing while sounds likely of gunshots are heard.
The mayor told Amnesty International that he had seen members of the Israeli army stand by during the attack:
“Not only was the army there and did nothing: today we should not say that the settlers attack protected by the army, but that the army is under the protection of the settlers.”
He added that the relationship between the Israeli government army and settlers is “complementary” and that Israeli authorities continue systematic practices such as confiscating land, demolishing homes and prohibiting access to farmland.
Muntaser al Maliki, a resident of Kufr Malik, another of the villages attacked, said he had seen Israelis dressed in army uniform taking part in the attacks on April 14. He told Amnesty International:
“What is happening right now is the erasure of human beings, trees and stones, and everything that is Palestinian, by settlers with the support of the army. These attacks are systematic and have the support and protection of the army. There were also settlers dressed in army uniforms among the attackers. The situation is frankly disastrous […] The solution is to uproot and dismantle all settlements,” he said.
Footage provided by a local resident of Kufr Malik and verified by Amnesty International shows soldiers kicking and then arresting a civilian who is kneeling on the ground. The soldiers are accompanied by a man who looks like an Israeli settler.
According to the media, during an attack by settlers in Al Mughayyir, near the illegal settlement of Mal’achei Hashalom, 25 people were injured by live ammunition and houses and vehicles were set on fire. Clashes led to the death of one man, Jihad Afif Sedqui Abu Aliah.
Images posted on social media on April 12 and verified by Amnesty International show Israeli settlers surrounding a property in the village and confronting Palestinians who were hiding on the roof.
Settler attacks against the Palestinian population in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were already systematic, but have increased since the October 7 attack. According to B’Tselem, since that date, settler violence has already displaced almost 20 communities.
Many of the villages attacked in recent days – including Al Mughayyir, Kufr Malik and Khirbet Abu Falah – are home to recently displaced Palestinian Bedouin communities who had been driven from their communities in northeast Ramallah by settler violence.
A displaced Palestinian from Al Muarrajat told Amnesty International that these attacks have intensified in the last five years.
“This violence is not new to our community. We suffer their attacks [de los colonos] in Al Muarrajat since 2018 and intensified frighteningly since October 7 […] Everywhere we move, they come and move us again. People come to visit us and tell us to stand firm, but how can we stand firm when our lives and livelihoods and the lives of our sons and daughters are in danger? This is a systematic policy that allows settlers to attack residents and burn everything down, and no one is doing anything to stop them.”.
In February, the government of The United States imposed sanctions on four Israeli settlers violent men accused of being involved in attacks in the West Bank. The United Kingdom and France followed suit. The Biden administration imposed another set of sanctions on April 19.
“The most recent attacks are a stark reminder that imposing sanctions on individual violent settlers does not address the root causes of violence, such as relentless settlement expansion and Israel’s occupation and apartheid system,” Heba Morayef concluded.
“Failure to address these root causes and hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law is to allow the dispossession and oppression of the Palestinian population to continue.”
#Apartheid #Palestinians #dismantled