Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.
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June 14, 2024
- Israel Ministry of Agriculture Has Made Long Term Investments into Illegal Farming Outposts Over Past Six Years
- U.S. Sanctions Settler Entity Behind Attacks on Gaza-Bound Aid Convoys
- Israeli Settler Group To Hold Conference on Settling Southern Lebanon
- Bonus Reads
Israel Ministry of Agriculture Has Made Long Term Investments into Illegal Farming Outposts Over Past Six Years
Peace Now published a new report detailing evidence that the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture has given $448,000 (1.66 million NIS) to the leaders of illegal farming outposts over the past six years. Agricultural outposts (also called farm outposts) have proliferated over the past several years, and have become a preferred means by which settlers can take control over vast areas of land with only a few individuals grazing herds of livestock.
Peace Now reports that the list of settlers who have received support via the Agricultural Ministries program titled “Preserving Open Areas Through Animal Grazing,” includes three individuals – Nerya Ben Pazi, Moshe Sharvit and Zvi Bar Yossef – who have been sanctioned by the United States (the government funding of these illegal outposts appears to pre-date the U.S. sanctions) due to their involvement in violence against Palestinians and activists.
Peace Now said in its report:
“All the farm outposts established in recent years in the occupied territories present themselves as ‘guardians of state lands’ and are part of a system designed to dispossess Palestinians and prevent them from accessing extensive areas in Area C. The vast majority, if not all, of the farms are involved in expelling Palestinian farmers and shepherds from the vicinity, some of them through threats or by calling on IDF forces to remove or expel Palestinians, and some even resort to physical violence. In the past year, especially after October 7th, over 1,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes out of fear of attacks by settlers. In almost all cases they were in places where a farm outpost was established in the area.”
U.S. Sanctions Settler Entity Behind Attacks on Aid Convoys
On June 14th the U.S. Department of State announced that it had imposed sanctions on the Tzav 9 organization, which it called “a violent extremist Israeli group.” Tzav 9 and its members have led organized efforts to stop aid trucks from reaching Gaza. Four of its members have been arrested by Israeli police in association with attacks on aid convoys, though no indictments have been filed. Notably, the U.S. did not sanction any individuals associated with the attacks, though the identity of at least four is known. The State Department detailed:
“For months, individuals from Tzav 9 have repeatedly sought to thwart the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including by blockading roads, sometimes violently, along their route from Jordan to Gaza, including in the West Bank. They also have damaged aid trucks and dumped life-saving humanitarian aid onto the road. On May 13, 2024, Tzav 9 members looted and then set fire to two trucks near Hebron in the West Bank carrying humanitarian aid destined for men, women, and children in Gaza….We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to promote accountability for those who attempt or undertake such heinous acts, and we expect and urge that Israeli authorities do the same.”
The U.S. based advocacy group DAWN had previously called for the U.S. to impose sanctions on Tzav 9 as well as entities that fundraise for it, specifically highlighting two Israeli charities, one U.S. charity (JGIVE-Friends of Asor Fund USA Inc.) and the payment processor Stripe. Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, director of research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN, said:
“Tzav 9’s violent attacks to block humanitarian aid for Gaza could not take place without the well-oiled network of companies and organizations funding and supporting them. If the U.S. is serious about punishing all of those responsible for this kind of criminal activity, it should sanction companies like TickChak, which has repeatedly financed violent settlers, including their attacks on humanitarian aid convoys.”
Tzav 9 means “Order 9” in Hebrew, which is a direct reference to call-up orders for Israeli military reservists.
Israeli Settler Group To Hold Conference on Settling Southern Lebanon
According to a flier shared on X, a group calling themselves the “South Lebanon Settlement Movement” is planning to convene a conference on June178th to explore the “biblical, historic, legal, and practical consideration of Israeli colonization of Lebanon.”
Bonus Reads
- “Settlers Expelled This Palestinian Family From Its Village. Then the Terror Began All Over Again” (Haaretz)
- “Israel army accused of ‘active’ support for settlers in West Bank violence” (Al-Monitor)
- VIDEO – “Palestinians in the West Bank Are Living in the Shadow of the War in Gaza” (New York Times)
- “Apple Matches Worker Donations to IDF and Illegal Settlements, Employees Allege” (The Intercept)
- “Water Supply Reduced in Palestinian Neighborhood in East Jerusalem Amid Heat Wave” (Haaretz)