elcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

November 1, 2024

1. Israel is Bolstering Settlement Militias
2. Yesha Council Pushes Intervention to Ease International Sanctions
3. Smotrich, Saar Call for Annexation, Enlists U.S. Evangelical Support
4. Settlers Continue to Terrorize Palestinians & Hamper Olive Harvest
5. Bonus Reads

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Israel is Bolstering Settlement Militias

The Samaria Regional Council recently announced that it purchased new long range rifles to equip settler militias guarding 30 settlements, reportedly purchased with the help of international donations, and 500 guns for women living in settlements. The head of the Council, Yossi Dagan, also announced he had purchased advanced surveillance equipment including drones and night vision devices. These militias – known as standby squads, rapid response teams, and/or settlement defense teams – are composed of local settlers, usually veterans but not actively serving in the IDF.

Ynet also reports that the IDF’s West Bank division is focused on fortifying settlements by sending additional arms and equipment as well as deploying reservists to the West Bank. 

Yesha Council Pushes Intervention to Ease International Sanctions

The hugely powerful settler lobby, the Yesha Council, asked the Israeli State Comptroller urging the office to review how the Israeli government has internally responded to international sanctions against settlers and settler entities. The Yesha Council is frustrated with what it perceives as inaction to reverse sanctions and forestall further sanctions.

The Chairman of the Yesha Council, Yisrael Ganz, has previously requested the government to appoint a “Sanctions Czar” to take on this portfolio. Ganz told JNS:

“The sanctions are a danger to the sovereignty of the State of Israel. This is a slippery slope and the Israeli government is not doing enough in this regard to protect its sovereignty. We must not allow other countries, even if they are friendly, to dictate policies and control citizens and non-parliamentary organizations.”

Ganz also told Reuters: 

“If Trump takes the election, there will be no sanctions. If Trump loses the election, we will in the state of Israel … have a problem with sanctions that the government over here has to deal with.”

Meanwhile, the Kohelet Forum – which has played a hugely significant role in shaping Israel’s far-right legislative agenda – published a new report claiming to prove that the United Nations OCHA-OPT (The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,) is a key driver of the international sanctions targeting settlers and settler entities. The report claims OCHA-OPT has published biased and false reports, and recommends cutting off official cooperation between Israel and the organization – to include denying visas and permits to its employees.

Smotrich, Saar Call for Annexation, Enlists U.S. Evangelical Support

On October 28 Bezalel Smotrich – who serves as Israel’s Finance Minister and a minister in the Defense Ministry who has effective control over civilian affairs in the  West Bank Area C – made a speech at a conference in Jerusalem that called for Israel to unilaterally annex the West Bank and Gaza and the establishment of settlements across the land. At the same event Gidon Saar – head of the New Hope Part and expected to be the next Defense Minister – also supported annexation, saying Israel must put up an “iron wall” against international support for a two state solution. 

The conference was hosted by Israel365, an Israeli media company focused on cultivating U.S. evangelical support for Israel. The Executive Director Tuly Weisz wrote an op-ed in The Jerusalem Post (which co-sponsored the 2023 conference) after the conference explaining that his motivation for his work lay (in part) in the recent book published by former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. In the book, Friedman rejects Palestinian statehood and calls for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank while denying Palestinians equal voting rights.

Bonus Reads

1. “The Israeli task force deporting foreign activists from the West Bank” (+972 Magazine)
2. “A Palestinian Family Goes to Pick Olives. It Ends in an Execution by Israeli Soldiers” (Haaretz)
3. “Israeli settlers in Gaza? Netanyahu’s allies lay out a strategy” (NPR)
4. “’You Entered Gaza to Take Revenge’: Mourners Eulogize IDF Soldier, West Bank Settler” (Haaretz)
5. “A History of Settlements” (NPR)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

October 25, 2024

1. Three New (Violent) Outposts Reported
2. Nachala Movement, Ministers Prepare for Gaza Settlement & Call for Expulsion of Palestinians
3. IDF Recruits, Pays Settlers in Reserves to Guard Outposts
4. Settlers Continue to Terrorize Palestinians & Hamper Olive Harvest
5. Bonus Reads

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>Three New (Violent) Outposts Reported

Haaretz reports that two months ago settlers established a new illegal (even under Israeli law) outpost near the Khan al-Ahmar community on lands east of Jerusalem, and those illegal squatters are now routinely harassing and threatening the bedouin. The settlers have prevented children from attending school by blocking access to a path that leads near the outpost. As a Thereminder, the Khan al-Ahmar bedouin community has been in a years-long battle against the Israeli government, which insists their presence there is illegal and has sought to forcibly relocate the villages in order to construct the E-1 settlement.

The Israeli Civil Administration told Haaretz that there is no evacuation order against the illegal outpost, even though Israeli officers toured the outpost. The power over enforcement of Israeli planning law in the West Bank is in the hands of Bezalel Smotrich, who founded the organization Regavim which is/was a main instigator in the effort to push Khan al-Ahmar off its land.

The Times of Israel reports that in recent weeks settlers established a new outpost near the village of Tuba in the South Hebron Hills are also terrorizing nearby Palestinians and preventing children from making it to school. Video captured a settler stopping a Palestinian car,  ordering the driver to open the trunk, and the settler proceeding to steal children’s backpacks along with other items.

In addition, Wafa reports a new outpost on lands just east of Hebron. The village council of Bayrin reports that settlers from the Susiya, Bnei Hefer, and Kiryat Arba settlements have built what looks like the start of a herding/agricultural outpost on its land. The outpost currently consists of a large tent and a caravan with Israeli flags.

Nachala Movement, Ministers Prepare for Gaza Settlement & Call for Expulsion of Palestinians

On October 20th, the settler movement Nachala organized a two-day conference near Kibbutz Be’eri to prepare for the establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza – not just in a political sense but in practical terms. Daniel Weiss, the leader of Nachala who is under Canadian sanctions, said that  she has paid for 40 buildings, and 700 families are committed to settling in Gaza and that:

“We came here with one clear purpose: to settle the entire Gaza Strip… Every inch from north to south.”

Weiss urged Palestinians to voluntarily leave Gaza, and that the first settlement will be built by the end of the year, stating:

“What we’re doing here is a copy-paste to Gaza. It’s not for nothing that we went through 50 years of effort and came out successful.”

When asked about Netanyahu’s public opposition to their goal – something Bibi has called “unrealistic” – Weiss said:

“Oh, how I love that word…It’s like a sweet treat for my ears. Because that’s exactly what they told me about settling Judea and Samaria. So when they tell me settling in Gaza is unrealistic, I know it can be done.”

The event was officially promoted by the Likud Party and four ministers were in attendance:  Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Development of the Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, and  Social Equality and Women’s Empowerment Minister May Golan – from Netanyahu’s Likud Party. Several Knesset members were also in attendance at the event, which occasionally broke out in chants supporting Rabbi Meir Kahane.

After dancing in celebration and leading the conference in song, Ben-Gvir said:

 “If we want it, we can renew settlements in Gaza.” And later, “We are the owners of this land..They [Palestinians] understand that when Israel acts like the rightful owners of this land, that is what brings results….[Israel should encourage] voluntary transfer of all Gazan citizens. We will offer them the opportunity to move to other countries because that land belongs to us.” 

Following the event, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich shared similar sentiments on X, saying:

“What we have learned this year is that everything is up to us. We are the owners of this land. Yes, we experienced a terrible catastrophe. But what we need to understand, one year later – so many Israelis have changed their thinking. They have changed their mindset. They understand that when Israel acts like the rightful owners of this land, this is what brings results.” 

IDF Recruits, Pays Settlers in Reserves to Guard Outposts

Haaretz reports there is a special effort to recruit settlers in the Israeli army reserves to serve as security guards for illegal Israeli outposts across the West Bank, and even help establish new outposts. Settlers themselves are doing the recruiting, banding together battalions of settler-soldiers paid by the State to protect to secure the illegal activities of settlers. An ad posted to a WhatsApp group read:

“We’re a group of 18-year-olds who are forming an outpost in the Hebron Hills [in the southern West Bank] and are looking for someone who has completed military service to sign up as a soldier from the regional defense battalion. … He will receive a salary and rifle and be with us in practice.”

Settlers Continue to Terrorize Palestinians & Hamper Olive Harvest

Here is a sampling of reports on settler violence and interference in the Palestinian olive harvest:

• Settlers attack harvesters and set fire to Palestinian homes, property in Jalud (October 19th)
• Attack in Hizma October 25th: https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/150821
• Soldiers seize harvest in Lubba al-Sharqiy (October 25th)
• Soldiers seize tractor and tent from Jordan Valley village (October 19th)
• Settlers force harvesters off land in Rojib, east of Nablus. (October 19th)
• Settlers attack Palestinian harvesters in Deir Istiya, and steal their property (October 19th)

It is almost unimaginable, but there are still farmers in Gaza attempting to harvest this season. Al-Monitor reports that Palestinians in Deir al-Balah are picking olives in constant fear of Israeli strikes. 

Bonus Reads

1. “Ireland eyes revival of bill to ban trade with Israeli settlements” (The Times of Israel)
2. “UK sanctions on settlers are making a difference. Take it from an Israeli – they should go further” (The Guardian)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

October 17, 2024

1. ILA Approves Tenders for Significant Expansion of Ramat Shlomo Settlement in E Jerusalem
2. As Palestinian Olive Harvest Starts, Rampant Settler Violence Already Documented as International Activists Are Deported
3. U.K. Sanctions Seven Settler Entities, Including Amana
4. Israeli AG Asks for More Paperwork Before Govt Provides Bomb Shelters to Illegal Outposts
5. Likud Party Shares Invite “Preparing to Settle” Gaza
6. Peace Now Reports On Post-October 7th West Bank Expansion
7. Bonus Reads

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ILA Approves Tenders for Significant Expansion of Ramat Shlomo Settlement in E Jerusalem

Ir Amim reports that on October 14th the Israel Lands Authority (ILA) published a tender for the expansion of the Ramat Shlomo settlement located on the northern border of East Jerusalem. The tender covers the construction of 286 new settlement units in an open patch of land north of the currently built-up settlement area, expanding the settlement north towards the edge of the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina. This tender is part of a larger plan for a total of 650 new settlement units units. After approving the tender, the ILA decided to delay its publication date (on which the tender will open for bids) to some time after November 20th. 

Ir Amim writes:

“If built, these units would further fragment Palestinian space, achieving two goals of Israeli policy in East Jerusalem: (1) Further complicating the possibility of drawing the future border of a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem and, (2) blocking the ability of Palestinian neighborhoods (Beit Hanina, in this case) to expand and develop in order to meet the needs of their population.”

As Palestinian Olive Harvest Starts, Rampant Settler Violence Already Documented as International Activists Are Deported

The Palestinian olive harvest kicked off October 10th and farmers are already facing harassment and violence by settlers, who are unrestrained by IDF (absence of) enforcement. In addition to the violence, settlers have also been filmed harvesting olives from privately owned orchards. National Security Minister Ben Gvir called on Netanyahu to cancel the olive harvest entirely.

A statement by 12 UN experts called on the Israeli government to protect Palestinians, saying:

“Restricting olive harvests, destroying orchards and banning access to water sources is an attempt by Israel to expand its illegal settlements.”

In addition, the Israeli government has deported at least two American citizens volunteering through an organization called Fazaa to accompany Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. According to Fazaa, the two volunteers were arrested and interrogated by Israeli soldiers who accused them of violating a closed military zone order. The Israeli government accused the two volunteers of being anarchists and supporting Hamas 

According to Haaretz, 17 foreign activists have deported in recent months – – tracking the creation of a team with the IDF dedicated tracking activists in the West Bank.

U.K. Sanctions Seven Settler Entities, Including Amana

On October 15th, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on three Israeli outposts and four settler groups – including the very powerful Amana organization. Prime Minister Keir Starmer also told the BBC that his government is also considering imposing sanctions on Israeli Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir.

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement: 

“When I went to the West Bank earlier this year, on one of my first trips as Foreign Secretary, I met with Palestinians whose communities have suffered horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers. The inaction of the Israeli government has allowed an environment of impunity to flourish where settler violence has been allowed to increase unchecked. Settlers have shockingly even targeted schools and families with young children. Today’s measures will help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights. The Israeli government must crack down on settler violence and stop settler expansion on Palestinian land. As long as violent extremists remain unaccountable, the UK and the international community will continue to act.”

The Amana organization is deeply intertwined with the entire settlement enterprise in both legal and illegal (under Israeli law) ways. It plays a central and influential role in the realm of settler political leadership, is very well financed, and owns and develops a large portfolio of land in the West Bank for settlements and outposts. The Times of Israel describes Amana as “ the settlement movement’s development arm and the most prominent Israeli development organization in the West Bank.” The U.K. follows Canada as the second country to impose sanctions on Amana, a growing movement that a group of U.S. Senators urged the Biden Administration to join.

The U.K-sanctioned outposts are: 

• Tirzah Valley Farm outpost (the U.K. previously sanctioned Moshe Sharvit, who founded the Meitarim outpost);
• Meitarim outpost (the U.K. previously sanctioned Yinon Levy, who founded the Meitarim outpost); and,
• Shuvi Eretz outpost.

The U.K. also sanctioned the following organizations in addition to Amana:

• Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva – a notoriously violent religious school located in the Yitzhar settlement;
• Torat Lechima – an Israeli charitable organization; and,
• “Hashomer Yosh” – and Israeli organization which brings volunteers to illegal outposts.

Israeli AG Asks for More Paperwork Before Govt Provides Bomb Shelters to Illegal Outposts

Israel’s Attorney General has slowed a plan approved by the Israeli Cabinet to place mobile bomb shelters in illegal outposts. Chastising the Cabinet in a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, AG Baharv-Miara insists that such a decision must be reviewed by professionals, a budget impact must be prepared, and a legal position paper must be issued.

In response, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry where he acts as the de facto governor of the West Bank – said:

“We will continue to fix, regulate, and create de facto sovereignty, and the attorney general will continue to interfere… [thanks to] the cabinet ministers for voting unanimously in favor of the decision…we are continuing together and with all our strength for the sake of settlement and security.”

Likud Party Shares Invite “Preparing to Settle” Gaza

Haaretz reports that the Likud Party has issued an invitation to an event promoting Israel’s resettlement of Gaza. Hosted by Daniel Weiss’s Nachala settlement group, the event is scheduled to be held next week near the Gaza buffer zone, and at least eight Member of Knesset are expected to attend including Ben-Gvir, Smotrich, Eliyahu, and Wasserlauf.

In a statement, the Nachala group said:

“the event is not just a theoretical conference, but a practical exercise and preparation for renewed settlement in Gaza…the return to settlement in Gaza is no longer just an idea but a process that is already in advanced stages, with government and public support.”

Peace Now Reports On Post-October 7th West Bank Expansion

In a new report, Peace Now detailing Israel’s rapid annexation of land in Area C – including 5 new settlements, 43 new outposts, new roads, and plans for 8,681 new settlement units – since October 2023.

Peace Now writes:

“After a year of war in Gaza and nearly two years under an extreme right-wing, pro-settler government, the Israeli government’s policy in the occupied West Bank has become fully apparent: annexing the West Bank and shrinking Palestinian space in Area C. 

This policy is being carried out through the establishment of a record number of illegal outposts, a sharp increase in the quantity and intensity of settler violence—described by the head of the General Security Service (Shin Bet) as Jewish terrorism—closures of roads and highways, and unprecedented measures to legalize and fund illegal outposts. At the same time, the government is completing an administrative infrastructure for the annexation of the West Bank, by transferring powers from the Civil Administration, a military body, to the newly created Settlement Administration, a civil and political administration under the direct authority and control of Minister Smotrich.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Shin Bet Accuses Israel Police of Ignoring Dangers of Jewish Terror as Rift Between Authorities Deepens” (Haaretz)
2. “Israel’s new tactic to seizing West Bank lands: Settlement ‘buffer zones’” (Middle East Eye)
3. “Israel Land Authority tells UNRWA to evacuate Jerusalem premises for breaching lease” (The Times of Israel)
4. “UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem to be seized” (Israel Hayom)
5. “Beita’s resurgent civil resistance after a year of settler attacks” (Mondoweiss)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

October 4, 2024

1. U.S. Imposes Sanctions on “Hilltop Youth” Settler Terror Group & Two Individuals
2. Prominent U.S. Senators Call for Biden Admin to Sanction Amana Settler Group
3. Settlers Push Settlement of South Lebanon, Advertising Houses & Calling for Conquest
4. 2024 Olive Harvest Season Set to Begin Amidst Concerns Israel, Settlers Will Prevent Access
5. Bonus Reads

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U.S. Imposes Sanctions on “Hilltop Youth” Settler Terror Group & Two Individuals

On October 1st the United States announced sanctions on the “Hilltop Youth” settler groups along with two individuals – Eitan Yarden and Avichai Suissa.

The violent, extremist, fundamentalist Hilltop Youth settler group  – dubbed the “Jewish ISIS” – operates out of the Yitzhar settlement in the northern region of the West Bank, near Nablus, and there has been no shortage of documentation over the years of their terrorism of Palestinian communities in the region and their involvement in establishing new outposts. The State Department asserted:

“[the Hilltop Youth are] a violent extremist group that has rampaged through Palestinian communities in the West Bank.  It has carried out killings, mass arson, and other so-called “price tag” attacks to exact revenge and intimidate Palestinian civilians.  Hilltop Youth has repeatedly clashed with the Israeli military when it tries to counter Hilltop Youth’s destructive activities.”

The “Hilltop Youth” are not a pariah group at odds with the Israeli state. Last year , +972 Magazine revealed that the IDF had actually created a specific unit for members of the Hilltop Youth and outpost groups to serve in, a unit which has been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians across the Jordan Valley. Further, the IDF recruits members of the Hilltop Youth also recruited to serve in the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda battalion, which has been accused of gross violations of human rights but which the U.S. has decided not enforce its own law against supplying arms to such problematic groups even after a lengthy investigation.

In 2023, Haaretz revealed that the Jewish National Fund has given $1million to organizations which provide support and services to the “Hilltop Youth,” including a project meant to offer professional training to Hilltop Youth (who are mostly highschool dropouts) living in illegal West Bank outposts.

Prominent U.S. Senators Call for Biden Admin to Sanction Amana Settler Group

In a letter to U.S.Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin dated September 27th, three prominent Democratic Senators called for more sanctions on extremist settlers, specifically calling for the Amana organization to be sanctioned. Unlike the Hilltop Youth (which  the U.S. sanctioned this week), the Amana organization is deeply intertwined with the entire settlement enterprise in both legal and illegal (under Israeli law) ways. Amana is influential in the realm of settler political leadership, very well financed, owns and develops a large portfolio of land in the West Bank for settlements and outposts. Senators wrote:

“Amana has a long and well-documented history of supporting extremist settlers who expropriate Palestinian land and threaten Palestinian landholders, farmers, and shepherds. Amana has played a central role in forming and sustaining hill-top outposts illegal under Israeli law, often by granting loans to bankroll their start. These outposts have since become bases of operation for settler violence against Palestinians, with those resident settlers burning olive groves and homes; stealing livestock; diverting water supplies; blocking roads in and out of villages; and intimidating and threatening villagers from accessing or returning to their land. These outposts contribute to the attacks on and sometimes even killing of Palestinians on their own land or while traveling through the West Bank…We therefore urge you to continue to designate for sanctions those individuals and entities who are undermining peace and stability in the West Bank, to include the Amana organization.”

A U.S. government source told The Times of Israel that Amana has already been considered in past rounds of sanctions. Leaders of Amana have been working hard to dissuade the U.S. from imposing sanctions on the organization, fearing the severe and far-reaching implications U.S. sanctions would have. The Canadian government sanctioned Amana in June, but it is widely understood U.S. sanctions are a standard bearer for the sanctions regimes of EU countries and much more consequential in world banking systems.

Peace Now describes Amana:

“This organization is one of the strongest settler organizations financially, politically, and in terms of its influence on the establishment of settlements and outposts in the Occupied Territories. With assets valued at approximately NIS 600 million, and an annual budget of tens of millions of NIS, Amana is considered the ‘mother and father’ of the illegal outposts, and in recent years also of the illegal agricultural farms that are a major factor in settler violence against Palestinians. Peace Now revealed Amana’s central role in taking over land and in the construction of illegal outposts in our 2017 report ‘Unraveling the Mechanism behind Illegal Outposts’…Amana is also involved in the establishment of farms that have been subject to international sanctions because of violence against Palestinians. For example, Amana was a key partner in the establishment of Meitarim Farm (Yinon Levy’s farm), one of the first to be imposed international sanctions after four communities of hundreds of Palestinians were expelled following violence by settlers who came from the direction of the farm.”

Settlers Push Settlement of South Lebanon, Advertising Houses & Calling for Conquest

The movement to establish Israeli settlements in south Lebanon continues to gain steam in the wake of Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon and orders to evacuate Lebanese towns in the area. 

Middle East Eye reports that the new Israeli settler group – Uri Tzafon – pushing for the Israeli government to settle southern Lebanon has published flyers advertising homes for sale across the Israeli border, in sovereign Lebanese territory. The advertisement reads:

“After the elimination of the Hezbollah leadership…do you also dream of a big house, a view of snowy mountains and a warm community in the land of our ancestors?”

The group has about 3,000 members communicating in a WhatsApp group, offering suggestions to rename Lebanese towns once they are conquered and emptied. Members of the group also sent balloons into Lebanon with threatening messages

A senior rabbi published an op-ed in The Jerusalem Post calling for Israel to conquer southern Lebanon, claiming that it is Israel’s God-given land and saying Lebanese should be expelled from the area.

In a deep dive into Uri Tzafon and the push to settler southern Lebanon, Jewish Currents columnist Maya Rosen writes:

“It is tempting to dismiss Uri Tzafon as fringe. After all, even Israel’s far-right, ultra-nationalist ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir—proponents of war with Hezbollah as well as the military occupation of southern Lebanon—have not yet mentioned civilian settlements. And every policy expert I spoke with agreed that the chance that Israel would actually establish settlements in southern Lebanon is very low. Natasha Roth-Rowland, a scholar of the Israeli far right, explained that there simply isn’t the political will to advance settlements in Lebanon, especially when the Israeli military apparatus is so overstretched. And yet, experts warned me again and again that the movement to settle Lebanon ought not to be discounted lightly. “It’s easy to dismiss, because it’s so far removed from reality,” Makdisi told me. “But I don’t see this as fringe. It’s been in the political imagination forever, and it’s not going to go away.” Roth-Rowland agreed, noting that “there is a fairly well-established track record of even the most fringe parts of the Israeli settler movement becoming not so fringe over a period of decades or even years,” and pointing to the ways that the movement has succeeded in establishing and growing settlements, including, for example, the particularly violent one in the heart of the Palestinian city of Hebron. Many of the unauthorized outposts this movement has created have even been retroactively legalized, pointing to how, in Roth-Rowland’s words, “settlers have made political gains over the last several decades by outflanking the government from the right and forcing concessions.” In this context, experts noted that the mainstreaming of a group like Uri Tzafon could be more feasible than it first appears. “That’s how the settlement movement started,” said Israeli settlement historian Akiva Eldar. “They planted seeds, which grew into trees, which grew into a jungle.”

2024 Olive Harvest Season Set to Begin Amidst Concerns Israel, Settlers Will Prevent Access

The Israeli government is poised to block the beginning of the Palestinian olive harvest season from beginning. OCHA reports that the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture announced that the annual olive harvest will begin on October 10th, but Israeli authorities – which police Palestinians’ access to their agricultural lands in Area C and in the Seam Zone – have set a later  dates for olive harvest, with dates between October 3 and 28 for different governorates across the West Bank. OCHA further reports:

“Initial reports suggest that, unlike 2023, Israeli authorities intend to allow farmers to gain access to their lands behind the Barrier, while access to lands near Israeli settlements remains uncertain.”

The human rights group HaMoked has led legal efforts to compel the Israeli army to permit Palestinians to access their privately owned land in the Seam Zone, the land between the 1967 Green Line and the Israeli-built Separation Barrier), and is currently engaged in litigation with the state on this matter. On October 1st, the State submitted its second response to HaMoked’s petition to provide access to agricultural lands, in which the State said that it intends to open the Seam Zone gates at the end of October or beginning of November, “subject to a situational security assessment.” These dates are well past the start of the olive harvest. 

HaMoked further reports:

“the State also made clear that permits will be granted on an individual basis, again subject to security assessments, in order to ‘prevent acts of terrorism.’ In previous years, over 10,000 Palestinians (extended families as well as hired workers) took part in harvesting olives on lands beyond the Separation Barrier. We know from years of experience that it takes weeks, at best, for Palestinians to navigate the Civil Administration’s very cumbersome permit application procedure. In short, the State’s response only strengthens our concern that they intend to allow only a very minimal olive harvest beyond the Barrier.

It is disappointing but not surprising that the State remains unwilling to allow Palestinian farmers to access their own lands on de facto annexed territory. There are many pressing issues facing Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories at this time. All the same, we want to ensure that in this chaotic time, the economic and food security, livelihoods, and centuries-old traditions of Palestinian farmers are not neglected.”

On September 25, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Israeli authorities to ensure the safety of Palestinian farmers and access to their lands, emphasizing the need to prevent a recurrence of last year’s restrictions and violence that devastated livelihoods.

OCHA writes:

“The annual olive harvest season is a key economic, social and cultural event for Palestinians. Last year’s harvest was particularly challenging due to significant movement restrictions and violence by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers that followed the 7 October attack on Israel. More than 96,000 dunums of olive-cultivated lands across the West Bank remained unharvested due to Israeli restrictions on Palestinian access. Consequently, according to the Food Security Sector, Palestinian farmers suffered an estimated total loss of more than 1,200 metric tons of olive oil in the 2023 season, resulting in a direct financial setback of US$10 million. The impact was particularly harsh in the northern governorates of Tulkarm, Qalqiliya and Nablus.

Access restrictions and widespread settler violence pose high risks and challenges for farmers during the olive harvest season, potentially undermining their livelihoods. The Protection Cluster, led by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), in coordination with OCHA, the Food Security Sector and humanitarian partners are preparing to support Palestinian farmers by providing coordinated protective presence in identified hotspots, documenting incidents of violence, and advocating for people’s rights during the season. Moreover, as part of its emergency response mechanism and 48-hour rapid response, the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) has allocated US$750,000 to support two local partners in preparation for the upcoming olive harvest season. These partners are implementing projects aimed at strengthening the resilience of farmers in rural communities. The specific objectives of these projects include the provision of essential tools and equipment, cleaning olive groves to reduce fire risks and prevent losses and improving olive oil storage facilities to ensure higher food quality.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Raised Stakes on All Fronts” (Geneva Intiative’s Two State Index)
2. “In the occupied West Bank, Palestinians struggle to access water” (NPR)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

September 27, 2024

1. High Court Denies Request to Allow Zanuta to be Even Minimally Rehabilitate Village After Settler Destruction
2. Bimkom Report on Outpost Retroactive Authorization
3. Israeli Groups Release Report on Annexation
4. U.S. Congress Votes to Advance Bill that Labels Settlements As Israel, Greenlighting Annexation
5. Bonus Reads

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High Court Denies Request to Allow Zanuta to be Even Minimally Rehabilitate Village After Settler Destruction

On September 18th, the human rights group Haqel filed an urgent appeal to the Israel High Court of Justice on behalf of the residents of Zanuta seeking permission to undertake minor construction in order to make the village inhabitable again. Settlers damaged, destroyed, and ransacked every building in the village after residents fled the village on October 28, 2023 under rampant and unmitigated settler terrorism. 

In response, the Court said the residents are not allowed to undertake any building in their village because the entire area is an Israeli-designated archaeological site. When Haqel submitted its appeal it had included an expert legal opinion, including an archaeological expert who informed the Court that there is no archaeological obstacle to allowing the residents to rebuild structures to status quo ante. The opinion – which is signed by five renowned Israeli international law experts – goes on to conclude “we are of the opinion that the actions taken by the authorities towards the residents of the village of Zenuta constitute a forcible transfer of the residents from their village.”

In past hearings, the Court has suggested to the residents of Zanuta that in light of their plight and the prohibition on building in their village, they have the option to move to a new area of land approximately 2.5km north, a patch of land that abuts the borders of Areas A and B – – a convenient location for the State of Israel and its settlers who have moved to annex Area C and clear it of Palestinians. 

Breaking the Silence said in a statement:

“The case of Khirbet Zanuta holds enormous symbolic importance in that the success or failure of the residents’ return will set an important precedent for many of the other villages that have been forcibly expelled. We urge stakeholders and people in positions of influence in the international community to act decisively, to apply pressure to the Israeli authorities with regards to allowing for reconstruction of the village (with the pre-October status quo as the relevant reference point for ‘new’ construction) without fear of the authorities demolishing homes or confiscating equipment, as well as law enforcement against the violent settlers who are intent on making it impossible for residents to live there.”

Bimkom Report on Outpost Retroactive Authorization

Bimkom: Planners for Human Rights released a report this past February entitled, “Connection to infrastructure and establishment of public buildings in outposts included in legalization processes.” The report dismantles any notion of legality behind the Israeli governments stated plan to retroactively authorize 70 outposts, as announced in February 2024. Bimkom also surveys its legal, planning, and economic consequences. Bimkom writes:

“It [the report] shows that the planning procedure is nothing more than a cover for de facto regularization of the outposts, since in the vast majority of cases the most basic conditions for advancing regularization are not met.”

Israeli Groups Release Report on Annexation

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Breaking the Silence, Ofek, and Yesh Din’ just published an English translation of its July 2024 report, “A Silent Takeover: Changing the Nature of Israeli Control of the West Bank.” It’s summary reads:

“The Government of Israel is methodically implementing a strategy designed to achieve the political vision of applying full Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank, while establishing a reality of Jewish supremacy and forcing the Palestinians living in the Area into to the smallest possible geographical space. 

Many of the government’s steps alter the face of the West Bank and the structure of Israeli control there, including:

 > Appointing MK Smotrich as the Additional Minister in the Ministry of Defense and transferring broad powers from the Military Commander to MK Smotrich

 > Approving immense budgets for expanding the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and improving infrastructure and quality of life there

 > Retroactively authorizing Israeli outposts

 > Declaring state land and nature preserves

 > Denying settler violence and not enforcing the law

 > Abusing Palestinian communities, leading to their forced expulsion from their homes.

This current government is stripping off the mask that Israeli governments have insofar worn. For years, it presented Israel as a regime in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that upholds the legal obligations incumbent upon it in the West Bank, and whose administration’s decisions are subject to judicial review by the Israeli Supreme Court. The government’s policy now openly seeks to apply Israeli sovereignty and reinforce Jewish supremacy in the West Bank.”

U.S. Congress Votes to Advance Bill that Labels Settlements As Israel, Greenlighting Annexation

FMEP’s Lara Friedman reports that the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to pass a bill that calls for the U.S. to label any/all products from coming from Israeli settlement as “Made in Israel.” Called the “Anti-BDS Labeling Act” (HR 5179) the bill gives a greenlight to Israel’s de facto annexation of the settlements. It passed by a vote of 231-189, with all Republicans plus 16 Democrats voting in favor.

HR 5179 was introduced by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), who was visited by a delegation of Israeli advocates headed by Yossi Dagan, the head of a settler regional council and longtime pro-settlement advocate. In press coverage of the meeting, Israel Hayom reports that Tenney and Dagan agreed to collaborate on advancing another bill, which Tenney introduced in March 2024, that would mandate the U.S. government to adopt “Judea and Samaria” as official terminology instead of “West Bank.”  That bill, according to Friedman, has seen no action since it was introduced.

Opposing HR5179, Rep. Nadler (D-NY) – posted a video on X saying:

“This bill isn’t about combatting BDS—it’s about attempting to green light Israeli annexation of Area C of the West Bank and undermining the Biden-Harris’ Administration’s delicate negotiations to end the Israel-Hamas war.”

Friedman explains:

“As has always been the case in this battle over how to label the place-of-origin of settlement products, the argument behind HR 5179 boils down to: (1) if people know that a product was produced in a settlement, some will likely choose NOT to buy the product, in a decision that reflects their personal opposition to Israeli occupation/settlements; (2) such an action by an individual consumer, as an expression of their own deeply-held values, is a form of BDS and as such is antisemitic, anti-Israel; (3) the U.S. government, as part of its support for its ally Israel, must implement policies that in effect establish special place-of-origin rules for Israel [i.e., hold Israel to a different standard than the rest of the world] that protect Israel/settlements; (4) These Israel-specific rules-of-origin must ensure that U.S. consumers who might want to make an informed decision with respect to purchasing or not purchasing settlement products are prevented from doing so — in this case, by depriving them of accurate place-of-origin data; and (5) Failure to implement/enact policies that in effect prevent US consumers making informed decisions with respect to whether or not they wish to purchase settlements products is antisemitic, anti-Israel, and a form of BDS.”

Bonus Reads

1. “The U.S. Must Sanction Israel’s Messianic Ministers – and American Jews Should Welcome It” (Haaretz)
2. “Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024” (OCHA)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

September 20, 2024

1. Israeli Supreme Court Orders Immediate Eviction in East Jerusalem, Fears of Mass Expulsion Grow
2. Residents of Zanuta Return to Land to Find Destruction, Israel “Offers” Permanent Displacement as Solution
3. UN Adopts on Resolution Calling for Israel to End Illegal Occupation of Palestinian Territory
4. Blinken Calls on Israel to Changes Rules of Engagement in the West Bank
5. Bonus Reads

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Israeli Supreme Court Orders Immediate Eviction in East Jerusalem, Fears of Mass Expulsion Grow

On September 10th, the Israeli Supreme Court unanimously rejected a final appeal submitted by the Ghaith family (15 people), affirming the District Court’s ruling to evict the family from their longtime home in favor of the Ateret Cohanim settler organization. The Ghaith family was ordered by the Court to immediately leave their home located in the Batan al-Hawa section of the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, where 85 families face dispossession (details). Underscoring the struggle Palestinians face in Silwan to remain in their homes and on their land,  in addition to the eviction cases threatening mass displacement,  Israel is also carrying out an accelerated demolition campaign targeting Palestinians in Silwan over the past year.

Ir Amim reports that since October 7th there has been a dramatic spike in court decisions to evict Palestinians at the behest of settlers, with 14 families having been dispossessed in the past six months – including the Shehadeh family who were dispossessed of their home just one month ago. More – this is the second major case in the past two months that has seen a Palestinian family thrown out of their homes in Silwan – – setting an increasingly entrenched precedent for the cases that are still pending. All of these cases hinge on the settlers’ use of the discriminatory law (the 1970 Legal and Administrative Matters law) and the Court’s continued acceptance of that law as a weapon by which to replace Palestinians with Jews. The law provides a right for Jews to reclaim property that was owned prior to 1948, but abandoned during war. Palestinians are provided no such right and further, as Ir Amim explains, “to the contrary, the 1950 Absentee Property Law enshrines that Palestinians who were forced to abandon their homes and lands in what became Israel after the war of 1948 can never retrieve them.”

Ir Amim writes:

“Although the Israeli government often characterize these cases as private real estate disputes, they are rather part and parcel of a systematic campaign aimed to cement Israeli control over the Old City Basin, the most religiously and politically sensitive part of Jerusalem. These measures are reinforced by a constellation of settler-operated tourist sites, which together, serve to alter the character of the space and forge a ring of Israeli control around the Old City. This creates an irreversible reality on the ground that deliberately erodes conditions for an agreed political resolution on Jerusalem and the rest of the territory. Such actions severely violate the individual and collective rights of Palestinians in the city, while carrying an acute humanitarian impact on the affected families.”

Noting that both the Ghaith family case and the Shehadeh family case (which one month ago concluded wit the dispossession of the family in favor of settlers) have been ruled on by conservative Israeli Justice Sohlberg, Peace Now says in a statement:

“If this eviction is carried out, God forbid, it will be an injustice and a crime against a vulnerable population under occupation in East Jerusalem, leaving an indelible stain on the State of Israel. The government can and must stop the forced displacement of an entire community and the responsibility lies on its shoulders. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) specifically referred in its opinion to the system of discriminatory laws and the Israeli settlement policy in East Jerusalem and determined that it is a violation of international law. Although the matter is political and the legal process is only the tool for its realization, it is important to emphasize that Judge Solberg’s decision stands in contrast to the decisions of other judges in the Supreme Court who have granted permission to appeal in similar cases. It seems that Judge Solberg is using his powers to prevent the discussion from reaching judges whose position is different from his own, precisely two days before the state’s position on the issue is supposed to be given to the court.”

Residents of Zanuta Return to Land to Find Destruction, Israel “Offers” Permanent Displacement as Solution

It has been nearly a year since the residents of Zanuta – a remote herding community in the South Hebron Hills – has been forcibly displaced from the lands under the shadow of continuous settler violence and lack of any action by the IDF to stop the terrorism, which only escalated in the wake of October 7th. In July 2024 the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled that the State of Israel must facilitate their safe return to the land. Villagers started returning to the area in August to discover that in the intervening months, settlers have been allowed to enter the area and destroy nearly all of the houses, the small school, and the village’s health clinic. The village appeared ransacked. Only days after their initial return, the village was attacked by Yinon Levy (a settler under international sanctions for his involvement in violence) while the Israeli police and army watched.

With the legal assistance of Haqel, the villagers submitted a request with COGAT to restore and protect the village’s buildings. Instead of offering that small measure of justice, the Civil Administration responded by “offering” the villagers a chance to relocate their lives to land 2.5km away – land that Israel has declared to be “state land” but land that is adjacent to Areas A  and B (not situated solidly in Area C, as the current village is). The letter also stated that the Civil Administration will not permit any new construction in the current village and intends to carry out enforcement against buildings that lack Israeli permits in 30 days.

Haqel issued the following statement in response to the absurd proposal:

“the state is threatening the residents with destruction of the remainder of the demolished building in the village if the residents accept the offer to evacuate the village and move to the area adjacent to areas A and B. There is no doubt that the state’s proposal at the present time, precisely with the return of the residents to their village by order of the High Court after the previous violent expulsion, is intended to formalize and complete the deportation of the residents of the village of Zanuta where the settlers began their efforts to ethnically cleanse Area C of its Palestinian residents. The state ignores any historical and proprietary connection of the residents to the village who have in their possession documents proving their rights to hundreds of dunams of private land in the village and forcing them to be displaced to an area in which they have no property rights and where there are other Palestinian landowners present.”

UN Adopts on Resolution Calling for Israel to End Illegal Occupation of Palestinian Territory

On September 18th, the  United Nations General Assembly voted to adopt a resolution demanding that Israel end “its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” within 12 months. The resolution further calls for member states to cease transferring arms to Israel that may be used in the occupied lands. Only 14 countries voted against the measure, including Israel and the United States. Kenneth Roth, founder and former director of Human Rights Watch, suggests that:

“The US government’s response suggests a refusal to recognize the new legal reality in which Israel now finds itself….The US government’s response to the general assembly resolution reflected (at least feigned) ignorance of the legal paradigm shift that has occurred. The Biden administration accused the general assembly of “ignoring Israel’s very real security concerns”, but that misses the point of the ICJ ruling. Those security concerns must be met from within Israel, not through occupation.”

While the resolution is non-binding, it provides decisive clarity that the majority of the world (124 out of 198) holds Israel’s occupation is illegal and should end. The resolution’s language is largely informed by the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice some two months ago.

Blinken Calls on Israel to Changes Rules of Engagement in the West Bank

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called upon Israel to change its rules of engagement in the West Bank after an American citizen, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, was shot in the head and killed by an IDF soldier while participating in a protest against the Evyatar outpost in the Palestinian village of Beita. 

Eygi’s family said in a statement:

“Aysenur, an activist and volunteer, was peacefully standing for justice as an international observer and witness to Palestinian suffering. She was taking shelter in an olive grove when she was shot in the head and killed by a bullet from an Israeli soldier. This cannot be misconstrued as anything except a deliberate, targeted and precise attack by the military against an unarmed civilian.”

The family’s statement helps put the spotlight on the ongoing struggle of Palestinians from the area of Beita to stop the retroactive legalization of a violent outpost, which was established illegally by settlers on a strategic hilltop named Mount Sabih, located just south of Nablus on land historically belonging to nearby Palestinian villages Beita, Yatma, and Qablan. Palestinians have held weekly protests against the government’s plans and the continued presence of settlers in the area ever since – protests which have resulted in no fewer than seven Palestinian protesters dying as a result of the harsh and violent actions by the IDF to quash the protests. Then, on July 8, 2024, the Israeli government declared 16 acres (66 dunams) of land as Israeli “state land” in order to pave the way for the legalization of the Evyatar outpost. The declaration is the result of three years of “work” by Smotrich’s Settlements Administration to examine the status of the land in order to find a way for the state to take control of the land in order to legalize the outpost. The declaration was made one week after the Israeli Security of Cabinet decided in favor of legalizing the Evyatar outpost along with four other outposts.

Blinken said:

“We’ve long seen reports of the security forces looking the other way when extremist settlers use violence against Palestinians. We’ve seen reports of excessive force by Israeli security forces against Palestinians. It’s not acceptable. It has to change. And we’ll be making that clear to the senior-most members of the Israeli government.”

Bonus Reads

1. “IDF expands Judea and Samaria security guards authority” (JNS)
2. “A plan to liquidate northern Gaza is gaining steam” (+972 Magazine)
3. “Annexation, Expulsion and Israeli Settlements: Netanyahu Gears Up for Next Phase of Gaza War” (Haaretz)
4. “What Settler Violence Is Doing to Israel’ (The Atlantic)
5. “How extremist settlers in the West Bank became the law” (Financial Times)
6. “How the Israeli settlers movement shaped modern Israel” (The Conversation)
7. “Israel’s Existential Threat from Within” (NYT The Daily Podcast)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

September 6, 2024

1. Settler Terrorism & Sanctions
2. Operation “Summer Camps” and the Expansion of Israel’s War Against Palestinians
3. Bonus Reads

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Settler Terrorism & Sanctions

Settlers have continued to terrorize Palestinians across the West Bank. Over the past few days settlers have been documented:

• Raiding the village of Qaryut (near Nablus) and setting fields on fire (Sept. 6). The settlers, accompanied by soldiers, clashed with locals during which time a 13-year old girl was shot and killed in her bedroom, reportedly by Israeli military forces;
• On the same day (Sep. 6th) an American-Turkish citizen, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, was shot in the head when Israeli forces and settlers opened fire on a protest in Beitar;
• Torching cars in the villages of Deir Dibwan and Khirbet Abu Falah, leaving graffiti indicating it was a “price tag” attack;

Settlers continue perpetrating unabated and escalating violence despite the expanding number of sanctions on settlers by foreign governments and bodies. In its new report on settler violence, the International Crisis Group calls on foreign governments not only to continue expanding sanctions on violent settlers and entitities, but to accompany those sanctions with curbing arms sales to Israel.

One country continuing to expand sanctions is the U.S., which is also under continued civil society pressure to continue doing so. On August 28th the U.S. government announced two new sanction targets: the Israeli settler group Hashomer Yosh, and Yitzhak Levi Filant – an Israeli who serves as the civilian security coordinator for the Yitzhar settlement. Both are accused by the U.S. government of being responsible for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The sanctions on the Hashomer Yosh (“The Guardian of Judea and Samaria”)  organization is particularly notable because it is funded by the Israeli government, and its executives are affiliated with Israeli officials Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. In response to the U.S. sanctions, the group even defended its actions by asserting that it coordinates its activities with the government. +972 Magazine further revealed that the organization has received funding from the U.S.-based Central Fund of Israel between 2015-2019. The group is identified by Palestinian activists in the South Hebron Hills as the “number one” group behind settler terrorism, which led to the coerced displacement of the Khirbet Zanuta community earlier this year. For more on this organization, see Peace Now’s reporting.

Yitzhak Levi Filant serves as the civilian security coordinator for the Yitzhar settlement According to DAWN, Filant has participated in or directed “violent assaults, shootings, threats at gunpoint, arson, and property destruction targeting Palestinian civilians between October 2019 and February 2024…Most recently, on February 17, 2024, Filant and other settlers set up a makeshift roadblock outside the village of Asira al-Qibliya and forcibly removed three Palestinian civilians from a car, assaulted them, and threatened to burn the vehicle if they returned.”

In addition to the new U.S. sanctions, Haaretz reports that the European Union Foreign Minister Josep Borell will ask members to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir. The EU would have to vote unanimously to impose sanctions, though individual member states can proceed with sanctions independent of EU consensus. The settler-run Arutz Sheva outlet reports that EU members have already promised Israeli diplomats that they will veto the sanctions.

Operation “Summer Camps” and the Expansion of Israel’s War Against Palestinians

The Israeli military’s operation “Summer Camps” has lasted 10 days so far, during which at least 30 Palestinians have been killed and terrorized the West Bank cities of Jenin, Tulkarem, Tubas, and surrounding areas. Palestinians there have endured repeated airstrikes, constant buzzing of drones, large-scale and repetitive raids, and the destruction of infrastructure including roads, water systems and electricity grids. Israel’s operations have effectively paralyzed life across the West Bank.  The Israeli government and military say their campaign – which is the largest since the Second Intifada – is to root out resistance cells and have been spurred by the recent uptick in the use of explosives, including recent booby trapped cars and a suicide bomber.

Though there have been reports that Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin and Tulkarem on September 6th, Israel Hayom has previously reported that the Israeli government is planning for a long-term, large-scale military operation across the whole West Bank – with Hebron being the next target. Other reports suggest the Israeli government is moving to designate the entire West Bank as an active combat zone, no longer a secondary front of its war on Gaza. Israeli Defense Minister Gallant urged extensive military campaigns in the West Bank, saying “we [Israel] are mowing the lawn, [but] the moment will also come when we will pull out the roots, that must be done.

In Jenin and Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, Palestinians were trapped in their homes unable to leave for days. Israel has also shot at Palestinian ambulances and obstructed their ability to reach injured people or even respond to emergency calls not related to Israel’s incursion. The Palestinian Red Crescent told Haaretz that it took 8 hours for an ambulance to reach and transport a patient for her dialysis treatment – which the hospital later suspended because they did not have enough consistent electricity to run the machines. A resident of Jenin told the New York Times:

“…this is the first time we see this kind of brutality…There is no humanity. They uprooted the trees, broke the buildings. The sewer mains meters under the ground, they ripped them up. The electricity, the water — they didn’t leave anything untouched.”

Another Jenin resident told +972 Magazine reporter Mariam Barghouti:

“What do you think they’re doing? They’re pushing for escalation so that they can fully depopulate us..They’re making life for us unbearable…What this does is naturally push us toward confrontation, and when we do, the Israeli military further intensifies its abusive practices.”

The Haaretz Editorial Board ominously warns:

“​​Ten days ago, the army intensified the combat and launched Operation Summer Camps, which is currently underway. The reins have been loosened and the army is now operating like it does in Gaza. At least 38 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including at least nine minors. The destruction sown by the army in the refugee camps resembles the destruction in Gaza. These have always been futile operations whose only result, in the absence of a political plan, is pushing West Bank residents further into despair and toward armed struggle. The minister of the West Bank, Bezalel Smotrich, and the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, under Netanyahu’s leadership and with the army’s participation, are doing everything they can to open another front in addition to the ones that are already aflame. They will soon get their wish.”

Bonus Reads

1. “‘This is a war’: FM urges Gaza-style temporary evacuation of Palestinians in West Bank” (The Times of Israel)
2. “Inside the Movement to Settle Southern Lebanon” (Jewish Currents)
3. “Shin Bet Chief Warns PM and Ministers: Jewish Terror Is Jeopardizing Israel’s Existence“ (Haaretz)
4. “Israeli settlers are seizing Palestinian land under cover of war – they hope permanently” (BBC)
5. “Aiding and Abetting Jewish Settler Terror: Will There Now Be Real Consequences?” (Haaretz Editorial Board)
6. “Trump’s Israel adviser suggests diverting $1 billion from Palestinian aid to fund West Bank annexation” (Forward)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

August 23, 2024

1. Smotrich Tours Land Near Bethlehem He Now Controls, Threatens Systematic Demolition of Palestinian Buildings
2. Following Pogrom in Jit, Borrel Threatens EU Sanctions Against Israeli Ministers
3. New Outpost Reported Near Jericho
4. IDF Invades Ramallah Neighborhoods to Demolish Two Homes
5. The Israeli Government Has Transferred 150,000+ Guns to Settlers
6. Peace Now Releases New Settlements Map
7. Bonus Reads

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Smotrich Tours Land Near Bethlehem He Now Controls, Threatens Systematic Demolition of Palestinian Buildings

On August 18th, Bezalel Smotrich staged a tour of a large swath of land in Area B near Bethlehem which was recently transferred into his hands by the Israeli military. While there, Smotrich told announced that he is advancing immediate plans to scale up systematic demolitions of Palestinian buildings in the area – a  saying, “we will roll up our sleeves, the State of Israel returns to being the owner of the house.”

In July, Peace Now reported that the Israeli Commander of the Central Command signed two orders granting the Israeli government vast planning authorities an additional 3% or 41,300 acres (167,000 dunams) of the West Bank, in the areas to the east of and between Bethlehem and Hebron.  These lands constitute what is referred to as the “Agreed-Upon Reserve” as delineated by the Wye Agreement in 1998, at which time the Palestinian Authority was granted civilian control (areas A & B according to the Oslo Accords), much to the dismay of settlers and their government allies who have been agitating for control over an ever-increasing amount of land in the West Bank in order, at least in part, to demolish Palestinian construction in the area.The first order granted Israeli authority to operate in the entire “Agreed-Upon Reserve”, and the second order made construction in the areas illegal – establishing guidelines for Israeli authorities to demolish any/all Palestinian buildings if they were built after 1998 (the Wye Agreement). 

Peace now reports:

“One of the arguments made by settlers against Palestinian construction in these Areas is that it harms important natural values. However, this claim is full of hypocrisy. First, as mentioned, the Agreed-Upon Reserve is called “Green Area” by virtue of the agreement. The territory determined by professionals who found that it indeed holds worthy natural values deserving protection, and its precise boundaries were not set. Moreover, at the same cabinet meeting a month ago, where it was decided to start demolishing Palestinian homes in the Agreed-Upon Reserve, it was also decided to establish a new settlement on the lands of Battir village (Nahal Heletz settlement). This settlement is intended to be established in the heart of a site declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site in danger. Thus, it is difficult to argue that nature preservation is at the forefront of the cabinet ministers’ priorities. Lastly, there are many cases in which settlements harm real nature reserves, but authorities are not eager to address them.”

Following Pogrom in Jit, Borrel Threatens EU Sanctions Against Israeli Ministers

In the week since settlers from the Havat Gilad outpost led a pogrom against the Palestinian village of Jit – resulting in the murder of 1 Palestinian, injuries to many others, and widespread fire damage of homes,vehicles, and property – sustained international criticism of the Israeli government’s non-response has finally resulted in the arrest of four suspects. 

The U.S. vocally criticized the Israeli government for failing to curb settler violence, and European Union Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell Fonteles announced that he is advancing sanctions against violent settlers and complicit Israeli government ministers. One possible target for sanctions is the Amana settler group, which was recently sanctioned by the Canadian government. Peace Now has produced a new succinct report revealing the depths to which Amana finances and leads illegal settlement activity – making it an obvious and impactful target for serious international sanctions regimes.

New Outpost Reported Near Jericho

Palestinian sources report that settlers have established a new outpost north of Jericho, near the Auja spring.

IDF Invades Ramallah Neighborhoods to Demolish Two Homes

On August 12th a large Israeli force arrived in neighborhoods on the outskirts of Ramallah to demolish two Palestinian homes that were alleged to be the homes of Palestinians accused of participating in a violent attack targeting Israelis. During the IDF’s incursion – which included hundreds of Israeli soldiers and tens of military vehicles – two Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli forces, and at least nine others sustained injuries. OCHA reports that, in addition to the two homes which were detonated, “16 other residences were damaged, and 12 households comprising 49 people, including four children, were forced to temporarily evacuate their homes at midnight.”

The Israeli Government Has Transferred 150,000+ Guns to Settlers

Visualizing Palestine has released a new visual showing the huge number of military grade guns that have been transferred to settlers by the Israeli government since October 7, 2023 – – and how the increase in number of guns has fueled the establishment of over 800 new settler militias and police forces. This has coincided, predictably, with the increase in frequency and severity of settler attacks on Palestinians — and the total impunity within which settlers are allowed to continue their terrorism.

Check out the graphics and underlying data here.

Peace Now Releases New Settlements Map

Peace Now has published a new highly detailed map of West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements. 

Along with the map, Peace Now provided a new graphic capturing the current state of the settlement enterprise in the West Bank, where there are:

• 478,000 settlers;
• 147 settlements;
• 201 outposts (90 of which are argricultural/farming outposts).

Bonus Reads

1. “Injuries during Israeli military incursion into Qalqilya area-town” (Wafa News)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

August 16, 2024

1. New Blue Line Map Paves Way for New Settlement, Nahal Heletz
2. New Blue Line Map Grants Migdal Oz Settlement More Land
3. Tender Issued for Alon Shvut Construction
4. Givat Hamatos Expansion Plan Deposited
5. Settlers Open Long Awaited “Zip Line” Project in Jerusalem
6. Settlers Lead Violent Pogrom in Jit
7. Threat of Multiple Demolitions in al-Bustan, Along with Settler Takeovers, Amplifies Threat of Mass Displacement
8. IDF Partially Dismantled Giv’at Oz Zion Outpost
9. Settlers Stage Another Protest On Gaza Boundary
10. Regavim Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Over Settler Sanctions
11. Canada Revoked JNF Tax Exemption
12. Bonus Reads

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New Blue Line Map Paves Way for New Settlement, Nahal Heletz

On August 14th the Israeli Civil Administration’s Blue Line Team released an updated map delineating more state land in the area of the Palestinian village of Battir, land on which the government is advancing plans to build a new settlement, called Nahal Heletz. This move is tantamount to issuing a new declaration of “state land,” though the Israeli government views it as a correction and/or update to previous maps. If built, Nahal Heletz would be the first new settlement the Israeli government has planned since 2017, when the Amichai settlement was established. 

Speaking after the declaration, Smotrich said:

“No anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism will stop the continued development of the settlements. We will continue to fight the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state, and establish facts on the ground. This is my life’s mission and God willing I will continue with it as much as I can.”

The updated map of the Blue Line changes the status of an irregularly shaped area of 602.7 dunams to “state land”, allowing the settlement to be planned there – a slice of land much larger than what had previously been planned for the new settlement. Palestinians – whose access to their own privately owned land near the area of the settlement will be restricted – have 45 days to submit an appeal against the designation. Peace Now notes that the shape of the new line:

 “rais[es] questions about how it is possible to construct a settlement in such a fragmented and irregularly shaped area. Based on the settlers’ past experience, it is highly likely that parts of the land outside the blue line will be incorporated into the settlement, and Palestinians will be denied access to their land. As seen in the map, extraordinary efforts have been made to create a blue line for the intended settlement…The pace of declarations of blue line boundaries and state land is unprecedented. Just last week (7.8.24), 116 dunams were declared as state land in the Migdal Oz settlement. The numerous declarations of state land and blue line boundaries for settlements are a result of the government’s policy to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and to legitimize the settlement enterprise.”

Recall that a month ago the Israeli government established a jurisdiction for the new settlement before the status of the land was clear. The Israeli Blue Line Team (a government effort to precisely map the boundaries of state land in the West Bank) said at the time that it had updated its maps of state land boundaries in the area, but those maps were note released until August 14th, and – to no one’s surprise – discovered the boundaries of state land in the area to include more area than previously declared, allowing for the settlement to be established.

Battir is a Palestinian village known for its ancient terraced hills, which are recorded as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Notably, the new settlement does not include the land on which two illegal outposts already exist on Battir’s land. The new settlement is being planned for land that is between Bethlehem and several villages to its west (Walaja, Battir, and Husan) –  meaning that construction on this land will sever the territorial continuity of Palestinian land in the Bethlehem region, and, in the words of Peace Now: “turn them [the villages] into an enclave within Israeli territory.”

Palestinian journalist and commentator Nour Odeh told Al Jazeera:

“[Smotrich] is flexing his muscles, telling the world that he cares very, very little about international law…[the settlement] devours what’s left of [Palestinian] land in the Bethlehem area, which has shrunk to nearly 10 percent of its original size…[it is located] not just in any UNESCO World Heritage Site, but also in … the only place left for agriculture, for picnics, planning and building”.

New Blue Line Map Grants Migdal Oz Settlement More Land

On August 7th, the Israeli Civil Administration published a new map which expands the amount of land in the area of the Migdal Oz settlement by 116.2 dunmans. According to Israeli press, the government is preparing plans for the construction of 500 new settlement units on this land.

Migdal Oz is located between Bethlehem and Hebron in the southern West Bank, in an area where the Israel separation barrier cuts deeply into the West Bank so much so that the Migdal Oz, and Efrat settlements are on the Israeli side of the barrier (de facto annexed into Israeli proper.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“The Israeli government continues to legitimize the injustice and original sin of the settlement enterprise. Instead of evacuating settlements established through military seizure orders, which have taken hundreds of dunams from the Palestinian residents of Beit Ummar, the government perpetuates this injustice with regulations and laws that deepen the hostility between Israelis and Palestinians. This is a messianic government focused solely on annexation and the perpetuation of the  war & occupation, with no regard for the security of either Israelis or Palestinians.”

Tender Issued for Alon Shvut Construction

Peace Now reports that the Israeli Ministry of Housing issued a tender for the construction of 110 new settlement units in the Alon Shvut settlement. The Alon Shvut settlement, located just north of the Kfar Etzion settlement and between Bethlehem and Hebron. The Alon Shvut settlement was last expanded in 2019, when the Israeli government created a new outpost near the settlement in order to “temporarily” house settlers who had been forcibly evacuated from the Netiv Ha’avot outpost. The government then added the area on which the settlers were relocated to the jurisdiction of Alon Shvut.

Peace Now notes that this is the second tender published for West Bank construction in 2024.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“This new tender adds to the additional construction that the Israeli government has been advancing across the West Bank since the beginning of the year. So far, the government has promoted over 8,700 units in the planning council, and with this new tender, the total number of housing units put up for tender stands at 630. Instead of focusing on areas like the north or the south that are in need of development and investment, the Israeli government chooses to promote housing units in occupied territories that do not belong to it.”

Givat Hamatos Expansion Plan Deposited

Ir Amim reports that on August 4th the Jerusalem District PLanning Committed formally deposited for public review a plan to massively expand the Givat Hamatos settlement along the Hebron Road. The plan calls for 3,5000 new settlement units and 1,300 hotel rooms to be built on the eastern slopes of the Givat Hamatos settlement – construction which would double the number of housing units in the Givat Hamatos settlement and increase its land mass by 40%. Further, the new settlement will be built on a strategic strip of land that will expand the area of Givat Hamatos eastward, connecting it with another new settlement plan – the “Lower Aqueduct Plan.” These plans ultimately create a string of settlements — spanning from Gilo to Givat Hamatos to Har Homa — that, together with the planned “Givat HaShaked” settlement to its north, completely encircle the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa with Israeli settlement construction. 

Previous iterations of this plan included the Greek Patriarchate as a co-developer, but the newly deposited plans do not include mention of the Church anywhere. The Church has said in the past that part of the development is intended for use by the city’s Christian community, though previous reports indicate that the plan calls for five synagogues and two mikvehs, clearly showing that the construction is designed to serve Israeli Jews.

Settlers Open Long Awaited “Zip Line” Project in Jerusalem

On August 14th, the settler organization Elad celebrated the opening of one of its many touristic settlements in Jerusalem, this one a zipline in the Jerusalem’s Peace Forest. The zipline travels over the heads of Palestinian houses in the Jabal al Mukhaber neighborhood (see pictures). The zipline connects the “Peace Forest” in the Abu Tor neighborhood to another popular tourism site, the Armon Hanatziv promenade. 

As part of this project, Elad also established a new tourism center in the Peace Forest, a project that was paid for by the Israeli Ministry of Housing, to the tune of 43 million NIS ($12.38 million USD). The House – which the settlers have named “Beit Shatz” – was purchased by Elad as part of Elad’s broader efforts to use tourist projects as a means for taking control over the area, which is situated in a national park.

The behavior of Elad and the Israeli government in the Peace Forest underscores the the systematic discrimination in planning policies and enforcement facing Palestinians in Jerusalem. The several Palestinian families living in the “Peace Forest” and are prohibited from building or expanding/renovating their homes because of the strict building prohibitions for national parks.  Elad managed to circumvent those same restrictions by pushing the Jerusalem Municipality to request that the area they are targeting be designated as an “open public space,” which would allow the project to advance. In December 2019, Jerusalem planning authorities granted the settler-backed request. That same month, Israel pursued demolition orders against Palestinian homes in the Peace Forest that lacked building permits, despite the fact that in some cases Palestinians have repeatedly applied for and been denied permits. 

Peace Now said in a statement:

“The zip line project is one of many initiatives by the Elad organization in Jerusalem, where, in every case, the municipality and/or government bodies were involved in transferring responsibility for the sites to the foundation. For example, the archaeological site of the City of David has been operated by the Elad organization for decades, the Israeli government is constructing a cable car to the Elad organization’s tourism complex in the City of David, a camping site at the edge of the Peace Forest was developed with three million shekels of state funds, and the Hinnom Valley was handed over for agro-tourism development under Elad’s responsibility

These projects, along with the latest zip line initiative, represent a tourism activity intertwined with political interests, aimed at allowing the foundation to become a powerhouse in Jerusalem’s tourism sector. Elad seeks to control and manage numerous sites, both in terms of the content delivered to the public and the shaping of the space. Elad’s tourism activities can be seen as a form of “touristic settlement,” designed to make the area as “Jewish-Israeli” as possible and to complicate any future compromise agreement in Jerusalem, where two capitals for two states are envisioned.”

Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann commented on X: 

“Gleeful teenagers will screech as the race above the iconic views of the Mt. of Olives, the Old City and al Aqsa included in the ticket. This is the crass Disneyfication of historic Jerusalem, and it’s not the first.  A cable car is under construction leading from West Jerusalem to the settler headquarters in Silwan, a mere 179 meters away from Al Aqsa mosque.”

Settlers Lead Violent Pogrom in Jit

On August 15th, ~100 Israeli settlers from the X settlement launched a violent attack on the Palestinian village of Jit, located near Nablus in the northern West Bank. One Palestinian was killed by settler gunfire and many more were injured. Video of the pogrom show widespread damage to property as a result of settlers setting vehicles and homes on fire. The IDF arrived about an hour into the ordeal, and removed settlers from the town, but made only one arrest.  The IDF later said it has opened an investigation into the incident.

Threat of Multiple Demolitions in al-Bustan, Along with Settler Takeovers, Amplifies Threat of Mass Displacement

Ir Amim continues to raise alarm regarding the imminent mass displacement of Palestinians from their longtime homes in the al-Bustan section of Silwan, in East Jerusalem. 

The threat turned into reality for the Shehadeh family, whose home was taken over by settlers on August 15th with the assistance of Israeli police. Ir Amim says the Shehadeh family, “lost their home to an organization intent on displacing their entire community, all with the help of a legal system that imparts anything but justice” This is the 15th Palestinian family dispossessed by the Ateret Cohanim settler organization, with another 80+ families facing the same threat. Ateret Cohanim, in coordination with the state, has capitalized on Israel’s discriminatory laws which allow Jews to “reclaim” houses that they owned prior to 1948 (Palestinians have no such parallel right).

On August 5th, Israeli authorities demolished another home in Al-Bustan, where eight more homes face the same demolition threat.

Ir Amim writes:

“All legal remedies have been exhausted. As a result, over 20 more Palestinians stand to be displaced. Several additional homes could likewise be under impending threat. The increased risk of mass demolition in Al Bustan follows the demolition of the home of community leader and well-known activist, Fakhri Abu Diab, in February, which profoundly impacted the community and triggered extreme alarm among its residents. It is assumed that Abu Diab was deliberately targeted due to his work to secure a housing solution for the community and a cruel way for the authorities to instill fear in the rest of the neighborhood.

Demolitions of Palestinian homes have reached unparalleled levels since the outbreak of the war. Such practices constitute a form of collective punishment, retaliatory state violence, and part of a series of repressive measures currently being employed by Israel against Palestinians under its control. Since October 7, 160 homes have been destroyed in East Jerusalem alone, marking a two-fold monthly increase in demolitions compared to the period preceding the war. Between January 1-August 8, 2024, 113 homes have been demolished, representing a 75% increase compared to the same period last year.

The numbers are only liable to accelerate in light of the planned changes in the government ministry which presides over the National Enforcement Unit–one of the units responsible for carrying out demolitions in East Jerusalem. On July 24, the Knesset approved the transfer of the National Enforcement Unit from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of National Security, placing it under the direct authority of ultranationalist and far-right Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The transfer of the unit was included in coalition agreements during the formation of the government last year. Over the past year and half, Ben Gvir has made numerous statements calling for the intensification of demolitions of Palestinian homes. Such a move is cause for extreme alarm and will directly impact areas of East Jerusalem.”

To read more about the multitudes of threats facing Palestinians in al-Bustan, see Ir Amim’s reporting.

IDF Partially Dismantled Giv’at Oz Zion Outpost

On August 6t the IDF dismantled 15 temporary buildings that compromised a new and expanded section of the illegal Giv’at Oz Zion outpost, which settlers built on privately owned Palestinian land north of Ramallah. The outpost, according to the Shin Bet, has been the source of violent terror. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (who oversees building enforcement in the West Bank) both approved this demolition at the request of the IDF Commander.

Just over a month ago the IDF clashed with settlers at the Oz Zion outpost when forces arrived to demolish the new section. The July demolition was reportedly ok’d by Prime Minister Netanyahu – going over the head of Bezalel Smotrich and the Settlement Administration, which has seized control of building enforcement in the West Bank. 

Settlers Stage Another Protest On Gaza Boundary

On August 12th, ~300 Israeli settlers held a protest near the Gaza barrier, continuing to promote their call to resettle the Gaza strip.  Specifically, the event was to be held near the entrance to the so-called Netzarim Corridor, a road and control zone that IDF cut into Gaza to severing the north and the south – destroying everything in its path and near it. In anticipation of the rally, the IDF expanded the closed zone around the Gaza barrier. The IDF told The Times of ISrael that it feared the event would be attacked by Palestinians, though Haaretz reports that the IDF anticipated the protestors trying to enter Gaza as they have done at previous protests. During the event itself the IDF escorted 100 protestors to the ANZAC memorial site close to the Netzarim junction.

One of the protestors told Haaretz:

“We requested entry to Netzarim Junction because it is a symbolic location with available land for settlement, a fitting Zionist response to our enemies,” she said. “We have over 600 families ready to move here. We can’t wait for the war to end, and it will also significantly support the war effort.”

The protest, organized in part by the Nahala settler group, was held on the Jewish holiday Tisha B’Av (which commemorating the dates on which two ancient temples in Jerusalem were destroyed) and featured prayer and a traditional reading of scripture. 

Regavim Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Over Settler Sanctions

The Israeli settler group Regavim “assembled a team of lawyers” (according to its newsletter) and filed a petition challenging sanctions imposed by the Biden Administration on Israeli settlers. The Christian Zionist group “Texas for Israel” filed the petition with the District Court of Northern Texas, arguing that the sanctions violate the rights of Americans because it prohibits citizens from providing financial support to designated individuals and entities, which the complainants say constitutes a violation of the rights to free speech and religion.

There is a growing international sanction regime targeting individual settlers and increasingly connected entities that are alleged to have participated in acts of violence in the West Bank. In July, reports began circulating that the European Union was/is considering sanctions against Regavim specifically. Fearing  sanctions, settlers and their allies in the government have mobilized a concerted effort to push back against the continued escalation of those sanctions – which to date have not touched Israeli government officials or major settler organizations other than Amana (which was sanctioned by the Canadian government only).

Canada Revoked JNF Tax Exemption

In addition to being the first state to issue sanctions on the Amana settler organization, Canada has also become the first state to revoke the tax exempt status of organizations – in this case the very prominent Canadian arm of the Jewish National Fund and the Ne’eman Foundation – because of its illegal activities in the West Bank. Haaretz reports that the revokation was prompted by complaints submitted to the government by Palestinian rights groups, alleging that the organizations finance illegal settlement construction.

Bonus Reads

1. “New Settlement, expanding outposts, represent wholesale attack on World Heritage Site of Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir” (Joint alert by Peace Now, Combatants for Peace, Emek Shaveh)
2. “While We Were at War: The Government’s Annexation Revolution in the West Bank Since October 7th” (Peace Now)
3. “Israel is redrawing the West Bank, cutting into a prospective Palestinian state” (Washington Post)
4. “Israel’s Top Court: IDF Must Protect Palestinians From West Bank Settlers, Even During War” (Haaretz)
5. “US leads international condemnations of Ben Gvir’s ‘provocations’ at Temple Mount” (The Times of Israel)
6. “What if the U.S. Doesn’t Veto Sanctions Against Israel? ‘It’s the End of the World,’ Says Legal Expert” (Haaretz)
7. “Which countries have sanctioned Israeli settlers – and does it mean much?” (Al-Jazeera)
8. “US to continue aid to Israeli military unit involved in Palestinian American’s death” (Middle East Eye)
9. “IDF says US activist shot by troops accidentally at West Bank anti-settlement rally” (The Times of Israel)
10. “Is the wall around the West Bank for protection or separation?” (Israel Hayom)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

July 26, 2024

1. Israeli Army Seizes Key Area of Sebastia Archaeological Site
2. Family in Old City Faces Dispossession
3. First Demolition in Al-Walajah Area C Could be Sign of More to Come
4. Peace Now: In 2023, Israeli Government Funded 101 Illegal Outposts
5. Israeli Human Rights Groups Publish Joint “State of the Occupation” Report
6. Bonus Reads

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Israeli Army Seizes Key Area of Sebastia Archaeological Site

Seizure Of Sebastia Summit Emek Shaveh reports that on July 10th the Israeli army issued an order seizing land at the summit of the Sebastia archeological site in the northern West Bank. The dot of land (1.3 dunams / .3 acres) is surrounded by the Palestinian village of Sebastia in Area C of the West Bank. Emek Shaveh reports that the IDF is likely to set up a military post on the small area, and erect an Israeli flag at the highest point.

This seizure comes over one year after the Israeli government passed a $9 million (NIS 32 million)  plan designed to impose Israeli control over the site both logistically and in the narrative about the site’s history.  Emek Shaveh explains:

 “the government wants to turn the site into an ‘anchor site’ for tourists which would emphasise Jewish history and Jewish rights to the site. The plan, designed to complete the separation of the acropolis from the village and divert tourism away from the village itself, also threatens the Outstanding Universal Values attributed to the site by the State of Palestine and international experts in the field of heritage. “

Settlers have been openly agitating for Israel to assert control over the archaeological site in Sebastia for years, and the settler Samaria Regional Council organizes regular tours to the site. To secure the settlers’ visits, the IDF shuts down the town of Sebastia, closing Palestinian streets and businesses. 

As in other cases across the West Bank, settlers allege that Palestinians are damaging the Sebastia site and that the Israeli government needs to intervene. In 2021 amidst  intensifying settler efforts related to the site, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called on UNESCO to “protect all Palestinian archaeological and religious sites from Israeli violations, attacks and falsifications.” The archaeological site of Sebastia is on the tentative list of World Heritage sites in Palestine.

Family in Old City Faces Dispossession

Ir Amim reports that the Palestinian Quastiro family who has been running a coffee shop (al-Musrara Cafe) located near the Old City of Jerusalem is facing imminent dispossession of their business at the behest of of the Israeli Custodian General, the government body which can “reclaim” buildings that were owned by Jews prior to 1948.  

The coffee shop is located on the popular al-Musrara Street, which leads from the Damascus Gate to the Old City towards West Jerusalem Jerusalem. Ir Amim explains “the strategic location has made properties there a target of settler takeover, and a few settler families are already living in some of the residential units in the area….The pretext under which the General Custodian is attempting to evict the family could suggest intent on renting or handing over the property to an Israeli settler organization.” 

First Demolition in Al-Walajah Area C Could be Sign of More to Come

Ir Amim reports that on July 22nd Israeli forces demolished the home of the Palestinian Rabah family (12 individuals) in the village of Al-Walaja, located on the southern border of Jerusalem (partially within Israeli’s expanded municipality borders). 

Ir Amim explains the significance of this demolition:

“this is the first time a home demolition in Area C of al-Walaja has taken place in years and could indicate a policy change which would place many more homes in the village at risk of demolition. In 2016, the Israeli authorities dramatically toughened their demolition policy in the part of al-Walaja annexed to East Jerusalem. This has resulted in the destruction of dozens of homes in the past eight years by the National Enforcement Unit, an organ of the Ministry of Finance operating in East Jerusalem along with areas inside the Green Line…While the reason behind the Civil Administration’s decision to carry out the demolition is unknown, it could indicate a major change in policy which would place dozens of homes in Area C of al-Walaja under threat of demolition. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who received authority over civil issues in Area C has prioritized increased demolitions of Palestinian homes (along with Israeli takeovers of large areas and authorization of unauthorized outposts). “

The home was built by the Rabah brothers in 2012 adjacent to their parents home on the family’s land. Despite owning the land, the brothers were denied Israeli building permits because the Separation Barrier was being constructed some 35 meters away – – meaning that the land was now located in an area where the ISraeli military prohibits new construction for “security” reasons.

Since 1967, Al-Walajah has suffered due to its location and its complicated status under Israeli law. Much of the village’s lands, including areas with homes, were annexed by Israel in 1967, but Israel never gave the villagers Jerusalem legal residency by Israel – meaning that under Israeli law, their mere presence in their homes is illegal). Today it is acutely suffering from a multi-prong effort by the Israeli government and settlers to grab more land for settlement expansion in pursuit of the “Greater Jerusalem” agenda. This land grab campaign includes home demolitions (four homes in Al-Walajah were demolished by Israel on November 2, 2022, for example), the construction of the separation barrier and bypass roads in a way that seals off the village on three sides, and the systematic denial of planning permits. 

Peace Now: In 2023, Israeli Government Funded 101 Illegal Outposts

Peace Now released a new report showing that in 2023 the Israeli government financed 68 settler farming outposts and 33 other (non-farming outposts) to the tune of $7.6 million (NIS 28 million). Peace Now reports that over $20.5 million (NIS 75 million) has been earmarked for outposts in 2024, and that settler regional councils will soon be asked to submit applications for outpost funding in 2024.

The government seeks to obscure its funding of illegal outposts by transferring the money to the World Zionist Organization’s Settlement Division, which then makes the transfers to the outposts. While it is not entirely certain, Peace Now is confident in surmising that government funds were provided by the WZO to five illegal farming outposts that have been targeted by international sanctions.

Peace Now’s findings include:

•  In 2023, the Israeli government financed 68 settler farms in the West Bank with an amount of NIS 15 million. Additional NIS 39 million is allocated for farms in 2024.
•  In addition the government funded 33 illegal outposts (that are not farms) with NIS 13 million in 2023. Additional NIS million is allocation for outposts in 2024.
• The funds were used for financing vehicles, drones, cameras, electric generators, electric gates, lamp posts, fences, solar panels and more.
• The IDF and the Central Command were involved in planning and approving the funds, including deciding which farms and outposts would receive funding and which components would be financed in each farm and outpost.

The farming outposts have been a particular focus for many settlement watchdog groups because they have significantly proliferated over the past few years, and they are exceptionally effective in gaining control over vast areas in the West Bank with only a few settlers, a few tents, herds of livestock, and – usually – violence.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“Not only does the Israeli government allow settlers to take over lands, establish outposts and farms in violation of the law, and attack and displace Palestinians without any response, it also funds and assists them. Settler violence is not a bug; it is a feature. It is part of an ongoing effort by the Israeli government to systematically expel Palestinians from their homes and lands in Area C in the West Bank.”

Israeli Human Rights Groups Publish Joint “State of the Occupation” Report

In its second annual report, The Platform: Israeli NGOs for Human Rights, published a new report and commentary on Israel’s rule over the West Bank. Twenty-one Israeli human rights groups contributed to the report coordinated by the New Israel Fund. The report affirms that “Israel’s actions in the West Bank today meet the criteria of apartheid.” 

The report details four “trends” that defined the work of the contributing organizations in 2023:

1. The humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip and the suspected war crimes committed by Israel; 
2. The deepening of the annexation and the acceleration of dispossession in the West Bank; 
3. The increased Israelisation efforts and displacement of the Palestinian population in East Jerusalem; and,
4. The accelerated erosion of democratic space in Israel. 

You can read the report and its details here.

Bonus Reads

1. “‘Fighting the same battle’: After Oct. 7, settlers court Republican evangelicals” (The Times of Israel)
2. “The ICJ Is Right: The Israeli Settlements Are an Illegal Affront” (The New Republic)