Palestine Update 634
Comment
Israel’s continuing settler colonial legacy grows crueler
In a very recent issue of Al Jazeera we read that “what happened in Huwara is seen simply through the prism of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government… a regrettable symptom of the Israeli regimes shift to the right and the inevitable emboldening of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. This is an astoundingly deluded take on reality. After all, as many scholars in colonial studies have argued, settlers, unlike migrants, do not come to a country to assimilate with the indigenous people who are already living there; rather, they come to replace a population that is living on land that they see as rightfully theirs.
Settler cruelties visit peace activists from overseas too: Cassandra Auren, a peace activist from Wisconsin, was standing with an Italian activist on land that belongs to the residents of the Palestinian village Tuba, when a group of settlers from a nearby outpost, Havat Ma’on, ran toward them. Auren saw one of the attackers stood behind her, and as she was turning to face him, he hit her in the head with a weapon that she described as looking “like a baseball bat.” Barbarism, we would call that. Hard to think of parallels elsewhere in the civilized world!
Haaretz in a sharp and stunning report narrates how the “Negev has seen a sharp increase in home demolitions and the issuing of demolition orders and warnings. A few weeks ago, the Israel Land Administration land preservation unit issued 450 pre-demolition warnings throughout the Negev – for residential buildings, fences, sheep pens and other structures – as part of an operation dubbed Southern Hawk. The administration said the unusual increase was thanks to the launch of an AI-based system to locate unauthorized structures built within the previous three years. Buildings that fall under this category can be demolished without a judicial process”.
The Palestinian sense of dignity never allows them to surrender: Palestinian prisoners announced plans to step up their protest against the harsh treatment they have received since Itamar Ben Gvir was appointed Israel’s national security minister. Ben Gvir, whose portfolio includes overseeing prisons within the Green Line, has promised a brutal crackdown on Palestinian prisoners’ conditions, bringing an end to what he calls “the summer-camp conditions of murderous terrorists.”
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For MLN Palestine Updates
Ranjan Solomon
Israel was built on burned Palestinian villages
“For these Israelis and Zionists, what happened in Huwara is seen simply through the prism of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government. In other words, as a regrettable symptom of the Israeli regimes shift to the right and the inevitable emboldening of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. This is an astoundingly deluded take on reality. Indeed, portrayals of Israeli settlers in the West Bank as completely separate and inherently different to the rest of Israel are a demonstration of cognitive dissonance par excellence. One does not have to dig that deep to discover that the burning of Palestinian villages is not a new tactic in the Zionist playbook, rather it is a core feature…While the discourse of the far right has undoubtedly led to more settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank in recent years…the erasure of the Palestinian people is in the essence of the Israeli regime. To separate the actions of settlers in the West Bank from the rest is an attempt to conceal the reality of Israeli settler colonialism that exists from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. That is why the pogrom in Huwara has to be understood as a simple continuation of a settler colonial legacy.”
The Rapid and Predictable Rise of Israeli Settler Violence against Palestinians
“As many scholars in colonial studies have argued, settlers, unlike migrants, do not come to a country to assimilate with the indigenous people who are already living there; rather, they come to replace a population that is living on land that they see as rightfully theirs. This inherently entails devising some way of forcing said population to abandon the land. While prominent Israeli politicians have been more willing to publicly acknowledge their goals of territorial expansion and settlement in recent years, the totality of Israeli policy over the past 75 years leaves little doubt that Israel does not now, nor has it ever seen a sovereign Palestinian state as a realistic prospect. In light of this fact, the violence of settlers should not be seen as an anomaly that merely requires stricter law enforcement, but rather must be understood as a tool of Israeli colonial violence that is all but openly encouraged by the state itself. As Israeli NGO B’Tselem argues, the Israeli state should not be seen as a potential solution to settler violence, but as an enabler, in large part due to its retroactive legalizations of land takeovers and its legitimization of physical violence against Palestinians. Only by fully acknowledging the central role that settler expansion and violence play in the Israeli state’s broader goals can the situation be resolved. Mere calls for “de-escalation” are insufficient and unjust.”
Read more in Arab Center
See also (Humans of Masafer Yatta)
‘Who hits a 64-year-old woman with a bat?’, +972
“A 64-year-old American citizen was attacked last Tuesday by a group of masked settlers in the South Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank. Cassandra Auren, a peace activist from Wisconsin, was standing with an Italian activist on land that belongs to the residents of the Palestinian village Tuba, when a group of settlers from a nearby outpost, Havat Ma’on, ran toward them. Auren said that one of the attackers stood behind her, and as she was turning to face him, he hit her in the head with a weapon that she described as looking “like a baseball bat.” She immediately passed out from the blow and was hospitalized with a fractured skull and internal bleeding in her head…Israeli authorities have yet to make any arrests for the assault”
Read report in 972 Mag
Israel’s Government Is a Clear and Present Danger for Its Arab Palestinian Citizens
“Below the frantic headlines about the attempted judicial capture, the government has advanced laws that target Arabs in far more dangerous ways, by marking those convicted of terrorism for deportation, or even death. One of the laws, which has already passed, allows Israel to strip the citizenship of citizens convicted of acts of terror who receive financial support from the Palestinian Authority, and deport them to the West Bank or Gaza…Another bill has been called “barbaric,” by Israel Democracy Institute scholar Amir Fuchs. That’s because it requires the death penalty for terrorists”
Read more in Haaretz
Sharp Increase in Demolition Orders Raises Suspicion and Fear among Israeli Bedouin
“Residents and activists say that since the government was sworn in at the end of December, the Negev has seen a sharp increase in home demolitions and the issuing of demolition orders and warnings. A few weeks ago, the Israel Land Administration land preservation unit issued 450 pre-demolition warnings throughout the Negev – for residential buildings, fences, sheep pens and other structures – as part of an operation dubbed Southern Hawk. The administration said the unusual increase was thanks to the launch of an AI-based system to locate unauthorized structures built within the previous three years. Buildings that fall under this category can be demolished without a judicial process. The land administration said that warnings and orders were given only to structures less than three years old. But Haaretz found that in some cases, they were given to decades-old structures. One example is the case of the Aloul family, which is considered precedent-setting…The orders and demolitions gave rise to a protest at the Be’er Sheva court that issued them, with over 1,000 Negev Bedouin and about 100 Jews participating. The coordinator of the Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages in the Negev said: “The ministers have bad intentions and want to remove us from our land by force. There isn’t a day that they don’t come and demolish. That’s new and much worse than before. In recent weeks, there are daily demolitions.”
Read more in Haaretz
As crackdown intensifies, Palestinian prisoners gear up for Ramadan protest
“On March 5, Palestinian prisoners announced plans to step up their protest against the harsh treatment they have received since Itamar Ben Gvir was appointed Israel’s national security minister. Ben Gvir, whose portfolio includes overseeing prisons within the Green Line, has promised a brutal crackdown on Palestinian prisoners’ conditions, bringing an end to what he calls “the summer-camp conditions of murderous terrorists.” Prisoners have launched a series of actions in defiance of these threats, which will culminate in a collective hunger strike beginning on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan. According to Palestinian sources who spoke to +972, as well as reports in Palestinian media, the prisoners’ coordinated efforts could compel Palestinians throughout the West Bank and Gaza to join in resisting other forms of Israeli oppression.”
Read more in 972+ Mag
17 March 2023
Source: nakbaliberation.com