On the Agenda

Today – 52 years to the day since Israel began occupying the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – we launched a new interactive project, “Conquer and Divide,” a collaboration with independent research agency Forensic Architecture, the project illustrates the various measures Israel has used to encroach upon Palestinian space over the decades; how Israel has shattered the land into small, isolated units; and how it has instituted divisions, keeping Palestinians from different areas apart from one another and from Israelis.

In recent months, shepherds from the Palestinian communities of al-Farisiyah in the northern Jordan Valley have reported an upsurge in the frequency and severity of attacks by settlers and soldiers when they go out to graze their flocks. These incidents are part of the policy Israel has been implementing in the Jordan Valley. Its goal is to take over land by various measures, including by making life unbearable for Palestinians. It includes coordinated attacks by soldiers and settlers and a comprehensive ban on the development of Palestinian communities.

40,000 Palestinians and 800 Israeli settlers live in the city center of Hebron, where Israeli authorities impose a regime of legal and physical segregation. While Palestinians are subjected to extreme restrictions on movement by car or on foot, including the closure of main streets, settlers are free to go where they wish. These restrictions impact every aspect of life, preventing Palestinian residents from maintaining a normal routine and making their lives intolerable. Below are testimonies collected by B'Tselem in recent months, in which Hebron residents describe how the checkpoints affect their daily lives:

On Friday, 26 Oct, 2018, dozens of settlers tried yet again to invade an archeological site on land belonging to the village of al-Mazra'ah al-Qibliyah, escorted by security forces, as they have done over the last few months. They soon retreated, but clashes between the forces and residents continued. Later, when the forces began to leave, several dozen young men from the village ran after them. When they got close, at least one Border Police officer fired at them, wounding nine, two of whom died afterwards. Settlers frequently invade Palestinian-owned land with security forces’ backup. Yet the lethal outcome of this incident is unusual and defies every letter of the open fire regulations.

The olive harvest was once a joyful time for Palestinian families. Yet for many years now, it has been taking place under the shadow of landgrab, restrictions on access to land, attacks on harvesters and vandalization of trees. This reality, which forces farmers to abandon their lands, is no accident. It is the outcome of Israeli policy, facilitating the takeover of land to expand settlements or advance other Israeli interests. This year, B’Tselem recorded 2 physical assaults on harvesters and 9 cases of vandalization or crop theft in the Nablus and Ramallah Districts.

Over the past six months, B’Tselem carried out a special project documenting how the settlement of Beit El, established in 1977 near al-Jalazun Refugee Camp, affects life in the camp. As part of this project, B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad collected dozens of testimonies from local residents that bring to light different aspects of this impact. The photos below show what life is like in the camp, with its crowded, neglected streets; the absence of children’s playgrounds; settlement homes built right beside the school; and the attempt to lead normal lives in these conditions.

Settler violence against Palestinians has long since become a part of life under the occupation. During plowing season, the military uses a “coordination system” supposedly meant to allow Palestinians to access their farmland, with soldiers there for protection against settlers. B’Tselem’s research of the season this March in Ramallah District reveals that, as in past years, settlers assaulted Palestinian farmers. In some cases, soldiers were present and did nothing, and in others they joined in. In this way, Israel removes Palestinians from their land, paving the way to land grab.

Al-Jalazun RC, north of Ramallah is home to some 14,000 people. In 1977, the settlement of Beit El was established near the camp, bringing with it permanent military presence and frequent travel restrictions on Road 466, which connects the northern West Bank and the camp to Ramallah. These restrictions affect all camps residents, particularly those needing medical care in Ramallah and those working in the city and nearby al-Birah. Residents of other Palestinian communities north of the camp who also rely on this road are also affected. The true impact, however, cannot be quantified, as residents choose not to leave the camp for non-essential reasons due to the uncertainty the arbitrary blockages bring.

On 31 Aug. 2018, the Israeli government approved a “new community” on land seized by the settlers at Gilad Farm. The settlement now occupies some 45 hectares of land belonging to residents of the surrounding Palestinian villages. The retroactive approval of settlements on various pretexts, including the killing of a resident, in no way changes their illegality. All the settlements, whether recognized or unofficial, violate international law and violate the human rights of Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israeli settlers living in new settlement outposts established in the northern Jordan Valley are using violence and threats to take over the pasturelands of longstanding Palestinian communities. The settlers act as the state’s criminal arm in pursuit of the state goals of dispossessing Palestinians in the Jordan Valley of their land and entrenching Israeli control in the area.