“Jewish settlers living in Hebron, West Bank (Jordan River) freely enter Palestinian homes and burn countless items.”
The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on the 13th that the West Bank has fallen into a state of disorder. It is said that there has been an increase in the number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank attacking Palestinian residents or stealing their homes with the connivance of the Israeli military or on their own.
The West Bank, acquired by Israel in the June 1967 war, later became Palestinian territory under international law through the Oslo Accords. However, the Palestinian Authority (PA) governs only 18% of the total territory, the Israeli military controls security for the other 20%, and the remainder consists mostly of Jewish settlements. The Israeli government virtually ignored the increase in Jewish settlements, saying it was beneficial to security.
The number of settlers in the 1970s has increased from about 10,000 to about 700,000 today, accounting for 18% of the total West Bank residents (about 3.9 million people), and has been a spark of conflict with Palestinian residents. The settlement issue was also behind the bloody conflict between the Palestinian armed group Hamas and Israel in 2021.
Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, believes that at least 120 hate crimes against Palestinian residents have occurred since the outbreak of the Middle East war on the 7th of last month. The United Nations calculated that in the past month, there were 222 attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinian residents, killing at least eight people, including children, and forcing more than 900 people to leave their homes.
As a Palestinian farmer harvesting olives was shot and killed by settlers at the end of last month, many residents are finding it difficult to make a living. The PA told Qatari state broadcaster Al Jazeera that “60% of the olive trees are left without fruit as residents are reluctant to harvest olives for fear of being attacked.” Additionally, the PA said that 190 Palestinians were killed and 2,520 were detained as a result of Israeli military searches and attacks to capture Hamas members hiding in the West Bank.
The Israeli government is also concerned about the arming of Jewish settlers. “It is only a matter of time before the extremists begin their (armed) activities independently and without cooperation with the military,” an Israeli security source told Haaretz.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.